Hakata sumo chanko is the deep-protein hotpot built around chicken, pork and fish balls, with cabbage and miso. A winter dish in motsunabe-style rooms and the rare crossover to Tokyo sumo-stable cuisine.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Chanko-nabe traces to the Tokyo sumo stable cuisine of the late-Meiji era, but the Hakata form took on a regional spin in the 1980s and 1990s as motsunabe rooms expanded into multi-protein hotpots in winter. Today some Hakata izakaya run the chanko version through January and February. It is a rare crossover dish; the canonical Hakata hotpot remains motsunabe or mizutaki.
Common allergens: Soy, Fish, Gluten
Tip from the editors. The miso must be white miso for a clean Hakata flavour; red miso turns this into a Nagoya dish.
Yamanaka invented miso-style motsunabe in 1984. The Akasaka branch is the most central of three Fukuoka outlets and the easiest reservation.
Signature: Miso motsunabe, Soy sauce motsunabe, Champon noodle finish
Order: Miso motsunabe for two with the champon noodle close.
Tip: Reserve a day ahead for dinner. Closes between 14:30 and 17:00 for the afternoon break.
Rakutenchi's Tenjin flagship: three floors and 240 horigotatsu seats, the largest motsunabe room in Kyushu. Soy-sauce base, mountain of garlic chives.
Signature: Soy-sauce motsunabe, All-you-can-eat champon, Garlic-chive mound
Order: Puripuri motsu daimanzoku course with all-you-can-eat champon noodles.
Tip: Open daily 17:00-24:00. Reserve through the operator's site or by phone.
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