Kazuyuki Takei, Ramen Shop Owner For more than 40 years, Kazuyuki Takei, a self-styled "ramen fool", has worked passionately to make the perfect ramen. At first glance, his traditional shoyu, or soy sauce, ramen may not look exceptional. But it leaves a lasting impression. Customers routinely line up outside Takei's shop in Fukushima Prefecture before opening time, and on holidays, the crowd swells to as many as 400 people. From the soup to the noodles, Takei makes his ramen entirely from scratch. Behind his original recipe is the story of a son's determination to outdo his dad, a man who was known as a ramen "genius".