Onsen John: Yamadaya Ramen noddle house in Torrance

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Yamadaya Ramen noddle house in Torrance

A new ramen noodle house just opened down the street from me. They have a limited menu, but what they do serve is totemo oiishi desu! Note the seedy looking bar next door. No, I haven't been inside there (yet!)

The soup base has a great flavor. If you want a thick rich soup, order the Tonkatsu shoyu Raman.

You can also ask for fresh garlic to crush into your soup, adds great taste, plus has the bonus of keeping those pesky vampires away. Unless of course you like that sort of thing.

Fresh garlic!

The pork is very tender and with the addition of some fresh garlic and black pepper, you've got a delicious meal with a bit of zing

They are located near the corner of Crenshaw and 182nd. Next to Burger King (why go there when for about the same price, you can get something, that has ingredients you can pronounce and your body will thank you for when you are an oldie). They have a few tables inside or you can get it to go. Go slurp some noodles and let me know what you think.

Onsen John

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About this blog

This blog is to document my travels to variuos onsen (hotsprings) in Japan. I will also ramble on about different Japanese resturants I've been to in Southern California in the LA area and in Japan.

An onsen (温泉, onsen) is a Japanese hot spring. Many springs are developed, having an associated outdoor bath (rotenburo (露天風呂, rotenburo) or notenburo (野天風呂, notenburo)) and/or indoor bath. Baths may be either public run by a municipality or private (uchiyu (内湯, uchiyu)) often run by a local inn (ryokan (旅館, ryokan)) or B&B (minshuku (民宿, minshuku)).

Onsens are often found out in the countryside, and are a major tourist attraction drawing Japanese couples, families or company groups who want to get away from the hectic life of the city to relax. Japanese often talk of the virtues of 'naked communion' (裸の付き合い, hadaka no tsukiai)) for breaking down barriers and getting to know people in the relaxed homey atmosphere of an onsen inn. The presence of an onsen is often indicated on signs and maps by the symbol ♨ or the Chinese character 湯 (for hot water).

People often travel to onsen with work colleagues, as the relaxed and open atmosphere helps to break down some of the hierarchical stiffness inherent in Japanese work life. However, most visitors to onsen are not work groups but friends, couples and families. It is not unusual to see a father or mother introducing a small child to the onsen for the first time. Very small children of either gender up to about 10 years old can often be seen in both male and female baths. Mixed-gender bathing is a tradition that persists at onsen in the more rural areas of Japan, although these days there is usually a separate bath for women only in addition to the mixed bath, or a time period designated for female-only bathing.

Onsen etiquette

Ensuring Cleanliness

At an onsen, as at a sento, guests are expected to wash their bodies and rinse themselves thoroughly before entering the hot water. The indoor baths have faucets with removable shower heads and little stools to sit on, for showering and shampooing.

Swimsuits

Many traditional onsen out in the countryside have rules forbidding wearing swimsuits into the bath, saying that these make it harder to clean. Some modern onsen in larger towns though have more of a waterpark atmosphere, and actively encourage the use of swimsuits, especially in their mixed baths.

Towels

Onsen guests generally bring a small towel with them to use as a washcloth. The towel can also provide a modicum of modesty when walking between the washing area and the baths. Some onsen allow one to wear the towel into the baths, while others have posted signs prohibiting this, saying that it makes it harder to clean the bath. In this latter case, people normally set their towels off to the side of the water when enjoying the baths. However, some people place their folded towels on top of their heads.