Restaurants
特製背脂生姜ラーメン / Tokusei Seabura Shōga Ramen / Shōga Shoyu Senmon Gamushara — Hatagaya, Tokyo
Niigata-inspired ramen consists of a clear pork and niboshi soup combined with a dark shoyu tare, finished with pork back and ginger. Noodles are sourced from Mikawaya Seimen. Topped with two kinds of pork chashu, ajitama, menma, iwanori,... More
特製背脂生姜ラーメン / Tokusei Seabura Shōga Ramen / Shōga Shoyu Senmon Gamushara — Hatagaya, Tokyo
Niigata-inspired ramen consists of a clear pork and niboshi soup combined with a dark shoyu tare, finished with pork back and ginger. Noodles are sourced from Mikawaya Seimen. Topped with two kinds of pork chashu, ajitama, menma, iwanori, negi, ginger and naruto.
Master Hasunuma-san is from Niigata Prefecture, before becoming a ramen chef he trained in France where he learned various French culinary techniques. The bowls he serves are rooted in Niigata ramen culture but executed with the skills he learned abroad. There are now several shops he overseas in Japan, with a few more produced overseas. Hatagaya Gamushara flagship first opened in 2007, before moving to a new space nearby in 2010. 14 seats. @gamushara.group Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Matador (マタドール) at Gyukotsu Ramen Matador (牛骨らぁ麺マタドール)
Recommended bowl: Best beef ramen!
Master Iwatate-san opened Matador in 2011, just as a mini boom in gyukotsu (beef bone) ramen was sweeping Tokyo. Matador immediately placed itself at the forefront of the nascent scene by winning a bevy of awards from ramen critics and Tokyo food magazines.
The shoyu ramen is recommended for first-timers here,... More
Recommended bowl: Best beef ramen!
Master Iwatate-san opened Matador in 2011, just as a mini boom in gyukotsu (beef bone) ramen was sweeping Tokyo. Matador immediately placed itself at the forefront of the nascent scene by winning a bevy of awards from ramen critics and Tokyo food magazines.
The shoyu ramen is recommended for first-timers here, but everything on the menu – shoyu ramen, shio ramen, tsukemen, Taiwan ramen, abura soba, and more – is delicious. All of the dishes use a beef bone soup stock, with noodles provided by the purveyor Mikawaya Seimen. Most bowls include the topping option for slices of house-made roast beef chashu.
On Mondays, the menu changes and only mazesoba (ramen without soup) is offered. Rather than the normal roast beef chashu, fried gyu-katsu is added. In 2013, Iwatate-san opened another beef bone ramen shop specializing in miso ramen, just a five minute walk away. Both shops are legit. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Shibasakitei Umegaoka (柴崎亭 梅ヶ丘店 ) at Shibasakitei Umegaoka (柴崎亭 梅ヶ丘店 )
Recommended bowl: Wonton Chūka Soba
This is the second branch of the highly ranked shop in Tsutsujigaoka. The recommended wonton chūka soba comes with a Japanese 'wafu' style dashi soup paired with shoyu tare, meat wontons and straight, thin noodles provided by Tamura Seimen. The noodles are laid out evenly using a hira zaru. High level, new-school... More
Recommended bowl: Wonton Chūka Soba
This is the second branch of the highly ranked shop in Tsutsujigaoka. The recommended wonton chūka soba comes with a Japanese 'wafu' style dashi soup paired with shoyu tare, meat wontons and straight, thin noodles provided by Tamura Seimen. The noodles are laid out evenly using a hira zaru. High level, new-school style shop, serving simple yet sophisticated bowls. Open since March 4, 2019. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 王餃子 at Wang Gyoza
博多しょうゆラーメン / Hakata Shoyu Ramen / Wan Gyoza — Nakasu, Fukuoka
Clear shoyu soup is made from simmering chicken bones along with seven types of vegetables. Noodles are custom-made by a local purveyor. Simple toppings feature pork belly chashu, bean sprouts and negi. Popular side items include fried rice and bite-sized house-made... More
博多しょうゆラーメン / Hakata Shoyu Ramen / Wan Gyoza — Nakasu, Fukuoka
Clear shoyu soup is made from simmering chicken bones along with seven types of vegetables. Noodles are custom-made by a local purveyor. Simple toppings feature pork belly chashu, bean sprouts and negi. Popular side items include fried rice and bite-sized house-made gyoza packed with negi and garlic chives; over 1,000 orders are served per day.
