I’m lucky enough to live just a couple of minutes’ walk from these two delicious ramen places on Route 16. To get here from either base gate, follow Route 16 around the curve and past the city hall, and go about 5 walking minutes farther. You will come up to these two shops on the left side of the road, facing a 7-11 on the right side. (To get here from Yokosuka Chuo Station, go out the east exit and follow the big road straight ahead, which after about 3 minutes will T into Route 16, at which point turn right and go for about 3 minutes.)
The ramen shops in the picture, Tajima Ramen on the right and Ryuo Ramen on the left, both serve pork ramen. They are also both foreigner-friendly and possessed of English menus. Tajima Ramen is a good place to eat alone, with its wide-open feel, friendly staff, and TV always turned to something entertaining. There are soy sauce, salt and miso-based ramens, starting at 600; there is also a good variety of fancier versions with different special toppings, but just the basic items are so good that I tend to go here when I’m in an everyday-delicious mood. It’s worth coming just for the noodles themselves, handmade and extra-slim.
Ryuo Ramen, to the left in the picture, is a quieter, more indoor-feeling spot. Here, too, the basic ramens are very good, and come with a free mini-bar of toppings. But I tend to come here when I am in a splurge-y mood, and pig out on the big special, Ryuo Ramen, 980, made with white miso and with four big chashu slices and a chunk of kakuni-a high-quality piece of pork deep-boiled until it is luxuriously soft. This ramen, fit for a king, is probably actually big enough for two people. Ryuo Ramen has a bunch of special combination sets pasted up all over the walls, which I should also try sometime. Everything is rich and gorgeous here, down to the gyoza.
One more ramen adventure along Route 16 lies about three minutes closer to the base, on the same side of the road. This place is called Katsu Kichi. Here there is no English menu, and you’ll need to order by buying a ticket from the machine (only in Japanese). But this delicious place has chicken ramen as well as pork-something a bit more unusual, and after trying it I can’t recommend it enough. I just discovered Katsukichi recently and all I’ve had so far is the chicken “red” ramen, but it was delightful and I’ll be back soon.
