Nagoya ramen shop revived by professional cyclist

A popular medicinal ramen shop in Nagoya, Sho-fukuken, has successfully reopened following a period of closure. The restaurant, originally founded in 1985 by Yoshihiro Matsuura, was forced to shut down in 2019 due to Matsuura's health issues.

The revival was driven by a dedicated regular customer, Shinpei Yamamoto, a professional keirin cyclist with career earnings exceeding 250 million yen. Motivated by a desire to taste the shop's signature broth again, Yamamoto built a replica kitchen in his home garage to undergo rigorous training under Matsuura.

After three years of apprenticeship, Yamamoto retired from professional cycling to take over the business. The shop has now reopened in Nagoya's Kita Ward, where Yamamoto and a recovered Matsuura work together to serve their specialty medicinal soup, which is prepared by simmering chicken bones, seafood, and various medicinal herbs for six hours.