Niigata Negi Ramen — Sweet Onion Mountain Tsukemen

Niigata's signature ramen style centers on an enormous mound of finely-chopped sweet green onions (negi) served atop miso-based soup with thick, chewy noodles. The local negi variety (Koshiji negi) is unusually sweet and mild, grown in Niigata's deep snow regions where winter cold converts the onion's starches to sugar. A proper Niigata negi ramen is visually absurd — the green onion pile is often taller than the bowl's rim — but the flavor balance works: the sweet, crunchy onion cuts the rich miso-pork broth.

The most famous negi ramen shop is Negi Ramen Yamato (ねぎラーメン やまと), where the 'special negi ramen' (¥980) includes approximately 200g of raw negi plus a soft-boiled egg and thick chashu pork. The shop provides scissors to cut the onions to preferred length before mixing into soup.