A legendary Nakasu Machi Chūka restaurant with a 60+ year history, Wan Gyoza is said to be the oldest Fukuoka establishment still operating to serve ramen made from chicken. The kitchen is run by second-generation owner Yamagata-san and his sons. 33 seats. Open since 1964 @wangyoza Less
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Recommended bowl: Wicked spicy miso
This shop's concept hits hard. Kikanbou means 'spiked bat' in Japanese. More specifically, it refers to the truncheon-like weapon that Oni (demons and ogres) wield in traditional Japanese folklore. The shop's exterior features paintings of menacing Oni brandishing their kikanbou. Inside, the pounding of Japanese... More
Recommended bowl: Wicked spicy miso
This shop's concept hits hard. Kikanbou means 'spiked bat' in Japanese. More specifically, it refers to the truncheon-like weapon that Oni (demons and ogres) wield in traditional Japanese folklore. The shop's exterior features paintings of menacing Oni brandishing their kikanbou. Inside, the pounding of Japanese taiko drums pumps through the sound system on endless repeat. Oni masks line the walls. The master, Miura-san, has created a fearsome ramen experience that delivers on all levels.
The soup here is a mix of miso and tonkotsu – rich, creamy and fatty. The standard toppings include a big chunk of juicy chashu, a drizzle of blackened garlic oil and heaps of chili and peppercorns. Explosive flavors. Be prepared to sweat.
When you order, the staff will ask you to indicate your spice preferences: how much chili (the 'kara' rating) and the amount of mouth-numbing sansho, or Szechuan peppercorns (the 'shibi' rating). First-timers are recommended to go 'regular' on both (just say: 'futsu-futsu').
Each bowl comes with three varieties of noodles, of varying width, which is fairly rare in the Tokyo ramen world. The chilies and peppercorns employed at Kikanbou are typically associated with Szechuan Chinese cooking, but despite the heat, they're harmonized beautifully with the Japanese miso-tonkotsu soup.
Kikanbou debuted in 2009 and has gotten a lot of local press. There's almost always a line several heads deep. If you'd rather not wait, there's a spinoff Kikanbou shop located just 50 feet down the same street. The menu is exactly the same, but all of the dishes are tsukemen instead of ramen. In 2014, Kikanbou opened a second shop in Ikebukaro. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 一九ラーメン生の松原店 at 一九ラーメン 生の松原店
ワンタン麺 / Wontonmen / Ikkyū Ramen — Ikinomatsubara, Fukuoka
Tonkotsu pork bone soup is served slightly milky and less sweet than other Ikkyū branches. The recommended wontonmen includes handmade wontons seasoned with black pepper. The master recommends saving the wontons until you’ve finished half of your bowl. Also topped with pork... More
ワンタン麺 / Wontonmen / Ikkyū Ramen — Ikinomatsubara, Fukuoka
Tonkotsu pork bone soup is served slightly milky and less sweet than other Ikkyū branches. The recommended wontonmen includes handmade wontons seasoned with black pepper. The master recommends saving the wontons until you’ve finished half of your bowl. Also topped with pork belly chashu, green negi and sesame seeds.
