WHAT WE ATE
- Extreme Sea Bream Salt Ramen – 90/100, Kochi, 10 Aug 2025
- Yuzu Salt Ramen – 80/100, Kochi, 10 Aug 2025
Set inside Kochi City’s Obiyamachi Arcade, NAYUTA is a shio‑specialty ramen shop with a café‑like vibe designed to feel welcoming even for solo diners. The headline here is a clear, golden tai (sea bream) shio ramen—built on local catch (including Sukumo’s “shōga‑madai”) and finished to highlight clean seafood aroma over heavy richness. Seating is compact (tables up front, counter inside), and access is easy via Horizume tram stop—so it fits neatly into a Kochi ramen crawl without detouring far from the city center. If you’re mapping out shio ramen in Kochi or curious about regional seafood broths in ramen across Japan, this one belongs on the list
Extreme Sea Bream Salt Ramen: 90/100
Noodle: 30/35
These are thin, straight noodles with a pale yellow hue, clearly low in hydration. They arrive firm and al dente, offering a taut, springy bite that’s reminiscent of Hakata-style noodles—clean, fast slurping, no excess drag.
Flavour-wise, there’s a subtle earthy wheat taste. They don’t stand apart on their own but excel as a conduit for the soup. Every bite feels like a broth delivery system, saturated with the clean, marine-driven umami of the sea bream stock.
Soup: 30/35
The broth greets you with a lightly savoury aroma and a pronounced sea bream signature—potent, but without the sharp edges that sometimes make fish broths feel aggressive.
Mid-palate, a distinctive iodine-like tone emerges. It’s briny, faintly metallic, and unmistakably oceanic, lending depth while keeping the flavour profile anchored in its seafood origins. This gives way to a lingering, buttery sweetness at the tail end, adding a soft counterbalance to the brine.
Despite its clarity, the soup carries a layered complexity. The flavours don’t hit all at once; instead, they unfold gradually, the fish character deepening with every sip. It’s the sort of broth that compels you to keep tasting—it persists and evolves.
Meat: 20/20
Thin slices of sea bream arrive semi-cooked, the residual heat of the broth finishing them just as they reach the table. The texture is superb—silky and smooth with a gentle spring, yielding tenderly under the bite without losing cohesion.
The flavour is pure ocean sweetness. Fresh, clean, and brimming with umami, each slice blooms on the palate, echoing the broth’s marine depth but with a softer, more delicate touch. A perfect showcase of ingredient restraint and precision cooking.
Other Toppings: 10/10
- Radish sprouts add a faint vegetal bitterness, a crisp counterpoint to the richness of the fish.
- Black fungus offers a clean crunch without intruding on the flavour balance.
- Bamboo shoots are fruity and crisp, bringing a gentle sweetness that brightens the bowl.
- Shiranegi delivers a mild piquancy that cuts subtly through the broth’s buttery finish.
- (Add-on) Marinated egg is heavily seasoned with a sweet-savoury profile and a faint bitterness; the mirin presence is notable but not distracting.
There is also a small jar of Yuzu Pepper on the table-recommended by the staff. A dab of yuzu pepper (yuzukosho) mid-meal transforms the profile entirely—an ajihen moment that sharpens, spices, and refreshes the broth in one move.
Summary
This is a refined, ingredient-led bowl that lets the sea bream do the talking—clean, confident, and deeply satisfying. The broth’s gradual build, the precision-cooked fish, and the interplay of fresh toppings all work in harmony. Not a flashy ramen, but a masterclass in balance.
Yuzu Salt Ramen: 80/100
Noodle: 30/35
These are the same thin, straight, low-hydration noodles as the Extreme Sea Bream Salt Ramen—pale yellow, smooth-surfaced, and built for a clean, fast slurp. Served al dente, they hold a firm, taut bite that leans towards Hakata-style precision.
Their real strength here is in absorption. Each strand is fully saturated with the broth, carrying its light, fish-forward savouriness straight to the palate. On their own, the noodles remain understated, but as a medium for the soup’s balanced flavours, they shine.
Soup: 30/35
The first impression is a gentle wave of fish sweetness, its aroma unmistakable yet restrained. The body follows with a warm savoury depth, uplifted by bright, fleeting flashes of yuzu—present just long enough to refresh, never overstaying.
The finish is marked by the lingering salinity of the shio base, a clean and steady echo that frames the broth’s lightness. Texturally, the soup is smooth and silky, with a crisp, almost crystalline taste that makes it effortlessly drinkable. The fish character weaves in and out of the citrus notes with composure, creating a bowl that feels both comforting and revitalising.
Meat: 10/20
A medium-thick slice of pork belly serves as the protein anchor. The lean sections can run a touch tough and dry, but the fat is pleasingly jelly-like, melting on contact with the tongue.
Flavour-wise, the chashu is heavily marinated—braise-like, deeply savoury, with a slight sweetness that makes each bite crave-inducing. It stands in deliberate contrast to the clean, citrus-kissed broth, yet the pairing works. The richness doesn’t overpower or muddy the soup; instead, it punctuates the lightness with occasional bursts of intensity.
Other Toppings: 10/10
- Mizuna leaves bring a mild peppery spice that freshens each bite.
- Ito togarashi adds fine threads of gentle heat, more warming than sharp.
- Black fungus offers a clean, crisp crunch.
- Shiranegi contributes a mild piquancy, cutting softly through the savoury base.
- Bamboo shoots are fruity, crisp, and subtly sweet.
- (Add-on) Marinated egg is heavily seasoned with a sweet-savoury profile and a faint bitterness; the mirin presence is notable but not distracting.
There is also a small jar of Yuzu Pepper on the table-recommended by the staff. A dab of yuzu pepper (yuzukosho) mid-meal transforms the profile entirely—an ajihen moment that sharpens, spices, and refreshes the broth in one move.
Summary
A balanced, gently aromatic bowl that blends clean seafood umami with bright citrus lift. The chashu is richer than expected for such a light broth, but its contrast keeps the meal interesting from start to finish. Comforting without being dull, refreshing without being thin—a solid entry in the shio-with-citrus category.
DISCLAIMER
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Find out more about our palettes and how we evaluate our ramen here. 😉
