1. I want ramen.Copy !req
2. Ramen...Copy !req
3. Ramen...Copy !req
4. I want ramen.Copy !req
5. Here you go.Copy !req
6. She...Copy !req
7. Time to eat.Copy !req
8. will surely be eating
ramen once again today.Copy !req
9. In literary history terms, we would
classify this work in the "zuihitsu" genre.Copy !req
10. But at the time, there was no such concept.Copy !req
11. She could be called the
first to write in that style.Copy !req
12. She's so cute.Copy !req
13. Ohsawa-san?Copy !req
14. Y-Yes?Copy !req
15. Read the next part, please.Copy !req
16. Um...Copy !req
17. Sorry.Copy !req
18. By the way, that's your math textbook.Copy !req
19. Settle down, everyone.Copy !req
20. Okay, then, can I get...Copy !req
21. Actually, Ohsawa-san...Copy !req
22. You!Copy !req
23. Jeez, Misa.Copy !req
24. Hee-hee. You got in trouble.Copy !req
25. What were you looking at?Copy !req
26. Well...Copy !req
27. That new transfer student?Copy !req
28. Koizumi-san, was it?Copy !req
29. Jeez, Jun!Copy !req
30. I don't really like her.Copy !req
31. Why not?Copy !req
32. She hasn't tried to talk to anyone
since she moved here.Copy !req
33. She's just, like, kind of cold.Copy !req
34. I haven't talked to her yet, either.Copy !req
35. I haven't either, actually.Copy !req
36. But I'm kind of curious about her.Copy !req
37. You've always loved cute girls, You.Copy !req
38. You have a cute girl right here.Copy !req
39. No one could be cuter than me!Copy !req
40. Sure, sure...Copy !req
41. You're cute, too, Misa.Copy !req
42. "Too"?Copy !req
43. Hey, let's go clothes shopping.Copy !req
44. I have cram school.Copy !req
45. Sorry, I'm going home, too.Copy !req
46. I'm supposed to make dinner tonight.Copy !req
47. See you.Copy !req
48. See you.Copy !req
49. Bye.Copy !req
50. Sorry, I have overtime today.Copy !req
51. Can you all make dinner for yourselves?Copy !req
52. Heart!Copy !req
53. I don't need dinner tonight, either.Copy !req
54. Uh-oh...Copy !req
55. What do I do for dinner now?Copy !req
56. Convenience store, I guess?Copy !req
57. That shop's got a huge line again.Copy !req
58. And it doesn't even look like
it's open yet. It's so popular.Copy !req
59. Ramen, huh?Copy !req
60. I'd like some, but I don't know about
a girl going out for ramen by herself.Copy !req
61. Koizumi-san?Copy !req
62. Why is she here by herself?Copy !req
63. Um, are you in line here?Copy !req
64. Oh, um...Copy !req
65. Yes.Copy !req
66. What is even going on here?Copy !req
67. Oh, well. I do like ramen.Copy !req
68. That aside...Copy !req
69. Her hair's so pretty.Copy !req
70. And her skin's so pale.Copy !req
71. And her lashes are so long!Copy !req
72. Koizumi-san is so pretty up close.Copy !req
73. I never got to talk to her until now,
but this is my chance.Copy !req
74. Hey, Koizumi-san, do you remember me?Copy !req
75. I'm Ohsawa You, from your class.Copy !req
76. I'm a Leo, blood type O.Copy !req
77. Nice to meet you.Copy !req
78. I never knew you ate ramen by yourself.Copy !req
79. It's not something one does with a group.Copy !req
80. Wow!Copy !req
81. I can't help but worry about
what other people think.Copy !req
82. Do you come to this restaurant often?Copy !req
83. She's not even listening.Copy !req
84. Thanks for waiting.Copy !req
85. Looks like they're opening.Copy !req
86. Food tickets? It's like the school cafeteria.Copy !req
87. Okay, I'll have the same one.Copy !req
88. I've never been to a ramen
shop after school before.Copy !req
89. Would you like garlic in yours?Copy !req
90. Extra vegetables,
with garlic oil, medium-hot.Copy !req
91. Say what?Copy !req
92. Okay.Copy !req
93. And for you? Would you like garlic?Copy !req
94. Yes!Copy !req
95. Give me, like, the same thing.Copy !req
96. Understood.Copy !req
