The Best Ramen in the World - for $3

When most foreigners think of , they immediately think “Tokyo” I am about to take you away from Tokyo. In fact, the place I am about to write about, you won’t find in any guidebook. It is not that I think I know inside and out. It’s just that I really believe this place wouldn’t garner tourists’ attention.

It’s a ramen restaurant, popularly known in Japanese as a ramenya, which means “house of ramen.” I doubt that the concept of ramen needs introduction. Most American college students probably think it’s synonymous with “instant noodles.” That’s not too far from the truth, considering how ramen is packaged in the , but that’s not the kind of ramen I’m talking about. I’m talking about delicious hand-made noodles in steamy, mouth-watering broth free of MSG topped with boiled eggs sliced down the middle, pieces of pork, bamboo shoots, and a variety of other ingredients of your choice.

Happo, which is Japanese for “eight treasures,” is the best ramen restaurant—in the world—as far as I have seen. And I’ve been around. I’ve tried ramen places in both Northern and Southern California, both the western and eastern halves of the main island in (Kansai, the western half, is where Kyoto and Osaka are; Tokyo and Yokohama are in Kantou, the eastern half; and Honshu means “main island”), and Shanghai. I’ve even gone to Asian places in Seoul, Paris, The Netherlands, and Brussels. Happo is unbeatable.