Hakata tonkotsu ramen is the cloudy pork-bone broth poured over thin straight noodles; in Japan we have verified places to eat it in Fukuoka. Start with where to eat Hakata tonkotsu ramen in Fukuoka.
Hakata tonkotsu ramen · Fukuoka
Hakata tonkotsu ramen is the cloudy pork-bone broth poured over thin straight noodles. Born in Fukuoka around 1941, it now anchors 800-plus ramen counters across the city's wards.
The cloudy tonkotsu broth was born around 1941 at a dockside stall in Nagahama. Mitsugu Sugimoto's Sankyu and Hizo Tsuda's Ganso Nagahamaya are the most-cited origin candidates. The thin straight noodle, the kaedama refill, and a tare poured into the bowl before the broth all emerged together. Tonkotsu spread across Kyushu through the 1950s, with regional variants in Kumamoto (garlic-laced) and Kurume (richer). Today Hakata Issou, Ippudo Daimyo, Hakata Ikkousha and Shin-Shin run the canonical Fukuoka counters, and the Hakata format has since exported worldwide through chains like Ippudo and Ichiran.
Where to eat in Fukuoka:
- Hakata Issou Honten
- Ippudo Daimyo Honten
- Hakata Ramen Shin-Shin Tenjin Honten
- Hakata Ikkousha Honten
- Nagahama Number One Gion
Where to eat Hakata tonkotsu ramen in Fukuoka: the editor picks