97. Here's your medium-hot pork double
with extra vegetables and garlic oil.Copy !req
98. It's a mountain of meat and sprouts!Copy !req
99. I can't see the noodles!Copy !req
100. Hey, is this...Copy !req
101. Here's your medium-hot pork double
with extra vegetables and garlic oil.Copy !req
102. Time to eat.Copy !req
103. Wh—Copy !req
104. Wha—Copy !req
105. What the hell was that?Copy !req
106. And she looks so blissful!Copy !req
107. Oh, she's back to normal.Copy !req
108. Yours will get soggy.Copy !req
109. That was so much...Copy !req
110. I'm going to have ramen coming
out of every orifice in my body.Copy !req
111. I thought you were a regular.Copy !req
112. That was my first time.Copy !req
113. Okay, I'm going now.Copy !req
114. Hey, Koizumi-san...Copy !req
115. You really like ramen, huh?Copy !req
116. I do.Copy !req
117. She's very composed, but she might actually
be a normal, down-to-earth girl.Copy !req
118. Well, if you know any good places,
tell me about them sometime.Copy !req
119. No, thank you.Copy !req
120. Is it, like, you want to keep the
best places a secret for yourself?Copy !req
121. Come on, we're classmates now.Copy !req
122. We should talk more.Copy !req
123. About ramen or anything else.Copy !req
124. No, thank you.Copy !req
125. This is the story of a
ramen lover, Koizumi-san.Copy !req
126. Koizumi-san, walking through
a flurry of cherry blossoms...Copy !req
127. So picturesque!Copy !req
128. All right, I'll try talking
to her again tomorrow.Copy !req
129. Why?Copy !req
130. I want that ramen again.Copy !req
131. I'm so hungry.Copy !req
132. What do you want for lunch?Copy !req
133. Something light, maybe?Copy !req
134. Koizumi-san!Copy !req
135. What are you looking at?Copy !req
136. Wait, don't run from me!Copy !req
137. Was that Koizumi?Copy !req
138. Jeez.Copy !req
139. We ate ramen together,
but she's still so cold to me.Copy !req
140. What was she looking at?Copy !req
141. Horse oil?Copy !req
142. Koizumi-san sure does love ramen.Copy !req
143. Hey, want to have lunch in the
school cafeteria for once?Copy !req
144. I want ramen.Copy !req
145. That's not light at all.Copy !req
146. No way. It's too crowded.Copy !req
147. I'm just going to buy some bread.Copy !req
148. I don't like ramen, anyway.Copy !req
149. Why?Copy !req
150. You have to help me with "Operation:
Make Friends With Koizumi-san"!Copy !req
151. I don't care about that.Copy !req
152. What about you, Misa?Copy !req
153. What do you like about that antisocial girl?Copy !req
154. That's what's awesome about her.Copy !req
155. I hate everyone who's more popular than me.Copy !req
156. That's all.Copy !req
157. There, there, don't be jealous.Copy !req
158. You're cute enough, Misa.Copy !req
159. Who's cuter, me or Koizumi?Copy !req
160. Koizumi-san.Copy !req
161. Hey!Copy !req
162. Another peaceful day.Copy !req
163. Traitor!Copy !req
164. Okay, okay, let's go buy some bread.Copy !req
165. What kind do you want?Copy !req
166. A cream bun.Copy !req
167. Can I sit next to you?Copy !req
168. You again?Copy !req
169. You can do as you please.Copy !req
170. This isn't my house.Copy !req
171. Then I shall do so!Copy !req
172. You got the same thing I did.Copy !req
173. This is my first time having Kumamoto ramen.Copy !req
174. Thank you for the food.Copy !req
175. You didn't eat in a hurry
like you did last time.Copy !req
176. I eat faster at that restaurant to avoid
dragging down the customer turnover.Copy !req
177. Huh...Copy !req
178. Oh, hey, is this ramen made with tonkotsu?Copy !req
179. It has a unique scent, though.Copy !req
180. I wonder if it's this black stuff
that's floating in the soup.Copy !req
181. Oh, I know!Copy !req
182. It's the "horse oil" that
was written on the board.Copy !req
