What is Hakata ramen?
- From
- Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
- Soup
- milky pork-bone (tonkotsu)
- Noodles
- extra-thin
- Also
- from the Hakata area of Fukuoka City; kaedama (noodle refill) culture, chashu and red pickled ginger
- Checked
- 18 October 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
- MAFF says Hakata ramen pairs a milky-white pork-bone soup, simmered until cloudy, with a light-soy or salt tare.
- The extra-thin noodles come in a small portion of about 100 g, and ordering only more noodles (kaedama) is said to come from Nagahama ramen.
- Main toppings are pork chashu and red pickled ginger, with spicy mustard greens and sesame on the table.
- JNTO says Hakata-style ramen is recognizable by cloudy pork-bone broth, simple toppings and the kaedama noodle refill.
Kitakata City's official site says Kitakata ramen is also called one of Japan's three great ramen, together with Sapporo and Hakata, and JNTO's Fukushima page says the same. It is a popular saying, not an official ranking.
How much is a bowl of ramen in Fukuoka City?
- Fukuoka City803
- Median of 81 cities747
- Tokyo (23 wards)620
The government's retail price survey records the price of a bowl of chuka soba (ramen) at ordinary shops every month in 81 cities. In August 2026 it was 803 yen in Fukuoka City, 23 of 81 from the highest. Tokyo's 23 wards were 620 yen, 73 of 81, so ramen in Tokyo is not more expensive than in most cities. This is an average of the shops in the survey, not the price at a famous shop.
How much ramen do people in Fukuoka eat?
- Spending on eating out at ramen shops
- 7,604 yen a year per household in Fukuoka City (2023–2025 average; 38 of 52 cities; Japan 8,752 yen)
- Ramen shops
- 742 in Fukuoka in 2016, 14.5 per 100,000 people (26 of 47; Japan 14.3)
Spending is from the household survey of two-or-more-person households in 52 large cities, so it is the city's number, not the prefecture's. Ramen shops are the 2016 Economic Census count of businesses classified as ramen shops; some ramen shops are counted with Chinese restaurants, so the real number is higher. Per-person numbers divide by the 2016 population (our calculation).
How do you get to Fukuoka from the airport?
- Airport
- Fukuoka Airport
- Into the city
- 5 min into Fukuoka (quickest way in our airport guide)
Frequently asked questions
What is Hakata ramen?
Hakata ramen (博多ラーメン) is ramen from Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture with milky pork-bone (tonkotsu) soup, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Noodles: extra-thin.
How much is a bowl of ramen in Fukuoka City?
803 yen on average in August 2026, according to the government's retail price survey (23 of 81 cities from the highest; the median of the 81 cities was 747 yen). It is an average of ordinary shops, not a specific famous shop.
Which airport is closest to Fukuoka?
Fukuoka Airport. The quickest way into Fukuoka takes about 5 minutes, according to our airport guide.
Sources for this page
- 農林水産省 aff 2020年9月号 ご当地ラーメンMinistry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
- JNTO A Guide to Ramen in JapanJNTO
- JNTO Fukuoka's Local FlavoursJNTO
- Statistics Bureau of Japan: Retail Price Survey, prices by city (August 2026), chuka soba (eating out)Statistics Bureau of Japan (e-Stat)
- Statistics Bureau of Japan: Family Income and Expenditure Survey, city ranking 2023–2025 average, chuka soba (eating out)Statistics Bureau of Japan
- Economic Census for Business Activity 2016, establishments by detailed industry (7624 ramen shops)Statistics Bureau of Japan (e-Stat)