Oguraya

Published: Aug 11, 2026

Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Sano ramenaodake-uchiSanolocal foodsince 1976

Representative image — not a photograph of this location.

Sano ramen is defined by how the noodles are made. A length of green bamboo is anchored at one end and the maker sits on the free end, bouncing their body weight along the dough — aodake-uchi, green bamboo pressing — which produces an irregular, wavy noodle with an uneven bite that machine rolling cannot reproduce. The broth is clear chicken and soy, light enough that the noodle is unmistakably the main event.

Oguraya opened in 1976 and is among the best-known shops in a town that has around two hundred of them. It moved to a large roadside building with seventy parking spaces and 132 seats, which sounds like a chain and is not — the noodles are still bamboo-pressed on the premises and the shop closes when the soup runs out. At ¥660 a bowl it is also, by some distance, the cheapest good meal in this guide.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Weekdays 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM | Sundays 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Closes earlier when the soup runs out

Closed: Closed Mondays

Entrance Fee

Sano ramen ¥660 | Large ¥770 | Chilled ramen ¥715 | Motsuni ¥418

Best Season

Year-round | Chilled ramen in summer

Visit Duration

30–45 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

993-1 Izuruhara-cho, Sano. Car recommended; roughly 15 minutes from JR and Tobu Sano Station. Open 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM on weekdays and 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM on Sundays, closing earlier when the soup runs out. Closed Mondays. Sano ramen ¥660, large ¥770; chilled ramen ¥715; motsuni ¥418. Free parking for around 70 cars, 132 seats. Phone 0283-25-1128.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Order it plain first.** The standard ¥660 bowl with no toppings is the reference version and the one that shows what bamboo-pressed noodles do. Add gyoza on the side rather than loading the bowl. **132 seats and it still queues.** The building is large but weekend lunchtimes fill it. Arriving at opening or after 2:00 PM avoids the worst of it, and the soup running out is a genuine risk late in the day. **Sano has around two hundred ramen shops.** If there is a wait here, the town is full of alternatives and many are excellent. The Sano Ramen Association lists member shops, which is a more reliable filter than review sites. **Combine with Karasawayama.** The mountain shrine and castle ruins above the town are twenty minutes away and make ramen into a half-day rather than a motorway stop. **Sano is an easy Tokyo day trip.** Tobu from Asakusa, or the Tohoku Expressway. The outlet mall brings most of the traffic; the ramen is why people from the region come.

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