What is Ibaraki's Stamina Ramen?

Ibaraki-style stamina ramen is a powerful bowl of noodles with a unique sweet and spicy flavor, combining a generous amount of ingredients such as liver, pumpkin, and cabbage in a starchy sauce.

Stamina Ramen (also known as "hot") with chicken broth and soup, The "Stamina Cold Ramen" is a soupless version of the popular "Stamina Hot". Stamina chilled ramen is available all year round.

The Ibaraki style Stamina Ramen has a history of about half a century.

Stamina Ramen was first created by the owner of Daishin, a ramen restaurant in front of JR Katsuta Station, who came up with the idea of ankake ramen, and the then manager Junichi Nagai. Later, "Tora-san Ramen" opened with Mr. Nagai as the manager, and was named "Stamina Ramen" in the 1950s. Mr. Nagai later became independent and opened "Stamina Ramen Shogoro" in Mito City. The restaurant gained a good reputation and Stamina Ramen spread throughout the prefecture and beyond.

Ibaraki Shimbun, October 26, 2016

There are various theories as to where it originated.

However, this Ibaraki style Stamina Ramen is mainly eaten in Hitachinaka City and Mito City, and there are only a few restaurants that serve it outside of these cities.

We therefore searched for "Stamina Ramen" restaurants that can be easily enjoyed even from the southern part of the prefecture, based on the fact that they can be reached by car from Tsuchiura Station, the center of the southern part of the prefecture.

Tsukuba City - Stamina Ramen Jimbo

First, we went to "Stamina Ramen Jimbo" in Tsukuba City. It was the most popular restaurant offering Stamina Ramen in the southern part of the prefecture and closed in 2024 due to the owner's poor health.Kota Jimbo, who worked at Gamusha. and opened in May 2025.

Stamina" made by the owner who is from Yamagata, a ramen place

Mr. Jimbo is from Yamagata Prefecture, which is known for its ramen, and has always been a ramen restaurant goer. He fell in love with Stamina Ramen during his student days in Ibaraki and worked at "Gamusha" before opening his own restaurant.

He serves "Stamina Cold" and "Stamina Hot." noodles, and a bowl of noodles weighs only 1150 gram, and can be increased by half an egg up to 3 The noodles are served cold or hot, and can be ordered with up to 3 balls of noodles for an extra charge.

Stamina chilled ramen begins with a base of sweet and spicy soy sauce bean paste that is easy to eat and rich, and noodles and vegetables that are thickened to become a full-bodied whole are sucked into the mouth.

The noodles have a pleasant flavor that is sweet and spicy without being overly sweet. The flavor of the ramen is rich and full-bodied, with a strong umami taste, and the flavor conveys the restaurant's goal of creating a multi-layered experience.

Stamina Ramen originally started out as a way to get students to fill up on cheap ingredients like liver, so we're conscious of making it hearty and delicious," he says. Nowadays, the cost of the product has skyrocketed and we can't serve it cheaply. ......," says Jimbo, with a sense of distress.

The process of making the stamina ramen is hard work. I have to make several servings of the ramen with starchy sauce and vegetables in a wok, so it's very heavy and I'm getting tendonitis," he said, showing off his thick, well-trained arms.

About 350 grams of vegetables!

One serving is as much as a person should take in a day. about 350 grams of whole vegetables. It is also a nice cup of It is full of pumpkin, carrots, leek, cabbage, and liver.

The vegetables are carefully selected to add a beautiful color to the dish. Stamina ramen is supposed to be beautifully green and yellow, delicious, and appetizing," he says, adding that everything is cut by hand into 350 gram servings.

According to Jimbo, "'Cut vegetables' lose their freshness after a long time after being cut, and they also lose their water content," so he insists on cutting vegetables in the restaurant in large portions.

The spiciness is adjusted to a level that is easy for men and women of all ages to enjoy, and for those who do not like spiciness, such as children, the spicy chili pepper can be removed. You can add your choice of chili pepper, mustard, or vinegar, and Mr. Jimbo recommends the "mustard.

It was not too sweet, not too spicy, and the flavor was pleasantly sweet and spicy in every way, which is the essence of Stamina Ramen. The tenderness was strong, and the cabbage was not hard but soft at the right time. I ate it all at once without any hesitation.