There are seven Ikkyū Ramen branches currently operating in Fukuoka, with the Ōhashi flagship open since 1964. All stores were founded and run by relatives of the Iwai family, this is the only remaining branch that has not been passed down to a younger generation and is still operated by the original master. 10 seats. Open since 1969. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at ZUND-BAR (ズンド・バー) at ZUND-BAR (ZUND-BAR)
Recommended bowl: Original AFURI
Zund-Bar, located in the foothills of Mt. Afuri in rural Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, was opened in 2001 by Nakamura Hiroto. The remote location was selected so that the shop could utilize the fresh spring water coming from the mountain. Even to this day they still use the mountain spring water in the soup, which comes... More
Recommended bowl: Original AFURI
Zund-Bar, located in the foothills of Mt. Afuri in rural Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, was opened in 2001 by Nakamura Hiroto. The remote location was selected so that the shop could utilize the fresh spring water coming from the mountain. Even to this day they still use the mountain spring water in the soup, which comes from a pipe flowing directly from a mountain stream to the restaurant. The shop is known for a clear soup made from chicken, pork, and gyokai, which is served with yuzu. Many tourists now know the famous Tokyo chain Afuri — this is that chain's OG mother restaurant. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Ramen Kai (らーめん 改) at Ramen Kai (らーめん改)
Recommended bowl: Shellfish harmony
Opened in 2016, Kai specializes in a soup made with shellfish. Master Kibamoto-san trained at Itsuki in Ome. The soup base is Japanese Asari clams, but there are also mussels and scallops in the soup. All of the noodles are handmade; no MSG anywhere. This shop closes when the soup runs out, so Kibamoto-san tells... More
Recommended bowl: Shellfish harmony
Opened in 2016, Kai specializes in a soup made with shellfish. Master Kibamoto-san trained at Itsuki in Ome. The soup base is Japanese Asari clams, but there are also mussels and scallops in the soup. All of the noodles are handmade; no MSG anywhere. This shop closes when the soup runs out, so Kibamoto-san tells customers to check his twitter feed to see how many bowls will be available for the dinner shift. See: @ra_menkai Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Ichizu (一途) at Ichizu (一途)
Recommended bowl: French influence
Menya Ichizu is different than most ramen shops in that it draws its inspiration from French cuisine as opposed to Japanese. Master Nakata-san trained at a restaurant in Paris for ten years, and the menu offers a full French course. There are a variety of bowls on the menu, including some with soup bases made from... More
Recommended bowl: French influence
Menya Ichizu is different than most ramen shops in that it draws its inspiration from French cuisine as opposed to Japanese. Master Nakata-san trained at a restaurant in Paris for ten years, and the menu offers a full French course. There are a variety of bowls on the menu, including some with soup bases made from curry and fresh cream. Open since 2013, with a second branch Kizuna open since 2017. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 一九ラーメン・いち里 糸島店 at 一九ラーメン いち里
ねぎっこラーメン / Negikko Ramen / Ikkyū Ramen Ichiri — Itoshima, Fukuoka
Light and semi-sweet tonkotsu pork bone soup is cooked using a burner which runs on kerosene. Noodles are boiled in a large pot and served using a flat ‘hirazaru’ strainer. Topped with diced green negi, gochujang Korean chili paste and sesame seeds. Standard... More
ねぎっこラーメン / Negikko Ramen / Ikkyū Ramen Ichiri — Itoshima, Fukuoka
Light and semi-sweet tonkotsu pork bone soup is cooked using a burner which runs on kerosene. Noodles are boiled in a large pot and served using a flat ‘hirazaru’ strainer. Topped with diced green negi, gochujang Korean chili paste and sesame seeds. Standard tonkotsu ramen, wontonmen and champon also on the menu. The house-made wontons are said to be served slightly firmer than at other Ikkyū branches.
This location of Ikkyū Ramen started off as a branch of the now closed Ikkyū Ramen Shusenji. Despite being the newest store within the group, the staff are related to the original Ikkyū founder and represent the Iwaii family. Around 20 seats. Open since 2004. Less