Sapporo’s SUMIRE ramen is ramen worth waiting in line for!
If you ask around Sapporo City for advice on where to find the best ramen, you’re almost sure to hear the name SUMIRE. Despite being situated slightly on the outskirts of the city center, this ramen shop can always be easily spotted by its long line of hungry customers.
Head to Nakanoshima Station on the Namboku Line and you're only a 10-minute walk away. Located below the overhead structure of Sapporo City's main road, Kanjo Dori, this shop's Japanese-style exterior will certainly catch your eye.
To respond to their growing popularity, SUMIRE has even started selling their own original instant ramen for you to bring home as a souvenir. Now you can enjoy eating and shopping in one stop!
SUMIRE's menu features the full lineup of standard ramen, but miso is their most popular—it's what put them on the map!
The long line may be daunting, but the whole process runs surprisingly smoothly. Not only is the interior spacious, but they take your order in advance to make your wait as short as possible.
SUMIRE’s famous miso ramen (870 yen) features a unique layer of fat across the soup's surface which acts as a barrier and keeps the soup hot until the last sip. Unlike many other ramen shops, their ramen doesn't feature a noticeable spread of toppings—this may surprise you. Mixed in with the soup, however, you'll find minced meat and chashu, bamboo shoots, and more.
Their Sapporo-style noodles, which are yellow and curly, match the soup with perfection!
If you’re looking for something more unique, their black sesame miso ramen (870 yen) might be the one for you. Tasty soup with the delectable aroma of black sesame coats the thick noodles as you gulp them down. Yum!
We recommend ordering their “spice ball” (only 110 yen) as well, so you can adjust the soup’s flavour as you eat. Made up of a mixture of chili pepper, miso, garlic, etc., the paste will take the soup’s richness to a new level!
If rice is more your thing, try the SUMIRE rice bowl (360 yen); it features thinly shredded omelet and mentaiko (marinated pollock/cod roe) with dried seaweed on rice. It's the perfect post-ramen dish!