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Morioka's Wankosoba, Reimen, and Jajamen are known as the " Three Great Noodles ," and all are B-grade gourmet foods born from the city's unique noodle culture.
Among these, " jajamen " is especially loved as the soul food of Morioka residents, and there are many jajangmen specialty shops in the city.
In this article, I, a Morioka resident, will introduce three of these shops that I recommend
Please note that the prices (tax included) in this article are current as of mid-November 2025
What is "Jajamen," the soul food of Morioka residents?
Jajamen Source: Iwate Prefecture Official Tourism Site Iwate Travel
Jajamen was first started by Takashina Kankatsu, the founder of the city's long-established restaurant Pairon , who started it at a food stall inspired by noodle dishes from northeastern China (Manchuria).
The thick, flat noodles are similar to udon and topped with plenty of thinly sliced cucumber and finely chopped green onions, and topped with a generous amount of each restaurant's secret homemade meat miso
Jajamen seen from directly above Source: Iwate Prefecture Official Tourism Site Iwate Travel
Nikumiso is made by stir-frying minced pork with various types of miso, and apart from ginger and garlic, the ingredients vary from restaurant to restaurant, giving each restaurant its own unique character
First, you mix these ingredients well before eating, but the key is that you can add vinegar, chili oil, garlic, ginger, etc. to customize the flavor to your liking
The timing and blending of these seasonings and condiments varies from person to person, and is a commitment that cannot be compromised
What is "Chiitantan"?
Chi-tantan Source: Iwate Prefecture Official Tourism Site Iwate Travel
Leave some of the noodles and toppings, crack a raw egg into it and stir, then say to the staff, "Chi-tantan, one more thing!", place your chopsticks on the plate and hand it to them
The kitchen will then pour hot broth over the dish, add more meat miso and stir, and the egg soup known as Chitantan
A jar of meat miso on the table
The base flavor is meat miso dissolved in the broth, but some restaurants will let you add more, while others allow you to add more yourself from the meat miso pot on the table
The meat miso dissolved in the boiling water tastes different from when it is mixed with the noodles; the flavor of the ingredients spreads softly, creating a delicious beaten egg soup
What's the difference between Zhajiangmyeon (fried noodles)?
"Zhajiangmyeon" uses Chinese noodles
One dish that people coming to Morioka from other places often get confused with is the similarly named " Zhajiangmyeon (fried soybean noodles)."
Chao jiang noodles are a dish made by stir-frying minced pork and vegetables with sweet bean paste or chili bean paste, and pouring the mixture over Chinese noodles. It is similar to jajangmyeon, but the type of noodles and the way it is eaten are different
Recommended store #1: Hakuryu Main Store (Uchimaru, Morioka City)
The main store is located on the approach to Sakurayama Shrine (there is a branch store two houses to the right)
Pairon is one of the oldest Morioka
Jajamen (middle) from the main store. Next to the pickled ginger is grated ginger
The secret miso recipe, made by mixing over a dozen ingredients including miso, minced meat, sesame seeds, and shiitake mushrooms, then frying and letting it sit, is a secret recipe kept by the founding family, and has the unique flavor of the original
Use these seasonings to create your favorite flavor. The raw egg is for Chitantan
The flat surface has a chewy texture, which is interestingly different from the texture of the shredded cucumber, and it goes perfectly with the meat miso when mixed in
The main store has a counter and three four-seater tables, and the interior is filled with colored paper
The main store is crammed with autographed autograph cards left by visiting celebrities and other guests, and it is so popular that at lunchtime and on holidays, there is often a line all the way to the branch store next door
The main store and branch are located next to each other, separated by an izakaya
In addition, there is the Fezan store in the Oden-kan on the first floor of the Fezan building at Morioka Station, and the Parc Avenue Kawatoku store on the first basement floor of Parc Avenue Kawatoku in Saien
The side dish of fried dumplings is also delicious. The small dish for dipping sauce comes with a heaping amount of green onions and grated ginger
Other dishes on the menu include " Rousu-men " and " Cold Tsukemen ," but the pan-fried gyoza and boiled gyoza are hidden favorites.
