A Visit to Ramen Ryutaro (龍太郎)
April 16, 2018
“I just had the most surreal ramen experience of my life O_o”
This statement pretty much sums up my Ramen Ryutaro visit.
Eating at Kei-chan’s ramen shop has always been on my bucket list since I became a NEWS fan. An opportunity came when my cousin and I booked a flight to Tokyo. We were discussing our itinerary a few weeks before the trip and I made sure Ryutaro Ramen was on our list.
I didn’t want to go unprepared so I researched the directions ahead of time (thanks to the very detailed guideline in Inala’s account and with the help of google). I also didn’t want to go empty handed so a few days before my flight, I went to a famous souvenir store here in my country that sells several local products. I’ve decided to purchase a purple fan and a tote bag with NEWS colors for Mrs. Koyama.
Finally, the day I’ve been waiting for~
We roam around Kamakura and Yokohama during daytime since the shop opens at 7PM. We visited the Ramen Museum in Yokohama and endured our ramen cravings as we want to pig-out at Ryutaro. Our mouths drooled seeing the delicious ramen bowls. It was torture >.< Since we couldn’t hold our hunger any further, we finally went to Ryutaro.
It was around 10:30 PM when we arrived and the place was packed with customers, mostly NEWS fans that are also regular customers there. I instinctively scanned the place to look for Mrs. Koyama and saw her behind the counter vigorously cooking. I can definitely tell it was her since the resemblance to Kei-chan is so uncanny. We managed to get a table near the counter where she was located. One of the staff gave us some cold tea while we choose our meal. My cousin and I ordered 2 bowls of ramen and a plate of Gyoza. The food came in really fast! The ramen bowl was also huuuuge.
Picture of the menu. Wasn't able to take a picture of the one with ramen and gyoza. I was so nervous~
While we were taking pictures of the place and the food, one of the staff turned the TV off and started playing classical music
From my instagram account~
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I kept glancing at Mrs. Koyama while chomping the food we ordered. She moves so fast, tossing the ingredients here and there while talking to the customers.
While eating, I mentally reviewed my preparation checklist:
Directions - Check!
Souvenirs - Check!
Budget for Ryutaro Ramen - Check!
And then it occurred to me “HOW AM I GONNA TALK TO HER AND GIVE HER MY PRESENTS?!” I did not come up with a plan for that.
One time, she looked at our area and saw me staring and sort of gave a really faint and shy smile. I was about to open my mouth but she returned her attention to cooking. I couldn’t get the right opportunity to say Hi to her. I whispered to my cousin that I I’m already contented to be able to eat there and see Mrs. Koyama. Since she knows how much I adore Kei-chan’s mother,she kept encouraging me to stand up and just go to the counter. Another suggestion she said was to give the presents when we pay the bill. I just ate my meal silently. I was starting to lose hope to be honest.
There were 3 people at the counter directly in front of her and I can tell that one of them is a NEWS fan. She looks familiar to me.I’ve seen her somewhere before. One of them asked Mrs. Koyama how was Kei-chan’s current tour. She said it was doing well and brought out a newspaper with a picture and write-up about her son. You can really see how proud and pleased she was while showing the newspaper. That moment was just so surreal. I have known things about Mrs. Koyama through Kei-chan’s interviews and guestings. One thing Kei-chan emphasizes every time is how supportive his mom is. I am very lucky to be able to witness it first-hand.
At that moment, the customers requested for Mrs. Koyama to play the latest album. She disappeared for a while and came back with the CD. The staff switched the music. I think one of the customers turned off the lights while the album was playing. The NEWS fangirl at the counter took the Epcotia penlight displayed near the entrance and started dancing around the area. She asked us politely if we were okay with the music. And of course we said “YES!” I guess she noticed our excitement and asked us if we are fans. We admitted that we are and just came back from their Shizuoka Con Tour. We chatted for a several minutes while listening to the album. She had a chat with another group of customers while I finished my food. I looked at the clock and it was past 11PM already. It took a lot of courage for me to finally ask her if she can help me talk to Mrs. Koyama and give her my presents. She willingly agreed and called for Mrs.Koyama. I was super nervous while she approached our table. The super helpful NEWS fangirl explained to her that we are also fans and said the country I’m from. She also mentioned that I have something for her. Since I know that was my cue, I handed her the souvenirs I brought. Mrs. Koyama politely received my gifts. I explained to her (in English) that those items were made from local materials in our country and that they were in NEWS colors. Just to be sure that she understood it fully, the NEWS fangirl translated what I said in nihonggo. Mrs. Koyama replied (in nihonggo) while holding the purple fan and trying it out that there was a unique smell coming out from it. She danced holding the items I gave her while the song Twinkle Star (I think) was playing. It made me super happy~
She then asked her how long are we staying here in Japan (the news fangirl became our official translator while conversing with Mrs. Koyama), we mentioned that we will be staying for 8 days and it’s our 4th day (I miscalculated and it was in fact our 5th day lol). Mrs. Koyama also asked when did we arrived in Japan (note: even though the fangirl translates my answers in Nihonggo, I can see that she understands my English perfectly). She then asked where we were staying. When I mentioned that we were staying in Asakusa, she sort of panicked as it was already past 11PM at that time and we might not catch the last train going home. So she and the fans/customers inside the shop started to think of the fastest way for us to get home. They started googling routes and train schedules. Mrs. Koyama then left our table and brought back a paper and pen to write down the directions (I am so gonna keep that piece of paper with her handwriting forever <3). She explained the route and handed it to me and told us we should run fast to catch the train. The NEWS fangirl also explained other options to us (while Mrs. Koyama was beside me and had her hand on my shoulder <3). I paid the bill (I promised my cousin that I’ll pay for the meal as long as we go haha) and bid everyone goodbye. Mrs. Koyama and the NEWS fangirl accompanied us outside the shop and we kept bowing and thanking each other. We showed her some pictures in Shizuoka Ecopa Arena before finally leaving.
We did manage to catch the last train but only until Shinjuku. We took a cab going to Asakusa for 3,000 yen >.< no regrets though as the whole experience was super worth it~
When we arrived at our hostel, we realized that we weren’t able to get the fangirl’s naaaame. I can’t believe it >.< surprisingly, while I was re-reading one of my LJ friend’s Quartetto con report, I saw a picture of her. I immediately ask for her details (and sent her an LJ message, hope she gets it~) hopefully, she will be able to read this entry too. I couldn’t stress enough how grateful I am to her for helping us outttt. I hope I can meet her again when I visit the ramen shop :D
Happy Mother’s Day to Mrs. Koyama and to all the moms out there! (Of course to my mom too :P )
More pictures of the place (taken using my phone cam so gomen for the bad quality)
Mikimama~