A while back on this blog, I wrote an article introducing "Agode Kurae Kitakoshigaya," a Jiro-style ramen shop that opened right by the west exit of Kitakoshigaya Station. It's the third location after Kasukabe and Soka, opened by an owner who was born and raised in Koshigaya City.
Ever since writing that piece, something had been nagging at me: how can I introduce a shop I haven't actually eaten at? So I finally made the trip and tried their signature dish, the regular-size mazesoba.
Let me start with the conclusion: the noodles were seriously good. They had a firm, springy bite that made the trip absolutely worth it.
In this article, I'll walk through the whole experience from ordering to eating, with photos along the way. The shop's basic details are covered in the opening announcement article, so here I'll focus on what it was actually like to eat there.
I stood in front of the ticket machine for quite a while
At this shop, you buy a meal ticket from a vending machine. It's a familiar style at ramen shops in Japan—you pay first, get a ticket, hand it over, and wait.
And I have to admit, I spent a good while standing in front of that machine. There are far more buttons than I expected.
【画像挿入: content-1.jpg】The ticket vending machine inside the shop, with rows of menu items and prices centered on mazesoba
画像URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/takumaikegamiwork20240901-cell/astracord-blog-images/main/images/agodekurae-kitakoshigaya-mazesoba-review/content-1.jpg
As you can see in the photo, the most prominent spot on the panel is taken by three "recommended" items: the manager's supreme mazesoba (1,300 yen), the manager's supreme spicy mazesoba (1,300 yen), and the manager's supreme limited-edition mazesoba (1,400 yen). The regular menu lines up below: mazesoba (regular) 1,000 yen / mini 900 yen, spicy mazesoba (regular) 1,000 yen / mini 900 yen, limited-edition mazesoba (regular) 1,100 yen / mini 1,000 yen, and ramen (regular) 1,000 yen / mini 900 yen.
Laid out like that, it's obvious just how much this shop leans into mazesoba. When people hear "Jiro-style," many picture a bowl of ramen with broth, but here the lineup is built entirely around mazesoba—a soupless style where the noodles are tossed with sauce and toppings.
The toppings are plentiful too. On the meat side, there's an extra slice of pork for 300 yen, and roast pork or roast chicken for 300 yen. Extra garlic and extra back fat are 100 yen each, and raw egg, seasoned egg, five quail eggs, kimchi, cheese, and fish powder are all 100 yen apiece. There's even a mini pork-and-scallion rice bowl or mini pork-kimchi rice bowl for 500 yen, and a rice refill for 100 yen. Drinks include draft beer at 500 yen and highballs or lemon sour at 400 yen each, which is a fun touch for anyone who wants a drink with their meal.
A large portion is 100 yen, listed as covering up to 500g for the first ticket, with each additional ticket adding another 100g. So you scale up by buying extra tickets.
One note: all the prices listed here are what was displayed on the ticket machine at the time of my visit. Restaurant prices can change due to ingredient costs and other factors, so please check the machine yourself when you go.
The moment it arrived, I let out an audible "whoa"
I went with the regular-size mazesoba at 1,000 yen — I wanted to know the baseline first. And then the bowl landed. Here's what showed up.
【画像挿入: content-2.jpg】A bowl of mazesoba with a raw egg yolk in the center, large slices of chashu pork, back fat, chopped scallions, bean sprouts, and minced garlic
画像URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/takumaikegamiwork20240901-cell/astracord-blog-images/main/images/agodekurae-kitakoshigaya-mazesoba-review/content-2.jpg
The bowl has a red rim with the "AGODEKURAE" logo on it—even the dishware means business.
Right in the center sits a glossy raw egg yolk. In front of it sit two thick, generously sized slices of chashu pork, looking like they'd crumble at the touch of chopsticks. Promising.
