Ramen Gutara

A very local ramen shop I’ve been «commuting» to for years. So ramen shops are like dime a dozen, right? Not so, my friends, not so.
Ask any proprietor what makes their ramen «the choice» and you’ll get as many answers as there are varieties of soup and noodles. For the uninitiated, here are three-​threes of ramen types:
+ Noodles: Thin, regular and thick (usually egg and flour based, but sometimes not)
+ Soup: Clear (usually chicken base), brown (fish, soy sauce and/​or miso base) and white (pork bone base)
+ Serving: Hot in a soup, Chilled (dip in a sauce) or Soupless (so-​called «abura-​men» — noodles in a small serving of seasoned, concentrated, oil-​based sauce, but without soup)
The namesake is «gūtara» ramen, and I recommend that variety for the first-​time visitor. It features a very rich tonkotsu soup that includes pumpkin seeds and diced walnuts — very unique and tasty! This one is served with thin, Kyushu-​style noodles (my favorite!), thick slices of pork, nori and diced green onions. You can order this variety with a boiled egg, extra pork and a combination of these for slightly extra.
On the tables are a selection of condiments — add extra to taste: Red ginger, deep fried tempura batter bits you usually see at udon shops, red pepper, vinegar, black pepper… there’s quite a selection to enhance the soup flavor to your liking. Taste a spoonful of the rich broth first before piling on the condiments though.
Other varieties of ramen feature a shoyu or miso base soups, plus the types of noodles with each, respectively, are different from the standard Gūtara variety.
As mentioned in a Tip, during weekdays, a bowl of white rice with seasoned pork chunks and green onions on top is complimentary — it’s always free to university-​age and below kids. University kids also get a second helping of noodles free. (ICU is nearby.)
I’m also a fan of «abura-​men,» so I’ll try that one of these days. Can’t get enough of that tonkotsu soup though. Anything this tasty has got to be bad for you. :-P
If you’re in the area, give it a try. Don’t confuse Gūtara with the Yokohama-​style shop next door.