183. That must be it!Copy !req
184. It's the horse oil giving it that flavor!Copy !req
185. I never knew horse oil worked
so well in tonkotsu soup.Copy !req
186. It's a miraculous collaboration
between horse and pig!Copy !req
187. Man, horse oil is great!Copy !req
188. "Maayu."Copy !req
189. It's not "horse oil." It's read "maayu."Copy !req
190. Unlike the horse oil that's
used in cosmetics and such,Copy !req
191. "maayu" in ramen refers to a
seasoning that's made byCopy !req
192. burning garlic and
transferring its fragrance.Copy !req
193. It has nothing to do with horses?Copy !req
194. If anything, it would be chicken.Copy !req
195. Kumamoto-style ramen uses a mix
of tonkotsu and chicken broth.Copy !req
196. By adding maayu, they give it
a richness that sets it apartCopy !req
197. from the Kurume and Tamana
styles that it's based on.Copy !req
198. But perhaps because it's a school cafeteria,
they've gone easy on the garlic.Copy !req
199. Authentic maayu has a much
stronger garlic smell.Copy !req
200. It's also customary to
include fried garlic chips.Copy !req
201. She'll actually talk to me when
it's about something she likes.Copy !req
202. Hakata and Nagahama ramen are the most
mainstream Kyushu tonkotsu styles,Copy !req
203. but Kumamoto style is known
for its thicker noodles.Copy !req
204. Huh...Copy !req
205. They're most commonly prepared to be firmer.Copy !req
206. When I eat there, I ask for it firm.Copy !req
207. She has such a cute, feminine voice.Copy !req
208. Koizumi-san went to Kumamoto
to have ramen, huh?Copy !req
209. There's a new shop near the school.Copy !req
210. Yeah? And?Copy !req
211. Hey!Copy !req
212. I want to try the ramen there!Copy !req
213. Want to go there sometime?Copy !req
214. I do not.Copy !req
215. Score!Copy !req
216. I got to talk to her a lot today!Copy !req
217. Now it's chicken oil, huh?Copy !req
218. Wait, it's gonna turn out that
there's no chicken in it, isn't it?Copy !req
219. Close call.Copy !req
220. It's "chiiyu."Copy !req
221. Koizumi-san is at a ramen shop again.Copy !req
222. Koizumi-san takes a seat,
and immediately makes an order.Copy !req
223. Karaage combo, please.Copy !req
224. We have three soup flavors:
rich, light, and stall-style.Copy !req
225. Without hesitation, Koizumi-san chooses rich,
with a karaage meal on the side.Copy !req
226. She eats more than she looks like she would.Copy !req
227. She ties her beautiful hair back,
perfectly prepared for battle.Copy !req
228. Time to eat.Copy !req
229. Yup, time to eat.Copy !req
230. This is even richer than expected.Copy !req
231. The noodles are covered in the muddy soup.Copy !req
232. So muddy...Copy !req
233. Koizumi-san looks incredibly
happy when she's eating ramen.Copy !req
234. Excuse me. Would you
please stop watching me?Copy !req
235. Oh, shoot!Copy !req
236. I was so mesmerized, my inner
play-by-play shut off for a moment.Copy !req
237. Why are you here?Copy !req
238. I don't remember coming here with you.Copy !req
239. You just noticed?Copy !req
240. Remember when I saw you at the school
gate and approached you?Copy !req
241. Koizumi-san, let's walk home together!Copy !req
242. And you ignored me.Copy !req
243. I had no choice,Copy !req
244. so I kind of casually followed you,
and came to this restaurant.Copy !req
245. I totally didn't think you'd
switch trains just to get ramen.Copy !req
246. Please stop stalking me.Copy !req
247. The ramen's so good.Copy !req
248. This soup is really thick, though, isn't it?Copy !req
249. I can't place this texture.Copy !req
250. It's a bit like white stew...Copy !req
251. Oh! It's like spaghetti carbonara!Copy !req
252. I had some at Saize last week.Copy !req
253. I've never had ramen like this.Copy !req
254. It's white soup, so I guess
