Ramen Yokocho is coming to Little Tokyo on Saturday, Aug. 16, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 17, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in L.A. city parking lots 7 and 2, near the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.
The Ramen Yokocho Association’s (http://RamenyokochoUS.com) events have been hugely popular, attracting over 95,000 ramen lovers throughout the last four events in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco. The next event will take place in Downtown Los Angeles as a part of Nisei Week (www.niseiweek.org). It’ll be a weekend of celebrating Japanese culture, not only with ramen, but also live entertainment and food trucks.
There will be meat and gluten-free ramen, brand new miso ramen from L.A.’s popular Tsujita, and various Japanese regional special ramen. Shoki Ramen House of Sacramento is joining Ramen Yokocho for the first time with its healthy White Ramen. Its soup is mostly soy milk and kelp stock, and the noodles will be gluten-free. Shoki is known for its high-quality ingredients (mostly organic) and the chef’s dedication to making everything from scratch.
Between their bowls of noodles, attendees can also enjoy live DJs, Anime Expo’s popular Ninja Arts Exhibition, and a gyoza-eating contest.
Admission is $5. Ramen is $8 per bowl.
Ramen Yokocho Association was established in Southern California in 2013 to promote understanding of the delicious Japanese noodle soup. “Yokocho” means alleyway in Japanese. When you visit Japan, you will see small alleys filled with a variety of shops. Following that tradition, Ramen Yokocho Association is eager to please ramen enthusiasts and ramen novices alike by bringing different styles of ramen to events. There are many kinds of noodles, toppings, and soups depending on the region. Ramen Yokocho is planning to expand the event nationwide.