Name: Behind the Counter at Japan's Hangover Cure Ramen Restaurant
Uploaded: 2026-03-28T17:38:41.000Z
Duration: 17 min 58 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

The only problem is, I woke up with a massive hangover, so I promised myself, "I'm never doing this again." And it was on this day I discovered the ultimate hangover miracle.

It's called Shijimi Ramen, a clear soup packed with extracts from these tiny Shijimi clams, which have liver-supporting nutrients that I can't even pronounce correctly, like ornithine, taurine, succinic acid, and

Apparently it's common in the country for Japanese to drink Shijimi soup in the morning and also after a night of drinking.

It all led me to Orni, which serves an incredibly delicious Shijimi clam ramen.

The owner fell in love with the original recipe at a small shop in Matsuyama, run by an elderly couple for 22 years.

Who were shutting down business in a week, he managed to convince the owner to train him and allow him to take over the business.

So I'm here in Gotanda to find out how a little clam has become Japan's ultimate hangover ramen.

That's the owner, Kumazaki-san, a 29-year-old ramen shop owner running 3 shops in Tokyo along with the original location in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, rotating between all of them.

Today he happens to be at the Gotanda location.

この世から二日酔いをなくすっていう、これ夢です。 I like that dream.

これ鳥のガラですね。これで元のベースのスープの出汁を混ぜるんですけど、このままやるとアクが出ちゃうんで、霜降りっていう作業をして、ちょっと表面的に油だったりを落としてあげて、きれいな状態でスープをこれから作ります。 Ah, okay.

The original owner who crafted the recipe they use today ran his shop in southern Japan, Matsuyama, for 22 years.

And in order for Kumazaki-san to learn the recipe and the subtleties of the preparation process, he moved to the area to study under the owner for 2 months, each day taking in as much as he could.

But one of the largest challenges he faced was that the owner cooked primarily on intuition, a handful of clams, a pinch of salt, so he had to break down each step for him to be able to recreate the same exact taste.

今もう引退されて、レシピだったりとかノウハウだったりし、あと仕入れ先とかも全部引き継ぎさせていただきましたね。 Cool.

The shop uses a specific hot spring water from Kagoshima in their broth, as it's naturally rich in minerals and antioxidants, plus it's an ultra-soft water.

僕ですか。僕はその前はソフトバンクっていう会社で会社員をずっとしていまして、プロダクトマネージャーという役職でIT系のサービスを作ってたんですけど、2022年にお母さんががんで亡くなっちゃいまして、それを機に。 Losing his mother was one of the hardest things he'd experienced in his life, and

it made him realize many things, including how his own time was limited.

It made him question what he really wanted to do with his life, and

one of his dreams was always to run his own business.

Despite enjoying the work he did with his company, he decided it was now or never to start a new path.

With his heart open and searching, he happened to one day randomly walk into a Shijimi ramen shop, which would forever change his life.

See, some of the warmest memories with his mom was when he was a kid going to ramen shops.

Anytime they would go out to eat, it almost certainly meant that they'd be going out to ramen.

They would choose from the menu together, and

his mom would always be smiling as they ate from their hot steaming bowls.

Now, each bowl that he crafts at his shop is a subtle reminder of those moments.

週日曜日だけお休みで、ここの店舗含め全店舗週6ですね。 Cool.

読書とサウナと筋トレが好きです。 Awesome.

最近だと読んだ本が、これ何言うか迷うな。左利きのエレンっていう漫画なんですけど、仕事にも通ずるような勉強になる漫画だなと思って。 Sounds helpful.

最低でも週1では、渋谷とか五反田とか恵比寿のサウナ行ってます。 I'm in the saunas too.

あ、本当ですか。週どのぐらい行かれますか。 Jim has a sauna, so 3 to 5 times a week.

お、すごい。僕も本当は週4ぐらい行きたいなと思ってるんで、まだまだ頑張ります。 Hi.

How long have you been working at the shop?

こちらはでも、開始ができてちょっとして入りました。入社しました。 Nice.

