“Halal Ramen” in Naritaya – a rare opportunity for Muslim people to enjoy the famous Japanese dish

Written by Sk. Nishat Abdullah-san

Trying the famous dishes of a country is an important part of tourism. But unfortunately Japanese Ramen was out of reach by Muslim religious people who can’t afford to taste a food which is not “Halal” for him. “Naritaya”, the ramen shop located in the center of Asakusa opened the door for the Muslims to enjoy delicious ramen which is prepared by totally halal ingredients. Though the traditional Japanese ramen is commonly based on pork meat, this shop prepares their ramen based on halal chicken.
They have different flavors like MAZESOBA, ZARU ramen etc. The MAZESOBA is based on mainly yakitori (Japanese BBQ chicken) preparation and ZARU ramen represents the traditional Japanese Ramen. The enthusiasm of the man who prepares and serves the ramen touches the heart. The taste is really awesome. It makes me curious about trying traditional Japanese foods more and more.
I was surprised to see a very calm and quiet prayer room in second floor of the restaurant along with facilities for Udhu (Special Washing needed before saying prayers for Muslims). In a Halal shop owned by a Muslim people, this kind of prayer room may seem normal. But making perfect arrangement for Prayer for Muslims in a Japanese restaurant, is really trustworthy. It represent the respect and enthusiasm of the owner of the shop for Muslim people and reflects reliability for the food to be undoubtedly halal.
I recommend every Muslim tourist to visit this place and enjoy the unique Japanese dish “Ramen”. Besides I wish more Japanese restaurants will start halal cuisine to open the world of delicious Japanese foods to Muslim people.