Contents
Basic Information
One of the ramen types representing Western Japan, Tonkotsu Ramen, is also known as a specialty of the Kyushu region. This ramen is one of the four major categories of Japanese ramen soups, alongside soy sauce, miso, and salt. Tonkotsu Ramen is characterized by its rich and creamy soup, and it is particularly popular among foreign tourists.
Tokushima Ramen
Tokushima Ramen is a ramen dish that can be enjoyed in Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku region. The soup is pork bone-based, with white soy sauce for white soup, dark soy sauce for black soup, and chicken bones and vegetables used for yellow soup. The reason why pork bone ramen spread in Tokushima is that there were ham factories, which made pork bones readily available. The topping typically includes pork belly simmered sweetly in soy sauce, sugar, and mirin, and a raw egg is added.
Nabeyaki Ramen
Nabeyaki Ramen was devised at “Taniguchi Shokudo” in Susaki City, Kochi Prefecture, in the Shikoku region. Instead of using a bowl, a clay pot is used, and the soup is made with a soy-based broth made from vegetables and chicken bones. The toppings include chicken, green onions, raw eggs, and chikuwa. Serving with “takuan,” a type of pickled radish, is also a characteristic.
Hakata Ramen
Hakata Ramen is a famous ramen dish from Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu, characterized by its milky white pork bone soup slowly boiled. It’s highly popular even among foreigners, and it is said to have originated from Kurume Ramen in Fukuoka Prefecture, which has spread throughout Kyushu. Particularly, the style of adding only noodles to the same soup, called “kaedama,” is a unique feature of Kyushu pork bone ramen.
Nagahama Ramen
Nagahama Ramen is a type of ramen served in Nagahama, near Hakata Fishing Port in Fukuoka Prefecture. This pork bone ramen, first devised at a stall in Nagahama in 1952, was popular with people working at the fish market because the thin noodles could be cooked quickly and eaten without waiting. The taste and appearance are similar to Hakata Ramen.
Kurume Ramen
Kurume Ramen is a ramen dish that can be enjoyed in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, in Kyushu. In 1937, the stall “Nankin Sentou” developed a ramen with a clear pork bone soup. Later, in 1947, the stall “Sanku” discovered a milky white soup from overcooked pork bones. From there, this milky white pork bone ramen spread throughout the Kyushu region, making Kurume Ramen the origin of Kyushu’s pork bone ramen.
Kumamoto Ramen
Kumamoto Ramen is a unique ramen dish from Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu. Unlike other Kyushu pork bone ramen, Kumamoto Ramen uses chicken bones in addition to pork bones in the soup. The addition of fried garlic oil or fried garlic gives it a mellow flavor.
Kagoshima Ramen
Kagoshima Ramen is a famous ramen dish from Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu. The soup is based on pork bones, but unlike other Kyushu pork bone ramen, it is not milky white. The use of local sweet soy sauce adds sweetness to the soup, which is a distinguishing feature.