On the left there's a generous pile of chopped back fat. Up top, chopped scallions mixing green and white parts, with bean sprouts underneath. In the lower right, a mound of minced garlic, and toward the upper right, a heap of reddish-brown granular seasoning. Over on the right side, I could see something creamy and sauce-like, plus a crispy fried garnish that looked like fried onion.
Honestly, it's even more striking in person than in the photo. There's just so much visual information—red, white, green, yellow, and brown all packed into one bowl. Looking at it alone got my stomach warming up.
The noodles are the real star, and that springiness was excellent
Now for the part I most wanted to write about.
The springiness of the noodles was genuinely excellent.
After mixing everything together thoroughly, I took a first mouthful of noodles. The instant I bit down, there was a clear sensation of the noodles pushing back against my teeth. Not a soft collapse, but a bounce that returned with every chew.
The noodles used at Jiro-style shops are often described as thicker and lower in moisture than typical ramen noodles—the kind with a rugged, chewy character. That said, thick noodles are notoriously tricky to boil; they can end up too firm in the core or too soft overall. On that front, my honest take is that these noodles struck a really nice balance between chewiness and easy eating.
Because mazesoba has no broth, the noodles themselves take center stage. There's no soup to soften them either, so the texture holds up all the way to the last bite. And it did—that satisfying chew stayed with me right to the end.
It reminded me that taking your time chewing thick noodles is a pleasure in its own right. Somewhere in the middle of that bowl, I felt like I finally understood what the shop's name—"Agode Kurae," roughly "eat it with your jaw"—is really getting at.
Overall, it comes together the more you mix it
A few words on the overall flavor.
At the start, the individual ingredients each seem to be doing their own thing, but the more you mix, the more the sauce, fat, and egg intertwine into a single unified taste. Maybe that's the real charm of mazesoba: you finish the dish yourself.
The garlic aroma is definitely present. If you have plans to meet people the next day, you might want to time your visit accordingly.
As for volume, the sense of fullness afterward was substantial. It's a properly hearty bowl, just as you'd expect from Jiro-style.
I won't comment on menu items or toppings I didn't order, since I'm in no position to describe flavors I haven't tasted. What the spicy mazesoba or limited-edition mazesoba taste like is something I'd like to confirm and write about another time.
How I'd order next time
Here are the notes I was mentally taking while staring at that ticket machine.
- The manager's supreme mazesoba (1,300 yen): The top pick in the recommended section. This is where I'm headed next
- Seasoned egg (100 yen) or fish powder (100 yen): Adding one 100-yen topping that could shift the flavor direction
- Rice refill (100 yen): Using rice to mop up the sauce left in the bowl. A pleasure unique to mazesoba
- Mini pork-and-scallion rice bowl (500 yen): A candidate for days when I want to go all in
- Takeout mazesoba (regular) 1,100 yen: For eating at home. There's also frozen mazesoba at 1,000 yen and fresh noodles at 250 yen, so being able to try those noodles at home is tempting
The fresh noodles at 250 yen in particular really caught my eye. Given how impressed I was by the noodles this time, I'd love to see how well I could reproduce them at home.
Wrapping up
That's my hands-on review of the regular-size mazesoba at "Agode Kurae Kitakoshigaya."
- You buy a meal ticket from a vending machine, with a full lineup centered on mazesoba
- A striking bowl topped with a raw egg yolk, big slices of chashu pork, back fat, minced garlic, and more
- The noodles had a firm, springy bite, and they were genuinely delicious
- The distinctly mazesoba pleasure of watching the flavors come together as you mix
- Plenty of ways to enjoy it next time: the supreme portion, toppings, a rice refill, takeout, and more
As someone who had already written about this shop, the best part was being able to eat there and think, "I'm glad I wrote that." It's right by Kitakoshigaya Station, so if you use that station, it's an easy spot to swing by.
Next time you're in the mood for noodles with a real chew to them, this might be worth adding to your list. Prices and menu items are subject to change, so please check the latest details at the shop.
