Rich seafood and Tonkotsu (pork bones) ! Sapporo Tsukemen 「Araton Main branch」

Unlike ordinary ramen, 「Tsukemen」style ramen is similar to Japanese 「Zarusoba」 style of eating noodles. You get the noodles and soup separately and you dip your noodles in the soup before each bite (slurp).
This time, I visited the「Araton Main Branch 」where they are famous for Tsukemen style ramen.

The shop is located in the Jyogaiichiba, which is just outside of the「Sapporo Central Wholesale Market」. You could call it the kitchen of the people of Sapporo.
In the area are many markets and restaurants located next to each other. They cater to the tourists. It’s always busy.
「Araton main branch」is located near the big parking lot for the tourist buses.

As soon as the shop opens, it fills up. Look at the steamy room!
Outside there are already more than 10 people waiting to get in.

They have regular style Ramen too (not tsukemen style). Here, unlike other shops, you can adjust the amount of noodles at no additional cost. First you buy the meal coupon at the vending machine.

Since you have already placed your order, you don’t have to wait very long for your ramen once you get in.
First, I tried the main dish of this shop, 「Araton Tokusei Noukou Tsukemen」(Araton Special Rich Tsukemen)(¥1070). You can choose the size 「Nami」 (Regular), 「Chyu」 (Medium), 「Dai 」(Large), 「Aramori 」(Extra Large)! The photo shown below is 「Chyu」(Medium). You can also choose the temperature of the noodles, either Cold or Hot. If you want to enjoy the flavour of the soup more, then choose cold. If you like it hot, then choose hot, whichever you like.

What you need to know about Tsukemen style is that compared to usual Ramen broth, Tsukemen broth is very thick.
Once you finish eating the noodles, if you want to enjoy sipping the broth, you can ask them to add some thinner broth to dilute the thick Tsukemen broth. They call this 「soup Wari」 (dilute with broth).

They have a prime location in the wholesale seafood market so their soup has an amazing rich seafood flavour. Their Tonkotsu (Pork bone) soup is very rich in taste as well. The thick noodles and the soup match perfectly. The noodles have a nice firm texture. The Chasyu pork is sliced thick and tender.

For regular style ramen lovers, the「 Araton Special Syoyu Ramen」 (¥970) is highly recommended.
The base soup is the same as the Tsukemen but thinner so you can still enjoy the rich flavour of seafood.