ふくちゃんラーメン (Fukuchan in Fukuoka)

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ふくちゃんラーメン

Old Kyushu ramen shops like Fukuchan are some of the best in the Japanese ramen world. Deep, creamy soup with hair-thin noodles served the same way for half a century. Open since 1974, Fukuchan’s recipe and technique has been passed down from generation to generation.

The autograph plaques were covered with gunk. Years of pork grease in the air. Kinda gross, kinda awesome. I think one of them is from 1994.

Among the standard toppings, you have the fresh garlic crusher. You’ll find this free topping across Japan at tonkotsu ramen shops. Fukuchan was the first to do it. A little history tidbit for you.

Standard benishoga and some not-so-standard dried garlic chips. Flavor away! That’s Frank from 5amramen, by the way. We just happened to be in the same town at the same time.

The soup here is a blend of two of the same. Old soup is mixed in with new soup in a constant balancing act. This way the chef can reduce the stinkiness that is inherent in pork bone ramen. Fukuchan is considered by some to be a pioneer in “no smell” tonkotsu.

The chashu is very tender and thinly cut, so go ahead and order the chashumen for 800 yen. It’s a steal.

There is also wantanmen on the menu, as well as the standard bowl.

Sure enough, the soup (and shop) had very little tonkotsu smell. Kyushu people take the smell for granted, but us Tokyo folks probably prefer less of a stinky cheese meets stinky socks kind of vibe.

The old lady in the back was toiling away over dumplings the entire time we were in the shop. Should have tried the wantanmen . . .

The master is upfront cooking the noodles. Shinichiro Sakaki (榊伸一郎さん) is the third generation shop master at Fukuchan. Many of the customers are regulars for decades and he strives to keep the taste his father perfected.

He’s a serious guy, but very friendly when we asked if we could take photos. I think he knows he’s the man. His customers, both new slurpers like myself and regulars who have been a thousand times all love this bowl.

The shop is around 45 minutes from central Fukuoka City, but much less if you drive yourself.

Expect a short wait.

By the way, Frank from 5 AM Ramen made a video about our trip. Check it out!

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