【第30弾】「ザ・ロングセラー愛されるにはワケがある」明治時代創業！老舗そば店の「ワンコインラーメン」の秘密（7月9日放送）

While new shops are opening one after another, some have been around for a long time. This segment, "The Long-Selling Shops: There's a Reason They're Loved," focuses on shops in Hokkaido that have been around for over 50 years, exploring the reasons for their enduring popularity. This time, we visited a long-established soba noodle shop in Otaru, founded in the Meiji era! We took a close look at this long-established soba shop. Founded in the Meiji era! The secret behind the "one-coin ramen" at this long-established soba shop. What arrives is a piping hot bowl of ramen! Its light and gentle soy sauce flavor is a popular choice. Program staff: "How does it taste?" Customer: "It tastes like the old days." However, looking at the shop's sign... it says "Soba Restaurant." A 5-minute walk from Otaru Station. This is "Yama-Yasu," located on Yanagawa Street. Founded in Meiji 45 (1912). It's the second oldest soba noodle shop in Otaru. People line up before opening, and it fills up in no time—it's incredibly popular. It's extremely busy every day. Owner Akihiro Ando: "I think we get around 50 or 60 customers a day, and we're still getting more. The shop is small, so we have to share tables, which I feel bad about... but they still come in, so I guess they understand as customers." This is Akihiro Ando, ​​the fourth-generation owner. The soba noodles are homemade. They prepare only the amount needed each day. Owner Akihiro Ando: "I learned how to make soba noodles at the place where I worked after graduating from school at the age of 19. I interacted with people from the 'Otaru Soba Merchants Association,' and learned various noodle-making techniques from them." Customer: "It's delicious, this is my first time here." Program Staff: "How long have you been coming?" Regular Customer: "About 10 years? The price is great, it's cheap but the taste is good." The price is only 500 yen for a bowl of zaru soba. The affordable price is one of the reasons for its popularity. Owner Akihiro Ando: "We run our business with the idea that even if the prices are low, we can still make a profit if we sell a lot. It's not just purely a business; at one point, we also operated a noodle factory. The second and third generations did something similar." In 1912 (Meiji 45), Akihiro's great-grandfather, Shinkichi, founded Yama-Yasu. At that time, they operated from a food stall called "katsugi soba" (portable soba). Later, in 1934 (Showa 9), the second-generation owner, Gisuke, opened a soba specialty shop in Otaru. A turning point came around the time they survived the war. Owner Akihiro Ando: "We were running a soba shop, but it seems we also operated a noodle factory in the later stages." To rebuild after the war, they collaborated with a nearby noodle factory and built a noodle factory on Yanagawa Street, where the current Yama-Yasu is located. Owner Akihiro Ando: "It seems they were making udon, soba, and ramen. I've heard they were supplying them to various train stations and shops." This was the moment Yama-Yasu's ramen was born! However, at that time, they were only supplying ramen noodles to the noodle factory; Yama-Yasu didn't serve it. So when did they start serving it at the restaurant? Owner Akihiro Ando: "My father was going to open a soba shop, so I went to learn somewhere else." Shigeru, the third-generation owner, felt he needed training before taking over the business from the second generation. He went to a diner that offered a variety of dishes. That's where he learned how to make ramen soup! In 1972 (Showa 47), he converted the noodle factory into a soba shop and opened Yama-Yasu. Ramen was added as a new menu item. Owner Akihiro Ando: "In the past, there were more than twice as many soba restaurants in Otaru, maybe three times as many, about 30-40 years ago. About half of them served ramen. Those kinds of restaurants have become fewer, so they're still around in some places." Program Staff: "Isn't ramen from a soba restaurant unusual?" Owner Akihiro Ando: "That's how it's perceived in Otaru. I think there were a lot of restaurants that were more like diners." Combining noodles made using the know-how of a noodle factory with soup learned during his apprenticeship, "Yama-Yasu" ramen was born. Ando's ramen is also reasonably priced, available for just 500 yen! Owner Akihiro Ando: "Personally, I aim for ramen that people can eat every day, including the price range." The soup base is chicken, pig's trotters, and vegetables. To that is a homemade soy sauce-based tare. Garlic, ginger, and soy sauce are blended, and then the broth from braising the char siu is added. When combined with the base, a mild-flavored soy sauce soup is complete! German tourist: "Wow! Very good!" The reason for its popularity… Owner Akihiro Ando: "I taste it myself… and I want to make it in a way that I think is delicious, so I believe in daily evolution. I think that's the key point. 'Slow and s...