“Irasshaimase!”

When people walk into Tsujita, they hear vigorous and friendly voices from waiters and waitresses welcoming them in Japanese. Irasshaimase literally means “welcome to the restaurant.” Tsujita is a Japanese ramen restaurant where people can experience delicious ramens that taste authentic.

It offers ramens, all perfectly tasty. The restaurant stresses on the soup. Each ramen has different flavors: soup from dried small fishes, from pork bone, and from chicken. Moreover, those soups have been boiled 16 hours. Customers can add toppings that they want. They can add char siu (barbecued pork), ajitama (seasoned soft-boiled egg), and more. In addition, they can alter the taste; they can add soy sauce, spicy takana, or red ginger for free.

Tsujita serves not too Americanized ramens. Instead, they offer those that are cooked by a specially trained Japanese chef. The kitchen manager of Tsujita in Glendale is Naoyuki Kurashige. He is from Japan. Surprisingly, he remembers every regular customer and what they ordered. He often adds toppings for free for frequent customers.

Furthermore, all servers are friendly and quick. Customers can get food in as little as 10 minutes. In the restaurant, everything is clean, too. To add authenticity, all staff say “thank you” in Japanese when customers leave. It is a Japanese style and culture to behave like this, especially at a ramen eatery.

People can get the amazing ramen at a great price. The cheapest ramen is Killer Dan-Dan Noodle without soup at $10.45. Customers can choose the level of spicy. Tsujita also serves many kinds of rice bowls, such as Spicy Tuna Don and Salmon Ikura Don. These are all $5.99, but these all become $4.99 when combined with any noodles.

In Tsujita, there is seating for all types of groups: tables for more than four, for two, and big tables that can be shared with anybody. The atmosphere of the restaurant is very modern and comfortable. Fashionable lights shine on the tables.

The busiest time is 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., especially on weekends. Tsujita has happy hour, where customers can drink sake at half-price, so they can have a good time when they go.

Delivery service is available for Tsujita, too, so customers can order through Uber Eats.

When visitors finish eating their meal and head out of the restaurant, they hear “arigatougozaimashita!” from all staff members. That means “thank you very much.”

The restaurant is located at 769 Americana Way, in Glendale, Calif. and has several locations, including in Downtown Los Angeles and in Honolulu, Hawaii. Reach the Glendale location at (818) 553-3822.

Chieko Kubo can be reached at [email protected]