Ramen in Matsumoto and Shiojiri (Nagano): 9 Shops I've Eaten At and How to Order Your First Bowl

Matsumoto (Nagano) and the next city south, Shiojiri, have a lot of good ramen for a small area: rich iekei (Yokohama-style pork-bone and soy) bowls, creamy chicken tori paitan, miso ramen made with miso from nearby Suwa, and a local chain where people here go for an everyday bowl. This guide covers nine shops the site owner has eaten at himself, with his own way of ordering a first bowl. Hours and addresses come from each shop's official site, official Instagram or Google Maps listing (checked October 24, 2026).

The nine shops at a glance

Watari-dori is a short walk from Matsumoto Station, so it's the one to walk to after dinner. Minami is near Shinshu University, Itadakiya and Sunpachi are in the south of Matsumoto (Nagano), Majimeya is in Azusagawa to the west, and Gattabozu is at Asama Onsen. Isorokuya and Raizo are in Shiojiri (Nagano), the next city south; Raizo is near JR Hirooka Station. For most of the others, a car or taxi is easiest.

How to order your first bowl: my tips

Most of these shops sell tickets from a machine by the door (see how ramen ticket machines work). At iekei shops you can also choose three things about your bowl: how firm the noodles are, how strong the flavor (the soy-based seasoning, kaeshi) is, and how much chicken oil (chiyu) goes on top. Here is how I would order. Where iekei comes from and how to tell the shops apart is in the iekei ramen family tree.

Shinshu Isorokuya (Shiojiri): my favorite in the area, with cabbage

Shinshu Isorokuya (信州五十六家) is an iekei shop at 2146-638 Hirooka-Kataishi, Shiojiri (Nagano), about 1.8 km from JR Hirooka Station, so it's easiest by car. Its Google Maps listing gives the hours as 11:00 to 21:30, closed on Wednesdays. Tabelog lists it as cash only. The bowl has the shop's arrow and the number 56 on the rim. Recent visitor reviews list cabbage (キャベツ) as a topping here, so look for it when you buy your ticket. Phone: +81-263-54-7667.

My visit

Of the shops in this guide, this was my favorite. The soup looks rich and heavy, but when you drink it, it's surprisingly light. For some reason, ramen in Nagano comes with cabbage, and I like how the heat of the soup cooks it just right. Don't eat the cabbage straight away: it's best when you've finished about half of your noodles.

Itadakiya Matsumoto Shop: Yokohama-style iekei in Degawa

Itadakiya Matsumoto Shop (横浜家系ラーメン頂家 松本店, a Yokohama-style iekei shop) is at 1-2-8 Degawa, in the south of Matsumoto (Nagano), with parking. It opens from 11:00 through the day; the closing time differs between listings (21:00 on Google Maps, 22:00 on Tabelog), so come before 21:00. Its Google Maps listing highlights free rice, which goes well with an iekei soup. Phone: +81-263-87-0147.

Majimeya (Azusagawa): pork-bone shoyu with parking

Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen Majimeya (豚骨醤油ラーメン まじめ家) is at 2186-7 Azusagawa-Yamato, on the west side of Matsumoto (Nagano), with parking. Its official Instagram profile gives the hours as 11:30 to 15:00 (last order 14:30) and 17:30 to 22:00 (last order 21:30), closed on the second Wednesday of each month; changes are posted there. The name of the shop is its style: pork-bone shoyu (soy sauce) soup. Phone: +81-263-50-5546.

Raizo (Shiojiri): miso ramen with Suwa miso

Harupin Miso Ramen Raizo, Shiojiri Hirooka-ekimae Shop (ハルピン味噌らーめん雷蔵 塩尻広丘駅前店) is at 1702-1 Hirooka-Nomura, Shiojiri (Nagano), a few minutes' walk from JR Hirooka Station. It opened on December 12, 2022. It belongs to Harupin Foods, which started as a small ramen shop in front of Kami-Suwa Station in Suwa (Nagano) in 1974. The company's official site explains that Raizo's miso, called Suwa Rokuzo Miso, is the owner's own blend of six misos from Suwa (Nagano). Google Maps lists it as open 11:00 to 23:00. Phone: +81-263-88-2529. Another Harupin shop, Harupin Ramen Shiojiri Hirooka-ekimae, is in the same area, so check the name before you go in.

