The Best Ramen in Japan

By far, hands down, I have eaten the best ramen in all of Japan. Not only is the Tontoro Kurobuta (black pig) ramen amazing but the gyoza dumplings are also made from black pig with crushed pepper and topped with spring onions. You must eat this ramen if you go to Kagoshima! From 2015 this Ramen was in the top 3 finalist for best ramen for 2 years running.. I have not tasted #1 or #2 but for me this place is my favorite. I am huge fan of this shop because of the location, great staff and jaw dropping taste of the rich and creamy tonkotsu-style (pork bone broth). — Hokkaido/Sapporo, they have Miso butter ramen which will be my second favorite but that is a separate blog that I will leave for later.

Tonotoro = Pig or Ton and toro= the fatty cut which has a premium price. At Japanese fish markets, they sell Tuna toro pieces at the highest market price and is the prime cut that customers want to eat in sushi.

Toro (toh-roh) is the term for the fatty part of the tuna, found in the belly portion of the fish. ... Chutoro (choo-toh-roh), which is sometimes labeled chu-toro, is the belly area of the tuna along the side of the fish between the akami and the otoro.

So… Tontoro's concept of their ramen is a rich and creamy tonkotsu-style (pork bone broth) with the premium black pig cut of toro pork behind the head/neck which melts in your mouth when eaten. It’s also server with bamboo shoot slices, green onions, fried garlic chips, boiled egg that has been pickled in a soy sauce solution, toro black pig and noodles.

Mouth watering Gyoza dumplings

The gyoza dumplings are also made from Black pig (Kurobuta) and is steamed, sprinkled with sesame seeds, green spring onions and black pepper - it is truly a masterpiece in itself.

The Kagoshima Black pig contains very high quality proteins and is also very high in nutrition while being low in calories, they say it’s good for for managing fatigue as the Kagoshima area has hot summers with high humidity. Its definitely the local favorite and people from Kagoshima a very proud of their black pork products. Shyabu Shyabu is also a famous dish served with Kagoshima’s black pork.

Tontoro Ramen Shop

The original resturant of the tonkotsu (pork broth) is in Tenmonkan district downtown Kagoshima, the red sign reminds me of the Dragonball Anime for some reason..

The shop is easy to find and will be walking distance from most or all hotels downtown. If you are not up for walking its a few stops on the tram from Kagoshima station.

No Japanese no Problem

They only accept cash so you will use a vending machine to order and pay but don’t worry as there are pictures on the buttons to see what you are ordering. The machine will spit out the tickets and you just hand them to the staff. I also bought a t-shirt with their logo on it as it was $12 or $13 and also had a button on the vending machine. LOL. Actually the quality of the t-shirt is good and they have XL, XXL upstairs..

Shop Name: 豚とろ 天文館本店 (Tontoro Tenmonkan Main Restaurant)

Location of the shop is here:
Japanese address: 〒892-0844 鹿児島県鹿児島市山之口町９−41
English address: 9-41 Yamanokuchicho, Kagoshima, 892-0844
Tel: 099-222-5857
Open hour: 11 am ～3:30 am
Seat: 25 seats (counter 7/ tatami seat 18)
Smoking．No Smoking: Smoking seats available
No parking lot (There is coin operated parking lot nearby)