Photo/Illutration Jean-Baptiste Meusnier at his ramen shop Kodawari Ramen Tsukiji in Paris (Yuko Kawasaki)

Jean-Baptiste Meusnier’s life took on a new direction after he polished off a bowl of ramen on his first visit to Japan around 15 years ago.

The French native was working as a pilot for Oman Air at the time, after having served in the French Air and Space Force.

Recalling that visit, Meusnier said heavily discounted air tickets are a perk of the job, so he booked a flight to Japan.

His main interest was sightseeing, but trying a bowl of ramen was on his radar, too.

Meusnier, 44, had previously tried ramen at a Japanese restaurant in Paris, but left underwhelmed.

But he was still curious to discover if authentic ramen was all it is cracked up to be.

Soon after he arrived in Tokyo, Meusnier found a ramen place popular with tourists that offered tonkotsu ramen, which is served with a heavy pork bone broth.

He recalled being astonished by the “exceedingly delicious” soup.

The experience ignited Meusnier’s love affair with ramen, to the point he takes time out of his flying duties to “commute” at least four times a year to Japan to get his “fix.”

Meusnier set out to savor the vastly different ramen traditions offered across Japan, not just in Tokyo and other large cities.

Joined by his wife and children, Meusnier rented a car to travel to ramen shops in the countryside recommended by an American acquaintance in Japan who knows the noodle industry inside out.

Meusnier also did his own research before deciding where to go by scouring blogs posted by the country’s army of diehard ramen fans.

Meusnier reckons he has tried about 300 bowls of ramen during these outings.

His desire to learn the art of making ramen and open his own shop in Paris grew stronger in the process.

Through the American acquaintance, Meusnier gained the opportunity to learn how to cook ramen from chefs in Tokyo and Osaka.

When it came to designing the interior of his ramen shop in Paris, Meusnier desperately wanted to capture the ambience of Tokyo’s old Tsukiji fish market.

The historic market close to Tokyo Bay was one venue Meusnier always made a point of visiting whenever he was in Japan.

The outer market that survives teems with rows of wholesale and retail shops, all crammed in alleyways, creating a special ambience, amid the hustle and bustle of workers going about their business and crowds hunting for fresh seafood.

The inner market was where auctions for huge tuna were held. It closed in 2018 and the site moved to Toyosu, about 2 kilometers away.

“I miss it a lot because it was completely unique,” Meusnier said. “But I am trying to preserve some of its spirit here in Paris.”

Kodawari Ramen Tsukiji, the shop he opened five years ago on the first floor of an old building, a five-minute walk from Louvre Museum, is the culmination of an obsession with noodles and a deep affection for the old Tsukiji market.

The shop, which has seating for more than 30 people at the counter, and tables too, is filled with a wide array of knickknacks from the Tsukiji market that he collected over the years: plastic bags bearing the market’s name, Styrofoam containers for fish, gloves and so on.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Recordings of auctioneers’ chants and bells, along with the sounds of black-tailed gulls that were ever-present over the Tsukiji market, play in the background.

His shop’s most popular offering is ramen with broth made from sardine and sea bream. The noodles are hand-made. A bowl costs the equivalent of 2,200 yen ($15). Customers are invariably to be seen standing in line outside.

The shop gets around 650 diners a day, making it one of popular ramen places in the city.

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