Minami (Matsumoto): tori paitan with a how-to-eat card

Tori Paitan Soba Minami (鶏白湯そば 美な味) is at 2-1-25 Kiri, Matsumoto (Nagano), near Shinshu University. It serves tori paitan, a creamy soup made from chicken. Its Google Maps listing gives the hours as 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:30 to 21:30, closed on Wednesdays, and its official Instagram (@tp.minami) posts its news. Phone: +81-263-31-3769.

When the site owner visited in September 2024, a card on the counter explained how to eat the bowl. Here is what it said, in order:

1. Take your photo within 20 seconds.
2. First, taste the soup with the spoon (renge); it is emulsified one bowl at a time.
3. Enjoy the specially made medium-thick noodles, slurpable and chewy.
4. Change the flavor to your liking with the seasonings on the counter.
5. If you have soup left, order daibu-meshi, a bite of rice with ume (pickled plum), drop it into the soup, and finish to the last drop.

My visit

I went in September 2024. Both of the tori paitan shops in this guide, Minami and Watari-dori, were delicious.

Watari-dori (near Matsumoto Station): the bowl after a night out

y/s kitchen Menshin Watari-dori (麺心 わたりどり) is at 1-2-12 Chuo, on the 1st floor of the New Isemachi Building, a short walk from Matsumoto Station. On the site owner's visit in September 2024, its menu described the tori paitan as a rich soup of chicken from Kagoshima with a little pork bone from Miyazaki and Oita, seasoned with Japanese soy sauce and blended one bowl at a time, with medium-thick noodles made to order for the shop. It opens late at night: its official Instagram profile says 21:00 to 4:00, Monday to Saturday. Hours have changed over the years, so check before you go. For dinner nearby first, see where to eat in Matsumoto (Nagano).

My visit

I went after drinking, and it was the best bowl.

Gattabozu (Asama Onsen): rich or light soup, and karaage

Ramen-ya Gattabozu (ラーメン屋 がったぼうず) is a small wooden shop at 1-18-4 Asama Onsen, at the entrance to the Asama Onsen hot spring area in Matsumoto (Nagano). On the site owner's visit in February 2025, the handwritten menu on the table offered nitori (煮トリ, rich) and yutori (湯トリ, light) soups, chashu-men and toro nankotsu-men (with soft braised pork cartilage), plus karaage (Japanese fried chicken) and a karaage set meal. Its Google Maps listing gives the hours as 11:30 to 14:30 and 17:30 to 22:30, closed on Thursdays. A bowl here fits well after a soak in the hot springs.

Sunpachi (Matsumoto): pork-bone shoyu, from 7:00 on Friday to Sunday

Ra-men Sunpachi Sohonten (らあめん寸八 総本店, the main shop) is at 4-3-1 Chikuma, in the south of Matsumoto (Nagano), with parking. Its official site calls the tonkotsu shoyu ramen (pork-bone and soy) its most popular bowl, alongside a lighter shina soba and a Shinshu miso ramen. The shop makes four kinds of noodles itself and uses soy sauce and miso from Marusho Jozo, a brewery in Matsumoto (Nagano) founded over 110 years ago. Its official Instagram profile gives the hours as 11:00 to 24:00 from Monday to Thursday and 7:00 to 24:00 from Friday to Sunday (last order 23:50), and the official site says it serves morning ramen (asa-ramen) on Friday to Sunday. There are also limited bowls each month, but for a first visit, start with the regular one.

Tenhou: Nagano's own everyday ramen and gyoza chain

Minna no Tenhou (みんなのテンホウ) is a chain run by Tenhou Foods. Its official story page says it started in 1956 as a gyoza shop in Kami-Suwa, Suwa (Nagano). It now has 34 shops, all in Nagano, including seven in Matsumoto (Nagano), most open from 11:00 to 22:00. The official menu lists shoyu ramen at 560 yen, tantanmen at 690 yen, Tenhou-men at 850 yen and gyoza at 320 yen (tax included; menus and prices can differ by shop). It's where locals go for a quick, cheap bowl and a plate of gyoza.

More ramen and food guides

For dinner, sake and breakfast in the same city, see where to eat in Matsumoto (Nagano). For soup types and ticket machines in general, read our ramen guide. The site owner's favorite bowl anywhere in Japan is the beef-bone ramen at Yukinoyu in Nagoya (Aichi). And for another cheap meal you'll find all over Japan, see how to order gyudon. If you have a food allergy, check our guide to food allergies in Japan first: ramen soups often contain wheat, soy and other ingredients.

Last reviewed: October 24, 2026. Hours, prices and closing days change. Please check each shop's official page or Instagram before you go.