On December 6th, a ramen specialty shop “Menya Popola” (Fujisaki-cho, Minami-Tsugaru-gun) opened on the premises of JR Kita-Tokiwa Station.

The same ramen shop that offers only Chinese soba opened in Fujisaki Town's facility "Community Plaza Popola" at Kita Tokiwa Station. The owner, Yuta Fukushi, who has over 10 years of experience working at ramen shops in Yokohama and Aomori, opened his own restaurant.

After graduating from high school, Fukushi moved to Tokyo to go on to higher education. I started working at a ramen shop after working part-time at a ramen shop. It was in 2013 (Heisei 25) that I made a U-turn with a view to becoming independent. Worked at Raimon, which operates restaurants such as Chinese Soba Hirakoya (Aomori City), and left the company in March of this year. Prepared for independence.

“At first, I was thinking of opening a store in Hirosaki,” says Fukushi. Finding a tenant was difficult, and he gave up opening the business for a while, thinking that now might not be the right time to go independent. In such a situation, Mr. Fukushi was introduced to the tenant of "Popola".

"Popola" was built in 2001 as an exchange space with a waiting area, and there was also a kitchen separated by a counter. “The ramen café closed in December last year and remained vacant. It was also a place where local children would gather before heading home, so we needed a manager,” says Fukushi. “The ramen I wanted to serve was soy sauce-based Chinese noodles, so it was a good place to cook,” he said.

The menu is only Chinese noodles (medium = 650 yen, large = 750 yen). For the toppings, prepare char siu (250 yen), menma (150 yen), seasoned boiled egg, and rice (100 yen).

A week has passed since the opening, and Mr. Fukushi says, "We are off to a good start." “It makes me happy to receive congratulatory messages from my local classmates, friends in Yokohama, and people who have been involved with the event, as well as people who come to see us,” he said. "I want to make use of my experience working at a ramen shop to liven up my hometown Fujisaki and the region," he said.

Business hours are from 10:30 to 16:00. Closed on Mondays.