Onto a small, desk-sized counter by the street window, Kamekichi Fujiwara slaps down a ball of dough and starts rolling. The 86-year-old owner of in western Tokyo¡¯s Kichijoji neighborhood kneads away until the lump ¡ª a mix of yeast and high-protein ¨²õ³ó´Ç²Ô flour commonly used to make chewy, elastic ramen ¡ª begins to yield.
¡°I¡¯m probably the only one in Japan who doesn¡¯t use a floured board,¡± Fujiwara says. ¡°Flavorless, dry flour sucks out the taste and moisture from the dough.
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