If You Love Ramen, Here’s A Guide To The Regional Ramen Styles In Japan That Will Help You Build Your Perfect Bowl

Whether you're planning a trip to Japan or simply want to indulge your eyes, we've got you covered.

When we talk about ramen, we're most often talking about the type of broth it's made with — aka miso, shio, shoyu, or tonkotsu. But did you know there are also regional variations of these four types of ramen? 🍜

In the city of Yonago, for example, their regional ramen sports a rare beef-based broth. In Sapporo, the birthplace of miso ramen, chefs are known to add a pat of butter and a generous scoop of sweet corn to their ramen. 

If you're ready to dig into the delicious world of niche ramen, here are 14 regional ramens that you absolutely must try:

1. Iekei Ramen

Digipub / Getty Images

The story goes that this ramen was invented by a long-distance truck driver who was inspired by the many bowls of ramen he sampled during his long days on the road. After he quit his job, he opened his own restaurant and invented this dish, which is known for its rich base of tonkotsu broth and soy sauce and its pairing with medium-thick noodles. 

2. Jumonji Ramen

Instagram: @petra_taka

Originating in Japan's Akita prefecture, this ramen is known for its seafood-based soy sauce flavor and skinny, curly noodles. It's so light that some people even enjoy a bowl of Jumonji ramen as a snack. 

3. Toyama Black Ramen

Keita Amagai / Getty Images

This jet-black ramen is seasoned with dark and salty soy sauce, chicken and fish stock, and pork. Its hearty flavor has a practical origin: apparently, it was designed to satisfy the hunger of hard-working construction workers in the Toyoma prefecture in the 1950s. To temper the salty flavor, this dish is often served with a serving of eggs or rice. 

4. Tokushima Ramen

Instagram: @tama_net

Tokushima ramen's broth comes in three colors — white, yellow, or brown — and is determined by the type of soy sauce used, and the presence of chicken and vegetable stock. For the most part, though, Tokushima ramen will sport an appetizing deep brown color and will be topped with a raw egg.

5. Gyukotsu Ramen

Digipub / Getty Images

The city of Yonago is marked by green hills dotted by many grazing cows. This landscape is the exact reason that Gyukotsu sports a rare beef-based broth, made umami-rich by a long boiling process. Some people claim that the beef flavor makes the bowl of ramen too reminiscent of pho while others think it tastes like an amazing meal of aged steak — for the final word, you'll simply have to try it yourself!

6. Sapporo Ramen

Instagram: @shengkit19

A lot of regional styles of ramen are rare and uncommon, but Sapporo's position as a ramen hotspot makes Sapporo ramen a well-known and well-loved item in Japan's ramen oeuvre. It also helps that it's quite a memorable flavor profile: it's rich and thick thanks to a hearty addition of miso, elevated further by a pat of butter. Finish it off with a scoop of sweet corn and you've got a ramen that'll really put meat on your bones! 

7. Kitakata Ramen

Okimo / Getty Images/iStockphoto

One of the three most popular regional styles of ramen, kitakata takes advantage of two prized ingredients that the area has in high-quality abundance: niboshi (sardines) and soy sauce. This rich soy sauce-based broth is further complemented with chashu pork, fish cakes, and sliced spring onion.

8. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen

Jordan Lye / Getty Images

Another one of the ramen greats, Hakata Tonkotsu ramen can be spotted by its milky, white pork broth swimming with straight, thin noodles. The origin of Hakata ramen is intertwined with the origin of the "kaedama," or noodle refill, whereby patrons are served a smaller-than-average size of noodles and encouraged to order refills to ensure that every bite of noodles is perfectly chewy. As per usual, the award for best-engineered eating experience goes to the country that came up with ramen isolation booths!

9. Wakayama Ramen

Kuri2000 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Two things distinguish Wakayama ramen from other ramen. One is their soy-sauced-based broth served with soft, lightly wavy noodles. The other is the fact that this ramen is often served with sushi. And not just any sushi, but a mackerel sushi called haya sushi that is offered for free to patrons, much like a bowl of rice. 

10. Onomichi Ramen

Yuga Kurita / Getty Images

For maximum umami, Onomichi ramen is flavored with small dried fish called niboshi and pork back fat. Now, I'm not saying that ramen is an integral part to a well-balanced diet, but niboshi is said to contain calcium while pork back fat is full of "good cholesterol"! At the very least, it sounds like a luxurious bowl of ramen that I'd be willing to travel for. 

11. Nagoya “Taiwan” Ramen

Instagram: @ramenguidejapan

Fusion restaurants can be such disappointing exercises in culinary collaboration. Not so with the Taiwan ramen, which is a Japanese ramen that was created by a Taiwanese chef. It's beloved for its chicken-based broth and spicy pork mince that at its default level, is said to be pretty scorching. You've been warned! 

12. Hakodate Ramen

Ivan / Getty Images

As an international trading port, Hakodate often claims to have served the country's first-ever bowl of ramen, by way of China. Today, Hakodate's ramen is popularly known by its shorthand of "shio," or ramen made with salt-based broth. Shio (aka, salt)'s simplicity means that ramen chefs work extra hard to make sure that every element of the dish shines in flavor and sync to create a great-tasting dish. Like that first bowl of noodles imported from China, the broth is clear and you won't find a single trace of seafood in the stock. 

13. Kurume Ramen

Kohei Shinohara / Getty Images

Also known as the original Tonkotsu ramen, Kurume ramen originally didn't have its distinctive creamy, rich broth. The recipe was accidentally invented when a distracted chef left the broth on high heat, leaving the bones to simmer into the savory, deep pork flavor we know today. It's often paired with thicker-than-average noodles to guarantee a hearty bite, every time.

14. Kagoshima Ramen

Gyro / Getty Images/iStockphoto

If you're the kind of person who can't make up their mind about their food order, then a bowl of Kagoshima ramen might be just the thing for you. While the ramen features a Tonkotsu base, it's also flavored with fish, chicken, dashi, and seaweed. It's often topped with pork, as well as scallions, bean sprouts, and mushrooms.