Tsukuba is something of a 'ramen battleground' outside Tokyo, with the city dominating the rankings for Ibaraki prefecture, with many of their most famous shops drawing in visitors nationwide.
As you'd expect, Tsukuba has its own ramen festival every October. The premise is slightly different too, with different Ibaraki ramen shop 'tag teams' competing to offer the best unique, collaborative bowl of ramen. For example in 2016, visitors could try curry ramen (Dragon Noodles x Mendou Inaba), Ise shrimp-infused toripaitan (Hurricane x Gyakuryu) or beef shoyu (Ryu no Hige x Menya Kotetsu), among other original creations.
Alongside these Ibaraki tag teams, the remaining half are invited from around Japan. Visitors can expect top quality offerings from some very famous ramen names that can't be tried anywhere else – exclusively for 3 days only.
