ケイゾウの来日！と、その歓迎会 (Welcoming Party for Keizo)

There has been a preponderance of radio silence on the Waseda Ramen front of late - there's been a lot going on, with several friends visiting from out of town. I've still been doing plenty of eating (the backlog is ten bowls deep!), but it's been tough to find time to put the posts online. I'm enjoying the hell out of having so many friends come to visit in Japan, but the arrival of one of those pals is particularly ramen related. I haven't even finished writing up the Shinyokohama Raumen Museum yet, but I gotta give that a pause for some breaking news.


My buddy and fellow blogger Keizo recently arrived on these shores for good, and he brought big dreams with him. In the classic ramen master tradition, he has abandoned his well-salaried office job to follow his dream and fulfill his calling in life - cooking noodles. I first met Keizo and Brian a few months back, and we've been noodling knuckleheads ever since.


Keizo is now an employee of the estimable Ivan Ramen, the western Tokyo shop famous for it's western head cook, transplanted New Yorker Ivan Orkin. There's a full post on my first visit to Ivan's shop coming down the pike, but suffice to say for now that he is one cool dude who makes one mean bowl of ramen. And from here on out those bowls will be prepared in part by my homie Keizo! A big thanks to Ivan for giving a good man a great opportunity.


But first things first! A welcoming party was in order, so we headed out to hit Keizo's favorite jams - wine, beer, and tapas at Spain Bar in Sasazuka, followed by a bowl at BASANOVA. I gotta say, the man has good taste.


There's only one thing better than a bowl of BASANOVA's spicy and creamy green curry ramen...


...and that's three bowls of BASANOVA's ramen, lined up with three cold beers!


Let the next phase of our crazy ramen life begin! Welcome Keizo, and ganbare!