A huge portion of Jiro-style ramen, weighing 1.5kg, has many people addicted!

A look at Kato Shoten, a restaurant run by a cool owner devoted to Jiro-style ramen!

The soup, made only from pork bones, is super delicious! I'm thinking of going there regularly from now on.

A flood of big eaters! Light! I like it light. Rich! I like it thick. It's a taste that makes you want to come back again and again.

I can't get enough of these chewy noodles. Very filling! Extra vegetables. Ramen that fills the stomachs of working men.

Please try it! Kita-ku, Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture. 10-minute walk south from the east exit of Okayama Station.

Established in 2017. Kato Shoten's homemade Jiro-style ramen is very popular.

7:47 Manager Kato arrives at work. A neat and tidy kitchen. Getting ready. I got coffee this morning.

About seven years ago, I've been making Jiro-style ramen since my time at Shibata Shoten. I took over the business myself.

7:59 Starting preparation. Warm up the main soup: bones, pork belly, loin. Simmer slowly.

Leave some every day, like a soup stock. Finished the next day. It's pork bone soy sauce. I try to make a soup that is fragrant.

Make your own noodles. Flour set complete! 8:20 Pour in water. Add less water to make the noodles chewy.

Just use as much as you need. About 100 servings for dinner. If they sell out, that's the end of it.

I try not to sell out if possible. Thick noodles are done! After cleaning up...

The second week of noodle making begins! Water. Make thin noodles for customers who request them.

Though there aren't many Jiro-style noodle shops that have thin noodles, we can make thin noodles in limited quantities!

Thin noodles! Thin noodles completed! If only we could get more employees... If you want to work at a ramen shop,

By all means! Add pork knuckles. Remove the scum, back fat, backbone, garlic. Basically, you add vegetables... Just pork bones.

I'd rather put bones in than vegetables. Rather than using clean pork bones, it's a bit rough. Purchase bean sprouts.

Lots of bean sprouts! One bag is 4kg. I usually use about 60kg a day.

Lunch and dinner. I add extra vegetables, so about 400g of bean sprouts.

Two bags of bean sprouts. One bag normally. Meat wholesaler: 70kg of meat. This will be gone in two days.

I asked the owner who worked on-site about the situation. Originally, it was a ramen shop called "Dokaichi," which is still there.

It seems like he's given it away now. The cost rate was about 50%, and the profit wasn't so high.

At that time, I was asked if I would like to become the manager of "Shibata Shoten."

I closed down, so I changed the name to "Kato Shoten." (Staff member) Why do you do this job?

Seeing customers leave satisfied. That kind of thing encourages me to keep trying my best. I never even dreamed of opening a ramen shop.

(Staff member) Why did the Jiro style continue? I guess it's because I want people to eat heartily.

I also want to open more stores with different ramen. Things aren't going well. Taking out the pork slices.

Pouring pork slices. Cut into blocks and simmer again. Simmer for 3 hours. Prepare the garlic.

Add 15 grams of garlic. Use 2 kilos a day! Making seasoned eggs for ramen seasoning.

This is the seasoning used for ramen. Boiled eggs for seasoned eggs. 10:42 Preparing cabbage. Adjusting the soup.

It's looking good now, maybe 7-8%. It's like the concentration of pork bones.

Back fat. There are 10 counter seats and 2 two-person seats.

14 seats max. This one has extra vegetables. The vegetables alone weigh 600-650 grams.

The regular noodles weigh 200 grams. So it's about 800 grams total.  Over 1 kilogram!

Over 1 kilogram! All-inclusive increase in ingredients. About 60% more vegetables.

Second staff recruitment today. Please apply!! Condiments. This is the ramen sauce. For people who think it's a little thin,

For people who like it rich, simply ask for more back fat. For people who like garlic, ask for more.

If you could customize it... Staff) How do you customize it when you eat it yourself? Extra garlic and back fat.

5 minutes left until opening. Starting preparations for opening. Settings complete. Please come in. Opens at 11:00.

Parking request. Lunch 11:00-15:00
Dinner 17:00-22:00
Closed on Mondays

Free extra vegetables! 14 seats in total. Table seats also available. Water is self-service. Plum sauce topping 100 yen cash.

Meal ticket system. Regular boiled noodles 300g
Large 450g boiled noodles. Extra large: 600g boiled noodles + α
Less noodles available.

Tonkotsu ramen (regular) 950 yen
Tonkotsu ramen with extra pork (regular) 1150 yen

Soft-boiled seasoned egg, 100 yen.
Extra pork, 200 yen. Customers arrive as soon as the store opens.

Buy a meal ticket and hand it to the staff. The second customer arrives. Order: Tonkotsu Vegetables (Regular).

Back fat. Sear the char siu. A little extra vegetables. Char siu, garlic. Garlic, a little extra vegetables.

Be careful, it's hot. Eat a hearty meal from 11 am. Strong flavor. Customers from the neighborhood.

The portions are big, and I like strong flavors. This is the place to go for ramen. It gives me energy and it tastes good.

