Name: Motsunabe (Fukuoka style)
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 500g beef offal (small intestine), blanched; 800g shredded green cabbage; 1 large bunch garlic chives, cut into 5cm lengths; 100g bean sprouts; 200g Korean miso paste OR 100ml shoyu; 1L dashi stock; 6 garlic cloves, sliced; 15g ginger, julienned; 1 small red chilli, sliced; 400g champon noodles, for the finish

Motsunabe is the Hakata offal hotpot, simmered with garlic chives and cabbage in a miso or soy-sauce broth, finished with champon noodles. Yamanaka codified the miso style in 1984.

Motsunabe came from Fukuoka's postwar Korean community, who brought the practice of cooking beef offal in a hotpot format. The dish stayed local until Yamanaka opened in Ohashi in 1984 and codified the miso-based version with garlic chives and cabbage; Rakutenchi followed with the soy-sauce style. Through the 1990s motsunabe boomed nationally as a Hakata regional specialty. The champon-noodle finish is a Yamanaka invention. The dish runs from October through March in most rooms; some carry it all year.

4 editor picks for Motsunabe in Fukuoka, ranked by editorial score. All Fukuoka signature dishes · Motsunabe across every city.

Hakata Motsunabe Yamanaka Akasaka ★ 4.6

Japanese

akasaka · Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-0042, Japan

Yamanaka invented miso motsunabe in 1984 and codified the Hakata offal hotpot. The Akasaka branch is the easiest of three to reach in central Fukuoka.

Motsunabe Rakutenchi Tenjin So-Honten ★ 4.5

Japanese

imaizumi · Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-0021, Japan

Rakutenchi Tenjin flagship: three floors, 240 horigotatsu seats, the largest motsunabe room in Kyushu. Soy-sauce base, mountain of garlic chives.

Hakata Motsunabe Yamanaka Hakata ★ 4.4

Japanese

hakata · Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0013, Japan

The Hakata Station branch of Yamanaka miso-motsunabe original, closer to the shinkansen than the Akasaka room, with the same recipe since 1984.

Hakata Motsunabe Yamanaka Ohashi Honten ★ 4.2

Japanese

akasaka · Minami-ku, Fukuoka 815-0035, Japan

The original 1984 Yamanaka, a warehouse building in Ohashi where miso motsunabe was first codified. Hardest to reach of the three Yamanaka rooms; quietest.

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Motsunabe makes more sense with someone from Fukuoka explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

Taste Motsunabe with a local in Fukuoka

Hakata Ramen and Motsunabe Food Tour with Licensed Guide

This dishPrivate tour4 hoursfrom ¥33,000

Discover the flavors of Fukuoka on a private food tour with a licensed guide. Taste iconic Hakata ramen and hearty motsunabe while exploring the vibrant local food scene.

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Fukuoka: Ramen-Making and Matcha Experience

2 hours4.0 from 4 reviewsfrom ¥8,800

At didi's 70-year-old Japanese home, join us for a relaxed ramen and tea experience. Create your own Hakata-style ramen, then enjoy matcha and sweets in a cozy tea room.

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