Frank knows ramen. You might even say that Frank eats, sleeps & breathes ramen.

Through 5AM Ramen, Frank has eaten hundreds of bowls a year (many years ongoing), explored ramen shops across Japan & beyond and built a career around sharing what he's learned through YouTube, ramen tours and hands-on experiences in Tokyo.

In Part 1 of our conversation, Frank joins Ari to talk about growing up in Tokyo, his earliest ramen memories and how 5AM Ramen got started. We get into everything from instant ramen and late-night bowls to ramen tours, regional styles, tonkotsu, Jiro and the enormous variety that makes ramen such an interesting part of Japanese food culture.

We also talk about Frank's own multicultural background and why ramen, despite its roots outside Japan, has become such a distinctly Japanese food while continuing to evolve.

In this episode:

• Frank's earliest ramen memories growing up in Tokyo
• Where the name 5AM Ramen came from
• How Frank went from a ramen blog to running ramen tours and a popular YouTube channel
• What it's like eating 200~400 bowls of ramen a year
• How ramen tasting tours work
• Why there's no single “right” way to enjoy ramen
• Shio, miso, shoyu, tonkotsu & the incredible range of ramen styles

• Why ramen leaves so much room for experimentation

This is Part 1 of our conversation with Frank. Look for Part 2, where we get into how ramen is changing today, the influence of YouTube and social media, what happens when small local shops suddenly get international attention, and some practical advice for visiting ramen shops in Japan.

Learn more about Frank and 5 AM Ramen:

5 AM Ramen
5AMRamen.com

Food Tour Tokyo
FoodTourTokyo.com

You can also find 5 AM Ramen on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/c/5AMRamen

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Episode Chapters:

(00:00) Intro & Overview

(03:05) Meet Frank

(05:00) 5AM Ramen Origins

(09:05) Ramen Tours in Tokyo

(22:47) Eating 200-400 Bowls a Year

(24:05) 5AM Ramen YouTube Channel

(27:28) Ramen & Multi-Culture

(31:30) Tonkotsu Ramen

(39:10) Closing Thoughts

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Music:

Island Travel - by Anonyment

旅ゆけば - by Tinymemory

Investor Night - by Anonyment

(all tracks with Dova Syndrome Music Materials License (dova-s .jp)

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