The road to ramen paradise ends in the unlikeliest of places. At Men Endo, located in a suburban street, next to a school and a low-rise apartment block, bowls of noodles disappear in a flurry of slurps, gulps and hurried but heartfelt exchanges of appreciation between customer and chef.
On a cold afternoon in Yamagata, a city in Japan’s northeast, the wait for a seat at Men Endo’s counter is mercifully short. Inside the door, a ticket dispenser lists myriad options, from regular shoyu (soy sauce) ramen – in small, medium or large portions – to maji soba, a soupless symphony of toppings, sauce and noodles that diners are invited to mix together with their chopsticks, along with a spoonful of spicy miso.
