🍜 Ramen
There is a theory that "Nankin-soba" served at a Western-style restaurant in Hakodate in 1884 was the "first ramen in Japan," but this is not certain due to a lack of detailed documentation. In the postwar period, ramen rapidly became a part of the diet in Hokkaido, where temperatures were cooler. Local ramen with characteristics suited to the climate of each region were born, such as Sapporo's "miso ramen," Hakodate's "shio ramen," and Asahikawa's "shoyu ramen. Since then, the number of ramen stores in Hokkaido has increased, and each store has evolved in its own way as they compete with each other for flavor. Hokkaido's "ramen" is often based on thick, oily pork bone broth, which is believed to have been inherited from the cloudy pork bone broth eaten by the Ainu people in the past. As for noodles, many restaurants use noodles made at noodle mills rather than homemade noodles. The relationship between the noodle stores and the noodle makers is therefore deep, and there is a unique custom in which the noodle store that makes the noodles used by the store is presented with the curtain of the noodle shop.