Onomichi ramen
尾道ラーメンNoodle
Onomichi ramen is a soy-based broth with flat noodles and minced pork back fat floating on top, and the style has two roots: the Shukaen stall of 1947 and a Fukuyama souvenir maker's small-fish broth of the 1990s.
Two stories explain the bowl. One source says a man from Fujian named Zhang sold noodles from a stall in Onomichi in 1928. The other credits Zhu Ajun, from Taiwan, who served chuka soba from a stall in 1947 and later opened Shukaen, where the soy broth, flat noodles and minced back fat became the template. Shukaen closed on 18 June 2019, and a relative of its owners opened Chuka Soba Shu in November 2020.
In the 1990s Amo Chinmi, a seafood-snack maker in Tomonoura, sold a souvenir Onomichi ramen with chicken stock and dried sardines, and many shops took up that line. Bowls vary a lot from counter to counter: some use pork bone and seafood stock with thin straight noodles, and older shops serve it as plain chuka soba without the fat. Some add a tempura fritter on top as tempura chuka.
Worth knowing
- Ask for 'chuka soba' at the older shops, where the menu often uses that name.
Quick answers about Onomichi ramenよくある質問
What makes Onomichi ramen different?
Onomichi ramen uses a soy-based broth with flat noodles and minced pork back fat on top. Many shops build the broth on chicken stock with small dried fish from the Inland Sea.
Is Shukaen in Onomichi still open?
No. Shukaen closed on 18 June 2019. A relative of its owners opened Chuka Soba Shu in Onomichi in November 2020.
How do you order Onomichi ramen?
Order a bowl of ramen, or chuka soba where the menu uses that name, at the counter or from the ticket machine.
When is Onomichi ramen in season?
Onomichi ramen: Year-round. A hot bowl suits a cold winter ride, and the shops fill at weekend lunchtimes.
Where can you eat Onomichi ramen in Japan?
Places we list for Onomichi ramen include Chuka Soba Shu, Onomichi Ramen Ichibankan, Tsutafuji.