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is known as ramen battleground city in Iwate Prefecture , serving Kamaishi ramen
Kamaishi Ramen Story, set in Kamaishi, was released and became a hot topic.
This article is a report on the ramen we tried at two of these restaurants.
Please note that the prices in this article are current as of the end of October 2025.
Kamaishi, the "Ramen Town" supported by a steelworks and fishing port
Nippon Steel in front of Kamaishi Station. Kamaishi is known as "the city of steel, fish, and rugby."
Around 1955, the city of Kamaishi was bustling with activity thanks to the steel and fishing industries that had continued since the Meiji era. There were many company housing complexes for steelworks employees known as " Harmonica Tenement Houses (Rokuken Tenement Houses)." On payday, employees looked forward to having ramen delivered to their homes, which cost 30 to 50 yen per bowl at the time, and eating it with their families.
Furthermore, the presence of the steel mill is said to have contributed to the development of Kamaishi ramen, as employees would have lunch at a nearby ramen restaurant.
It is also said that the fact that ramen is refreshing, flavorful, and comes out quickly after ordering is a welcome treat for fishermen who have made money from a big catch and head out to the downtown area at the end of the day, and that its popularity as fast food also contributed to its development.
What are the characteristics of Kamaishi ramen?
An example of Kamaishi Ramen Source: Iwate Prefecture Official Tourism Site "Iwate Travel"
its " extremely thin, curly noodles " with just the right amount of firmness and " clear, amber-colored soup with a light soy sauce flavor ." The ramen is topped with simple ingredients: roasted pork fillet, green onions, bamboo shoots, and nori seaweed.
Currently, restaurants serving Kamaishi ramen in the city include Chinese specialty restaurants, general cafeterias, soba shops, and udon shops, and each restaurant offers different noodles, soup, and toppings, competing to be the most unique.
Norenkai, responsible for promoting Kamaishi ramen and revitalizing the region
A banner for the Norenkai group hanging in front of the Shinkaen main store
On March 10, 2011, ramen shop owners in the city decided to establish the Noren-kai , but the following day the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, damaging 20 ramen shops.
However, the passion for founding the Norenkai remained, and it was officially established in November 2011 by 22 ramen restaurants.
The number of restaurants has now increased to 27, and they are working hard to make Kamaishi City known nationwide as the "city of ramen."
The Noren-kai regularly publishes the Kamaishi Ramen Map to introduce its member stores, and each store's ramen is unique and delicious, making it difficult to choose a favorite.
This is the classic taste! The original Kamaishi ramen from Shinkaen Main Branch!
The entrance is at the back of the building, and the store name is written in large letters at the top, which is not visible in the photo.
The shop is located on the city's main street, opposite TETTO
We support the Kamaishi Seawaves RFC!
The restaurant has a counter that seats 5-6 people and about four tables that seat 4 people, and as mentioned in the section about the characteristics of Kamaishi Ramen, your bowl will be placed in front of you in just 5 minutes after ordering.
It's a simple soy sauce ramen, but the flavorful soup is so tasty you can drink as much as you want.
The ramen (700 yen) has a clear golden soup with a gentle, comforting chicken broth soy sauce flavor, making it a very appealing soup that allows you to enjoy the pure flavor of chicken broth.
The thin, curly noodles were cooked to a slightly firm consistency, which was delicious and perfectly suited to my taste as I like my noodles firm.
The ingredients are very simple, with plenty of green onions, 5-6 thinly sliced bamboo shoots, and delicious, well-seasoned pork slices on top of two pieces of noodles.
The soup was neither too salty nor too sweet, just the right amount, and I felt like I could drink as much as I wanted, so I finished it in no time and seriously considered having another bowl.
Free parking behind the store
The free parking lot is located behind the store and can accommodate 5 to 6 cars, but if you park carefully it's large enough to fit around 10 cars.
Shinkaen Main Store ＜Information＞
Name of restaurant: Chinese restaurant Shinkaen Main store
Address: 2-1-20 Omachi, Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture
Phone number: 0193-22-1888
Business hours: 11:00-15:00, 17:00-20:00
Closed: Tuesdays and the third Wednesday of every month
Google Map
You can enjoy good ramen at a roadside station too! Kamaishi Sennintoge Roadside Station
As it is a roadside station, the parking space is spacious.
This roadside station serves Kamaishi ramen (550 yen) in the restaurant.
The toppings for this ramen are also simple, with two delicious slices of pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat, and five or six thick, soft bamboo shoots.
Slightly thick, curly noodles with a chewy texture
The soup, with plenty of floating green onions, is a little on the thick side, and is based on chicken stock, with a slightly strong fish-based flavor that seems to come from dried sardines.
The noodles made by Kawaki Seimen , and were slightly thicker than those at the Shinkaen main store, and were chewy and boiled to a soft consistency.
Ramen priority seating sign
The restaurant inside the roadside station is a little small, so it's difficult to seat many people at once, but there are "ramen priority seats" set up, so customers who order ramen can sit first.
Also, on a nice, warm day, we recommend eating at the tables outside the cafeteria.
"Koshi Kaki Sennin Premium Soft Serve (400 yen)" - perfect after a bowl of Kamaishi Ramen
Soft serve ice cream with plenty of Koshi persimmon syrup. I ordered it after the ramen, so I had it at the table.
This rich, milk-flavored soft serve ice cream, which we previously introduced in our soft serve ice cream article, is topped with a generous amount of syrup made from Kamaishi's famous " Kashi persimmon " and has a pleasant fragrance and natural sweetness, making it an irresistible treat for persimmon lovers.
This roadside station also sells popular soft serve ice cream made with local soy sauce.
A ramen movie? What kind of movie is "Kamaishi Ramen Story"?
A movie poster posted at the roadside station Kamaishi Sennin Toge
The eldest daughter (Igeta Hiroe) runs away from her family's ramen shop, but returns home three years later out of concern for her sickly father (Toshiki Tsuyoshi). She struggles to recreate the taste of the ramen made by her mother, who went missing in the Great East Japan Earthquake, but clashes with her younger sister (Ikeda Akana), who has been running the shop with her father while her older sister was away.
Then, when their ailing father is hospitalized, the sisters learn that the ramen shop was an important place for the townspeople, and together they work together to bring back their mother's flavor.
The director is Akiyoshi Imazeki, who also directed "Aiko, 16 Years Old," and the ramen shop that appears in the film as "Ogawa Shokudo" is actually "Mie Shokudo" located in the city.
Even now, movie posters can be seen all over Kamaishi city.
It is only recently that Kamaishi has come to be recognized as a ramen town, but I learned for the first time during my research that its history dates back to the end of the war.
This ramen is not as flashy as the recently popular Jiro-style ramen, but the combination of the light soy sauce flavor and thin, curly noodles is a hit with me personally.
This time I visited two places that I felt were the best, but I would like to go back to Kamaishi soon and try other ramen shops.
I am a former Edo guy who loves Morioka, loves the six prefectures of Tohoku, and loves history, gourmet food, travel, sports, alcohol, and singing. We'll introduce you to some interesting, delicious, and good things about Tohoku!
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