it must be tonkotsu ramen?Copy !req
255. It doesn't taste anything like that
Kumamoto tonkotsu from before, though.Copy !req
256. Of course not.Copy !req
257. This soup uses chicken broth.Copy !req
258. You think all milky white soup
uses tonkotsu, don't you?Copy !req
259. It doesn't?Copy !req
260. To be honest, as someone
who doesn't know too much,Copy !req
261. all I knew was that murky
white soup is tonkotsu,Copy !req
262. clear white soup is salt,
murky brown soup is miso,Copy !req
263. and clear brown is soy sauce.Copy !req
264. I can't believe you survived all this
time with such little awareness.Copy !req
265. I'm impressed.Copy !req
266. But that's about normal!Copy !req
267. It's never caused any problems for me!Copy !req
268. Tonkotsu is classified as a broth.
Those others are classified as sauces.Copy !req
269. Broth? Sauce?Copy !req
270. They're the basic elements of ramen soup.Copy !req
271. The different broth and sauce combinations,Copy !req
272. as well as different seasonings,Copy !req
273. can create countless flavors,
even for the same soup,Copy !req
274. that are difficult to name
using their bases alone.Copy !req
275. This is suddenly getting complicated.Copy !req
276. It's like a science experiment.Copy !req
277. This creamy soup uses
chicken and vegetable broth.Copy !req
278. The texture comes from boiling
that down until it becomes thick.Copy !req
279. That apparently makes it rich in collagen.Copy !req
280. Collagen?Copy !req
281. That collagen, the one that
makes your skin all smooth?Copy !req
282. I must drink all of this.Copy !req
283. But there's no soup!Copy !req
284. The noodles absorbed it all.
There's no soup left!Copy !req
285. The noodles were soft to begin with,
and now they're just soggy.Copy !req
286. It's completely turned into carbonara!Copy !req
287. Yours too, Koizumi-san!Copy !req
288. Sorry! I ruined your ramen by pestering you!Copy !req
289. It's fine.Copy !req
290. I was waiting for this.Copy !req
291. As soon as it arrives,
I consume half of the noodles.Copy !req
292. I then leave the bowl for a while,
picking at the rice and side in the meantime.Copy !req
293. Once the noodles have completely
soaked up the soup,Copy !req
294. I scarf it all down.Copy !req
295. This is my personal favorite way to enjoy it.Copy !req
296. Further, at shops that serve free boiled eggs,
I break them into the soup.Copy !req
297. The resulting flavor is
indeed carbonara ramen.Copy !req
298. It's addictive enough that
I crave it once a week.Copy !req
299. That often?Copy !req
300. This is the story of a
ramen lover, Koizumi-san.Copy !req
301. Thanks for the meal.Copy !req
302. Morning.Copy !req
303. Morning.Copy !req
304. Morning.Copy !req
305. Koizumi-san!Copy !req
306. Morning!Copy !req
307. Hey, look.Copy !req
308. Don't you think my skin's gotten
smoother from that collagen yesterday?Copy !req
309. Yesterday?Copy !req
310. You were with Koizumi-san, You?Copy !req
311. Yeah, we had ramen together.Copy !req
312. It's not going to work overnight.Copy !req
313. It'll work if I eat it a few times, right?Copy !req
314. Let's go back today, Koizumi-san.Copy !req
315. No, thank you.Copy !req
316. What a jerk.Copy !req
317. I still don't like that girl.Copy !req
318. You...Copy !req
319. Yay!Copy !req
320. I got to talk to Koizumi-san
first thing in the morning!Copy !req
321. Today's going to be a good day!Copy !req
322. There's no getting her down...Copy !req
323. Hey, hey, Koizumi-san, it takes a lot of courage
to walk into a ramen shop alone, doesn't it?Copy !req
324. You seem totally cool with doing that, though.Copy !req
325. You're so awesome!Copy !req
326. I admire you so much!Copy !req
327. Who were you, again?Copy !req
328. So cool!Copy !req