Menu from the main store, plus a drink menu
The prices for Jajamen are (small) 630 yen, (medium) 730 yen, (large) 840 yen (580 yen for children), and Chitantan (with raw egg) is 50 yen
Hakuryu main store <Information>
Store name: Hakuryu Main Store
Address: 5-15 Uchimaru, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
Phone number: 019-62-42247
Business hours: Monday to Saturday 9:00-20:45, Sunday 11:30-16:00
Recommended restaurant #2: Haruharuya Small Snacks (Nakano, Morioka City)
The main store of this small snack shop sits modestly along National Route 4
Harubaruya Shosuten is located along the bypass of National Route 4, which runs through the eastern part of Morioka City. It is known for its delicious ramen, and one of the reasons for its popularity is its spacious parking lot that can accommodate 23 cars.
The restaurant is spacious, with a raised area at the back and four tables for four people at the front
The restaurant is bright and spacious, and although it is famous as a ramen restaurant, it is said that more customers order Jajamen
Jajamen (medium) with less cucumber
The meat miso here is characterized by its strong salty flavor, and at Chitantan we recommend adding the extra meat miso provided on the table little by little
The thin noodles, which resemble Inaniwa udon, are a little soft and cling well to the meat miso
The condiments on the table are miso paste for meat and grated garlic in the small pot in front
In addition to the main store, there is also the Morioka Jajamen Snack Shop Fezan store
The ticket machine has Jajamen set above Ramen
The original menu item "Soup Jajamen" and the summer-only "Cold Jaja" are also popular, with Jajamen costing (small) 620 yen, (medium) 670 yen, (large) 850 yen, and (extra large) 970 yen, and Chitantan (with raw egg) is 120 yen
Harukaya Snack Store <Information>
Store name: Harubaruya Snack Shop
Address: 1-1-5 Nakano, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
Phone number: 019-652-5738
Business hours: Wednesday to Monday 11:00 to 20:00
Located on the first floor of a restaurant building facing the bustling Odori street
and many people stop by for shime-jaja" (final fare after drinking
The store has only 10 seats at the counter
The chef runs the counter with 10 seats all by himself, and the noodles are thick, flat noodles with a strong texture, so they take a while to boil and it takes a while for the food to be served
However, beer and other alcoholic beverages are cheap at 350 yen, so late at night, many customers enjoy a drink while waiting for their jajangmyeon
Jajamen (regular size) served in a deep dish that makes it easy to mix
The plate on which the jajangmyeon is served is shaped to make it easy to mix the noodles and meat miso together, and also prevents the green onions and cucumbers from spilling out when you first start mixing them
A wide variety of seasonings are available, with garlic in the front, meat miso in the large pot at the back, and "Isshozuke" pickled vegetables such as spicy green chili peppers on the right
The garlic in the meat miso seemed a little on the low side, but if you ask they will give you a pot of grated garlic, so you can add the garlic later for a more robust flavor
The big difference from other stores is that the raw egg and chitan (chitantan) are free, so even though the total price is almost the same, you feel like you're getting a little something extra
Chitan is free all year round
also plenty of other original arrangements of Jajamen, such as Natto Jajamen ," " Motsu Jajamen " Boiled Pork Jajamen
I bought a meal ticket from the ticket machine, but there was no sign of "Chitan."
The prices for Jajamen are a little high at 730 yen for a small bowl, 750 yen for a regular bowl, and 900 yen for a large bowl, but the chitan is free
Morioka Jajamen Akio <Information>
Store name: Morioka Jajamen Akio
Address: CT33 Building 1F, 2-3-7 Odori, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
Jajamen is a mysterious B-grade gourmet dish that is said to be not very appealing at first, but after three tries you'll be hooked
However, it is such a beloved soul food among Morioka residents that there are debates over which restaurant is the best and what the best seasoning is
I'm a former Edokko man who loves Morioka and the six Tohoku prefectures, and I also love history, food, travel, sports, alcohol, and singing. I'll be introducing you to the interesting, delicious, and great things about Tohoku!
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