Teshikaga Ramen / Bowl Filled with Bounty of Hokkaido; Miso Ramen Popular with Visitors from Overseas

By Futoshi Mori / Japan News Senior Writer

15:26 JST, July 3, 2025

It’s been about half a year, but let’s get back into this ramen series, starting with Hokkaido, the great northern land. When it comes to Hokkaido, it’s got to be miso ramen. Said to have been born in Sapporo about 70 years ago, miso ramen remains a representative dish of the prefecture to this day. In late June, I visited Sapporo’s historic “Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho” (Original Sapporo Ramen Alley) and interviewed the owner of Teshikaga Ramen, a ramen chain shop popular with foreign tourists.

The alley in the city’s Chuo Ward, lined with 17 ramen shops, has a history of over 70 years, beginning with its former name, “Koraku Ramen Meiten-gai.” I arrived at one of the shops, Teshikaga Ramen, at 3:30 p.m., after lunch hours had ended, and Teshikaga Ramen President Kenichi Sugawara greeted me with a smile.

“The reviews by visitors from other countries are extremely high, and since this alley is a tourist spot, 60% of our customers are from overseas,” said Sugawara, who operates nine Teshikaga Ramen shops mainly in Hokkaido.

The shop’s most popular item, “Chashu miso with corn and butter” (¥1,330 — ¥1,480 from mid-July), came with a huge slice of pork belly chashu spread out across the bowl and hanging over the edge. Sugawara proudly said, “Our policy is ‘100% Hokkaido,” and the dish is true to that policy, featuring Akan pork, locally produced corn and butter, Hakodate makonbu seaweed and medium-thick curly noodles made from 100% Hokkaido wheat. The combination creates a luxurious bowl brimming with Hokkaido ingredients.

The soup is exceptionally smooth and delicious. It has a deep richness without being overpowering. The kaeshi sauce for the miso ramen is made by blending four types of Hokkaido miso and adding squeezed fish flakes — a by-product of fish-based soy sauce kaeshi — which infuses the umami of seafood. Other ingredients for kaeshi sauce include vegetables, spices and red wine, creating a Japanese-style dashi sauce that does not rely on the richness of fat or garlic. This kaeshi sauce is manufactured at the central kitchen of the main store in Teshikaga Town, Hokkaido, and transported to each store.

At the eatery, they simmer pork genkotsu (the knee joint portion of the thigh bone), chicken bones and vegetables for 24 hours at a low temperature to create the broth, which is then combined with the miso ramen kaeshi sauce. This soup is labor-intensive and expensive due to the high cost of its ingredients. I enjoyed the changing flavors as I added melted butter and a complimentary spicy seasoning to the soup.

The medium-thick noodles, made with plenty of water, have a glutinous and springy texture. “This is what Hokkaido ramen is all about.” I thought, and I think it’s hard to disagree. The soup clung well to the noodles, making a delicious combination. Due to an increase in the number of shops and the corresponding rise in noodle usage, Sugawara negotiated with the noodle manufacturer and, starting in 2015, switched to custom-made noodles made with 100% Hokkaido wheat.

After I had finished every last drop of the soup and was feeling completely full, Sugawara said, “You must try our soy sauce ramen as well.” I chose the small size (¥800 — ¥900 from mid-July) of the popular “Gyokai shibori shoyu” (Seafood squeezed soy sauce) ramen, a favorite among drunk patrons to cap off their nights before going to bed.

The slightly smoky soup was exquisite, with a rich yet gentle flavor that spread throughout my mouth. There was a lingering aroma of seafood, and the flavor, reminiscent of caramelized soy sauce, was addictive. “We don’t use a single drop of water in the kaeshi sauce,” said Sugawara. The kaeshi sauce for the soy sauce ramen, which is also made in a central kitchen, is simmered with ingredients such as scallops from the Sea of Okhotsk, bonito flakes and large amounts of Chinese cabbage. It’s then squeezed out through a strainer. The ramen was awarded the fiscal 2007 “Soy Sauce Master” prize by the Japan Soy-sauce Association and other organizations.

Miso and shoyu — each were one-of-a-kind dishes that allowed me to enjoy the whole of Hokkaido.

From planning and management to ramen business

Sugawara originally ran a planning company involved in a major supermarket chain’s food and beverage business. However, when the supermarket fell into financial difficulties, he began working on a project to place a ramen theme park in front of JR Sapporo Station. After joining the team, Sugawara, who is well-versed in Hokkaido’s ramen industry and had even published a book on the subject, was involved in selecting shops from across Hokkaido to be included in the theme park. Over time, he began to think, “Why not open my own store?” and in 2003, he opened a small ramen shop near Sapporo Central Wholesale Market.

“I named it Teshikaga Ramen because I frequently visited Teshikaga and fell in love with the underground water from Lake Mashu, and I always wanted to establish the main store in Teshikaga Town,” Sugawara explained.

The original store, which has since moved, became a regular stop for professional chefs visiting the market. You could say that it received recognition from connoisseurs of flavor.

Having gained confidence, Sugawara opened his second store in Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho in 2005. He then opened his flagship store in Teshikaga, eastern Hokkaido. The flagship store, which has 40 seats with a central kitchen, can accommodate visitors traveling on large buses and is popular with tourists visiting eastern Hokkaido to enjoy its national parks. The shop attracts 100,000 visitors a year.

“Hokkaido has the best miso ramen,” Sugawara said, his words overflowing with love for Hokkaido. “I want more people to experience the taste of Hokkaido through ramen. Our next goal is to open our 10th store, this time in Tokyo.”

Teshikaga Ramen: Sapporo Ramen Yokocho shop

Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho is located at Minami 5-jo Nishi 3-chome, Chuo Ward, Sapporo. On weekdays, lunch is from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and dinner is from 4:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. (until 2:00 a.m. on Fridays). On weekends and holidays, lunch is from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and dinner is from 4:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. (until 11 p.m. on Sundays and holidays). For more details, visit the official website (http://www.teshikaga-ramen.com/ ).

Futoshi Mori, Japan News Senior Writer

Food is a passion. It’s a serious battle for both the cook and the diner. There are many ramen restaurants in Japan that have a tremendous passion for ramen and I’d like to introduce to you some of these passionate establishments, making the best of my experience of enjoying cuisine from both Japan and around the world.