For a taste that makes you forget about the unpleasant things and gives you vitality!

Stamina Ramen Jimbo is loved mainly by "Stamina fans" south of Tsukuba.
I've heard things like, "'I've been waiting for this,' or 'I haven't had it in a long time, and I'm impressed.' I am glad to hear people say that. I want to increase my own Guest/customer base while trying various things while taking over the important things."

Mr. Jimbo also said, "I can forget about the things I don't like.

I want to make it so that people can forget about the bad things they've been through, and it gives them the energy to move on to the next thing. I want it to be that way.

Stamina Ramen Jimbo

• 3-12-8 Hanabatake, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 300-3261, Japan Palnet Otake MAP
• 25 minutes drive from Tsuchiura Station
• 21 min. ride on Kanto Railway Bus from Tsuchiura Station West Exit to Azuma Residence, transfer to Tsukuba Center (TX Tsukuba Station) - 11 min. ride to National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED), 2 min. walk
• 11:30~14:00, 18:00~20:00 (currently open irregularly in the evening)
• Sunday, Monday
• Free of charge

Kasama City - Stamina Ramen Isshin

Located in Kasama City, north of Tsuchiura, is Stamina Ramen Isshin. Here, too, the skills of a former apprentice of Tora-san Ramen, the originator of Stamina Ramen, were honed at Garyu Shokudo, a restaurant run by a former apprentice of Tora-san Ramen, and the taste has been passed on to the next generation.

Manager Iwai Shinji After completing his training, the manager, Mr. Shinji Iwai became independent as Garyu Shokudo Tomobe Branch in 2014, and moved to a new location about 500 meters away in 2017. At that time, he changed the name of the restaurant and it became Stamina Ramen Isshin.

Stamina Ramen and Stamina Cold Ramen have been the signature dishes since the days of Garyu Shokudo, and both together sell about 100 servings a day, cold during hot weather and hot during cold weather. I had the hot ramen here.

A lot of liver!

Ordering the "Stamina Ramen Naminami HOT," a bowl of soup and ingredients overflowing from the bowl appeared.

Mr. Iwai also said, "I put in more vegetables and liver," and the noodles were made by a vendor exclusively for Ichinobu's Stamina Ramen.

Liver, the king of stamina ramen, and many soft and easy-to-eat vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, and squash are on the menu. In particular of liver, and the soup is filled to the brim with "as much as you can get.

Many people "just don't like" the smell of liver, so at Isshin The smell is thoroughly removed It is true that I could easily eat it without feeling the smell.

For those who do not like liver, there is a nice service to add more other ingredients such as cabbage and carrots instead of removing the liver.

The process of making the impressive and thick stamina bean paste is also difficult. During his training at Garyu Restaurant, it took him more than a year to be able to make "a bean paste that is neither loose nor hard, but is entwined with the noodles.

Particularly difficult are adjusting the heat and the amount of potato starch, and even now, he is constantly adjusting the starch bean paste according to the ingredients and climate of the day.

In addition, he is particular about the sweetness and spiciness of the starch bean paste. We take care to adjust the spiciness with chili pepper so that it is sweet at the moment you eat it and gradually becomes spicier as you go on eating it.

Unusual seafood Stamina and Stamina rice bowl?

A tradition from the days of Garyu Shokudo, the toppings include "horumon" (hormone), which is a rarity. It is said that the stewed hormone poured over the stamina bean paste is exceptional. The background behind this is the culture of morotsu in the northern Kanto region, which is also familiar to people in Kasama, such as stewed motsu.

Furthermore, the Stamina Ramen in seafood broth is a rare dish, with only a few restaurants offering it even in Ibaraki. The taste is a combination of Stamina Ramen and seafood, and it is very popular as well. The main ingredient is Thai fish, with scallops added as a secret ingredient.

Also, the unusual "Stamina-don," a bowl of rice topped with a bowl of stamina bean paste, is popular because it is served with a set of chinese-style ramen noodles. Many people take out just the top staminia filling and enjoy it over rice at home.

Mr. Iwai says, "There are many restaurants in Hitachinaka and Mito, so I wanted to serve Stamina Ramen in Kasama where there are no restaurants serving it," and it has become a long-awaited local favorite, attracting ramen fanatics.