この世から二日酔いをなくす、この夢がやっぱりすごく共感できたっていうのがすごくあって。 I feel you.

会社を経営してて、今も会社経営してるんですけど、こっちの会社も今頑張ってやってる感じです。 Oh, wow.

うんうんうん。社長、すごい社長なんで。 So what kind of business?

企業の事業だったり、犬と一緒にご飯食べれるイタリアンのレストランだったり、その犬と一緒にこれでバーベキュー場だったりとか、そういうのをいろいろやってます。 Now he brings in today's deliveries.

The shop uses the wavy-style egg noodles from Kaikan, a very well-established noodle maker in Japan.

These are the Shijimi clams, shipped every morning straight from Shinjuku in Shimane Prefecture.

Grown in brackish lakes where freshwater and seawater mix, which helps produce their uniquely thick flesh, plump texture, and

intense umami flavor, perfect for the shop's signature umami-rich ramen.

By the way, this building is quite interesting, huh?

そうなんですよ。五反田ヒルズっていう、スナック30店舗ぐらい入ってると思うんですけども、スナックがたくさん入ってるビルでして、夜な夜な皆さんが遊びに来てますね。 You found the perfect spot.

そうですね。ありがとうございます。 So do you know the other store owners?

あ、いますいます。もちろん。 That's cool.

あ、どうぞ行きます。 Yeah, I'd love to check it out.

Kumazaki-san must carefully cook the Shijimi clams and adjust the cook time depending on their condition, as cooking them longer brings out their umami, but

too long would start to shrink and dry them out.

So it looks like he's going to boil the clams for 1 hour until it's ready.

By the way, there's a lot of weird stuff happening here at night?

変なことはいっぱいありますね、やっぱり。 Oh, like what?

酔っ払ったお客さんがやっちゃったりとか、大声でお店入ってくる酔っ払ったお客さんとか、いろんな変な人、やっぱ酔っ払ってるからいっぱいいますね。 Damn.

ここのボタンを押したらサイレンが鳴ります。 押してみます?

いや、まだないですね。はい、まだ。ただやっぱり外でお客さん同士がファイトしてたりとかはありますね。 Crazy.

そうですね。有名な人とかも来るんで、芸能人のとかも来るんで、お酒飲んで最後にラーメン食べるためにここでいっぱいお酒飲むっていうか。 味も、はい、すごくいいんで。 Now they prepare the takikomi gohan, flavored steamed rice with Shijimi clams, using 100% Aikawa Komachi rice from Akita Prefecture, which is grown with low or pesticide-free farming methods.

Kumazaki-san has made it a point to individually select each ingredient he serves to his customers.

辛いもの、あんまり得意じゃないんですけど、彼は得意です。 Oh, you do?

辛いの好きです。はい。 Well, this hot sauce is crafted in Niigata, and the flavor is unreal.

ありがとうございます。 This one is extremely spicy, so be careful.

パウロさんが出してるホットソース。すごい。 パウロさん、あれですよね、先日お誕生日おめでとうございます。実はちょっとあのケーキを。 Oh, wow.

おめでとうございます。 Thank you so much.

開いてますね、これ今。 The broth is now ready, rich with the deep umami drawn out from the clams.

Honestly, does it really work on hangovers?

うこんは聞きます。うこんとかヘパリーゼとかが効かないけど、うちのスープ飲んだら翌日が大丈夫だという方がこぞって頼んでくれますね。 That's crazy.

はい。将来的にあのコンビニに並べるようなドリンクも作ろうと思ってるんで、頑張ります。 Awesome.

By the way, how was it when you first started?

本当に最初オープンしたときは、お客様がゼロ。誰も来てくださらないときとかもあって、そのときはもう結構しんどかったですね。 Must have been scary.

いや、本当怖いです。今でもそうなんですけど。 He says he did whatever he could, even handing out flyers on the street.

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Behind the Counter at Japan's Hangover Cure Ramen Restaurant

ultimate

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