Kyoto is one of most culturally rich cities in the world with over 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. But there is more to it than this: head down to Gion and you will find geishas appearing and disappearing into alleys; or you can spend the whole day exploring around Kyoto station which is a hub of department stores, endless eateries and a transport network that will lose even the most prepared travelers (such as myself). What immediately caught my attention when researching places to eat in Kyoto was a converging opinion amongst forums and blogs that a must visit place is Kyoto Ramen Alley above Kyoto station.

This place can be reached by going to 10^th floor of Isetan then heading to the connecting passage which is at the side of the floor. The alley itself is composed of seven ramen shops: Hakata Ikkousha, Ginza Shouriki, Kyoto Takaraya, Osaka Kamigata Zanmaiya, Sumire, Kakiokaya and Yokohama Ichihachiya. With the intention of trying a bowl at each place for dinner, I was disappointed in myself that after the second ramen shop I was at my limit, in hindsight I should have ordered the small serving.

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