13 ramen restaurants worth the trip across Japan, editor-ranked. All cuisines in Japan.
Kinryu Ramen Dotonbori ★ 4.7 · Osaka
Dotonbori and Namba · 1-7-26 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0071
The neon dragon landmark on Dotonbori canal, open 24 hours. Pork-based tonkotsu-soy ramen for under ¥800; kimchi and garlic are self-service at the counter.
Bakudanya Honten ★ 4.5 · Hiroshima
shintenchi · 2-12 Shintenchi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
Bakudanya is the Shintenchi shop that pushed Hiroshima tsukemen beyond the city: cold noodles dipped in a chilli and seafood-stock sauce you grade yourself.
Tip: The dipping sauce comes in graded heat steps, so order low on a first visit and add chilli powder at the table.
Chukasoba Youki Eba Honten ★ 4.5 · Hiroshima
eba · 3-4-1 Ebaminami, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
Chukasoba Youki has cooked one dish in Eba since 1958, and its soy and pork-bone bowl is exactly what Hiroshima people mean when they say chuka soba.
Tip: The Eba flagship shuts on the 1st, 12th, 13th and 26th of each month, so check the date before crossing the river.
Hanamaruken Ramen Namba ★ 4.5 · Osaka
Dotonbori and Namba · 1-2-1 Namba, Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0076
Famous for 24-hour pork-marrow kotteri broth and happiness pig chashu; a Namba landmark for late-night workers and tourists seeking rich Osaka tonkotsu.
Ichiran Dotonbori South ★ 4.5 · Osaka
Dotonbori and Namba · 1-4-16 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0071
Solo-booth tonkotsu ramen at the Dotonbori branch of Japan's solo-dining chain. Customise broth richness, spice, and noodle firmness on an order form.
Musashibo ★ 4.4 · Hiroshima
otemachi · 5-12 Fujimi-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
Musashibo serves Hiroshima's broth-free tantanmen a short walk from the Chudenmae tram stop, ordered by vending machine and graded by heat at no extra cost.
Tip: Heat runs on a four-step scale with level two as the house standard, and stepping up costs nothing extra.
Moeyo Mensuke ★ 4.4 · Osaka
Kitashinchi and Fukushima · 5-12-21 Fukushima, Fukushima-ku, Osaka 553-0003
Fukushima's duck-chashu ramen shop, famous for slow-roasted duck breast in a clean shoyu broth; a 20-seat counter that fills quickly by 12:00 and 19:00.
Mongoi-tei Tanna Honten ★ 4.2 · Hiroshima
minami-ku · 1-38 Tanna-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima
Mongoi-tei in Tanna builds a chicken, pork and seafood broth finished with dried fish and prawn oil, one of Hiroshima's busiest late ramen rooms.
Tip: The Tanna flagship sits south of the centre near Ujina, and it runs lunch every day but shuts the dinner service on Tuesdays.
Kadoya Shokudo ★ 4.2 · Osaka
Horie and Nishi-ku · 4-16-13 Shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Osaka 550-0013
A Shinmachi ramen institution since 1957: house-milled noodles in duck and shoyu broth. Queues form by 11:30 and the kitchen closes when soup runs out.
Resshi Shoyu Menkobo Sanku ★ 4.1 · Osaka
Kitashinchi and Fukushima · AK Palace, 2-6-5 Fukushima, Fukushima-ku, Osaka 553-0003
A Fukushima sardine-and-soy ramen specialist (Tabelog 100 2024) with a clean niboshi broth; at the 39th minute of each hour the staff hand out free desserts.
Tsubame Ramen ★ 4.0 · Hiroshima
nishi-ku · 3-2 Higashikanon-machi, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima
Tsubame Ramen works a small Higashi-Kanon room in western Hiroshima, a neighbourhood chuka soba counter rather than a stop on any visitor circuit.
Tip: Service runs unbroken from 11:30 to 22:00 on every day except Sunday, which is the one day the shutters stay down.
Wadato Hiroshima Ekimae ★ 4.0 · Hiroshima
ekimae · 5-12 Enkobashi-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima
Wadato works a Hakata-style tonkotsu bowl beside Hiroshima Station, open through the afternoon at weekends and until 23:30 for the last-train crowd.
Tip: Weekends run straight through from 11:30 with no afternoon break, but the shop is shut all day on Mondays.
Rai Rai Tei ★ 3.9 · Hiroshima
minami-ku · 3-3 Nishi-Midori-machi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima
Rai Rai Tei is a plain Minami-ku noodle room in Hiroshima with a split lunch and dinner service and a queue that forms without any signage at all.
Tip: The kitchen closes between 15:30 and 17:00 from Tuesday to Saturday, and the whole shop shuts on Mondays.