It's chewy and satisfying. I finished it in no time! Jiro-style ramen that regulars go crazy for.

A new customer came. I ordered the regular Tonkotsu vegetable ramen.
A little extra vegetables.

Always freshly grilled. Yes, sorry.
Thank you as always. Please come again. Add bean sprouts soon!

Bean sprouts, cabbage. Grilled pork. Tonkotsu vegetable (regular) completed. Regular, less garlic.
A little extra vegetables.

Be careful, it's hot. The vegetables and soup go perfectly together. The pork slices are done!

Seasoning the pork.
Marinated for an hour.

Regular customer who has been coming once a week for over 10 years.
I've been coming here since they were doing other ramen.

The portions are usually large. I always eat it with less garlic because I have work. I finished it in no time!

I wipe the table. I drink the water and head to work. I order Tonkotsu Yasai (Regular).

A man in a suit comes in. Can I have less noodles? Yes, you can.
Would you like me to add an egg instead?

Half a ball. Thank you.
I'll order again. Three big handfuls. 4, 5. A huge serving of bean sprouts.

Chopped garlic. Regular, strong. Less garlic, more vegetables. A hearty lunch for you, big brother!

Less vegetables, no garlic. Even with less vegetables, it's still filling. Making two servings of ramen.

Two times the vegetables. All extra toppings. Back fat. Strong. A customer who has visited the store for the fifth time.

First, take a bite of the roasted pork. Eat the vegetables and noodles. Double the amount of vegetables and extra everything else.

I like the richness of the ramen, so I'm thinking of coming here again. It's so tasty, I think I can eat it all.

I finished the huge portion in under 10 minutes! A trio of big eaters come to the restaurant.

They finish two servings of ramen first. 12:04 The two run the restaurant. The big eaters order extra pork.

Extra pork. Extra back fat. Extra back fat and less vegetables. Less vegetables, more back fat, extra pork.

I'll have extra pork. No garlic, less vegetables. Spicy tonkotsu, vegetables, less garlic, raw egg.

Big eaters who come here three times a month. Lunch break. I work in sales. Super delicious!

I feel like I'm building up my stamina to work hard at sales. It's really delicious. I come here looking for this taste.

As always, I just love meaty ones. It's really delicious. It's really soft. It's like I love the guys.

Two servings of ramen completed in no time. Yes, I'll order a regular, with vegetables and extra back fat.

The bowl is hot, so be careful. It fills the stomachs of working men. No garlic. It's hot, so be careful.

Yes, let's go. No garlic, extra veggies. The melt-in-your-mouth back fat and bean sprouts are the best!

12:19 The customers are never stopping; four people are waiting. The owner makes ramen all day. I often come here during my lunch break.

It's a taste that makes you want to come back again and again. The pork slices are thick and soft. It's filling.

Eating garlic gives you energy. A full stomach and full of energy! It helps you work hard!

Big eaters keep coming in. Cutting the marinated pork slices. Freshly made, plump pork slices.

All-topping ramen is done! I'll start with the all-inclusive option: garlic, vegetables, extra back fat, strong.

More pork, no garlic; more vegetables, extra back fat, strong. The ramen is completed one after the other!

Regular customer. With noodles, it's like sukiyaki; it's like a change of flavor. There's no mistake.

Raw egg (50 yen). Eat it like sukiyaki. The noodles are mixed with the egg, and the taste is so delicious.

No garlic. It's hot, so be careful. This is my first time; it looked delicious in the photo.

It's delicious! I ordered extra vegetables! 650g of sprout cabbage. Placing the chashu carefully.

A regular customer who always orders extra vegetables. Volume: one bowl is enough to satisfy me. Delicious! Order rush!

The temperature in the kitchen must be close to 45-50 degrees. The kitchen is like a sauna.

Customers waiting. Gen Ramen for the working man! Finally, a huge order: extra large tonkotsu with extra pork (1350 yen). Ordered a raw egg for 50 yen.

Extra large (600g noodles)! 600g vegetables! Sandwiched with back fat. More bean sprouts on top.

300g extra pork! Extra large, extra pork, extra vegetables, back fat. Extra pork (extra large) 1350 yen. Raw egg 50 yen.

A massive serving of ramen weighing 1.5 kg! Lots of thick, flavorful pork slices!

Juicy and full of flavor! Crunchy bean sprouts and cabbage. The rich pork bone and soy sauce soup is irresistible.

Crunchy noodles that are filling. Add the back fat from a separate plate and eat heartily. The ramen was so delicious that it was [almost] full of a sense of guilt.

If you order a large bowl, if you can eat it, they'll give you more for free.

Even if you order 3 bowls, some people will eat 4 bowls. This is Kato Shoten lol.

If you're a first-timer, I recommend the regular. The amount of noodles is larger than at a regular ramen shop.

岡山）１キロ越えラーメンに驚愕！カウンター１０席をぶん回すイケイケ店主がヤバい。。

岡山）１キロ越えラーメンに驚愕！カウンター１０席をぶん回すイケイケ店主がヤバい。。

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