The restaurant is located near an expressway interchange, and some customers drive from Tochigi and Chiba, not to mention the southern part of the prefecture. The number of female customers is quite high, about 40%, and there are many women customers who come alone.

Stamina Ramen Isshin

• 404 Asahi-cho, Kasama-shi, Ibaraki MAP
• 38 min. drive from Tsuchiura Station
• 23 minutes from JR Tsuchiura Station by limited express Tokiwa train to Tomobe Station, 7 minutes by Ibaraki Kotsu Bus from Tomobe Station bus stop, 5 minutes walk from the bus stop.
• 11:00 - 14:00 (L.O.13:50) 17:30 - 20:00 (L.O.19:50)
• Wednesday
• 0296-73-6311
• Free of charge

Omitama City】Chinrai Omitama Branch

Founded in 1928, Chinrai is said to be one of the oldest ramen chains in Japan. Its Komitama branch was established in 2016. Incidentally, Komitama is the birthplace of the founder of Chinrai, and is also a historical place for the group.

In fact, this is the only restaurant in Chinrai that serves Stamina Ramen.

This is Tsutomu Furuuchi, the owner of the restaurant. He is from Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and has been dedicated to Chinrai for more than 30 years while training at the main restaurant and other locations. When his previous store in Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, along Route 6, closed, he went independent on land owned by Chinrai.

Since opening a restaurant in Ibaraki, I decided to offer "a menu that comes from the land of Ibaraki," and since around 2021, I have been offering Stamina Ramen, even though it is a Chinese restaurant.

About 10 servings are served on weekdays and 20 on weekends, making it one of the most popular groups.

Unconventional Stamina Ramen!

The bowl of ramen, which is popularly referred to as "Stamina Ramen" at Chinrai's Komitama branch, is a departure from the stamina ramen we have seen in the past. It looks somewhat like the gomoku ramen at Machichuka.

Although Chinrai is associated with thick noodles, this restaurant has been focusing only on "thin noodles" since 2025. In fact, the noodle factory can make a variety of other types of noodles, including thin and frizzy noodles, and the number of older fans has increased since they started using thin noodles.

Chinrai's unique egg noodles are a generous 175 grams, and the restaurant also offers a 100 yen discount for half a ramen.

In addition, while regular Stamina Ramen is usually served with a dash of chili pepper, it is instead served with a different spicy flavor, such as soybean paste, to give it its own unique color, and is quite spicy.

Unusual use of "bamboo shoots" and "soy bean sauce

Stamina ramen is usually associated with pumpkin, but since it is not used in the rest of the restaurant's menu, it is removed and replaced with bamboo shoots, which can be used universally in the rest of the menu.

Instead, bamboo shoots, which can be used universally in other dishes, are included. Other ingredients include carrots, chives, onions, cabbage, and liver. The large liver is particularly impressive. For the bean paste, the sauce from a Chinese rice bowl is used, and garlic, ginger, sake, and even starch are added.

It is the spiciest Stamina Ramen I have ever eaten, with a unique spiciness derived from Chinese origin, not the "sweet and spicy" characteristic of Stamina, giving it a unique flavor. With finely chopped vegetables and no pumpkin, it was a delicious bowl of "something different" from the typical Stamina.

The reason why they decided to serve Stamina Ramen in Komitama, which is far from Hitachinaka, is because "various customers come to the restaurant along Route 6," and Route 6 is also connected to Hitachinaka and Mito, the home of Stamina Ramen, which is another plus.

Chinrai Komitama

• 2269 Takehara, Komitama-shi, Ibaraki MAP
• 31 min. drive from Tsuchiura Station
• From JR Tsuchiura Station, take the Joban Line to Ishioka Station (14 min.), then take the Kanto Railway Bus from Ishioka Station (8 min.) to Takehara Bus Stop (4 min. walk).
• 11:00-22:00 (last entry at 21:20, last order at 21:30)
• New Year's Eve and New Year's Day
• 0299-47-1151
• Free of charge

In fact, there are only a few places that offer stamina ramen that can be easily reached from southern Ibaraki, and with the recent decrease in the number of restaurants in the Tsukuba area, it was difficult to find a place that offers it, but we were able to visit three valuable places.

Although the area is far from Hitachinaka and Mito, which are said to be the home of ramen, you can enjoy such a delicious and unique cup of ramen. Please take a trip to taste the charm that only you can understand.

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