why?

Ramen that is not pork bones surges in its birthplace January 30, 17:15

Fukuoka is the birthplace of tonkotsu ramen.

Naturally, you might think that pork bones are the strongest, but now an unexpected phenomenon is occurring.

The number of ramen shops that do not use pork bones, such as salt and soy sauce, is increasing rapidly.

Why?

Thorough coverage.

(Fukuoka Broadcasting Station Reporter Ken Fukuhara)

Salt and soy sauce ramen shops one after another

I have lived in Fukuoka for 5 years.

Just as I was feeling that the number of restaurants other than tonkotsu ramen, such as Shio-Ya-Soy sauce, Yokohama Iekei, and Jiro-kei, were increasing, I happened to check out Tabelog, a major word-of-mouth website. rice field.

Looking at the new store openings from 2018 to last year while referring to other sites, there was a rapid increase in stores that did not specialize in tonkotsu.

Pork bones are overwhelming in street questionnaires

Is there a big change in the ramen tastes of Fukuoka residents?

With that in mind, we conducted a survey of 60 people in downtown Tenjin.

I asked, "What's your favorite ramen?"

Here are the results.

41 like pork bones 19 like anything other than pork bones

The pork bone ramen overwhelmed me.

Of the 19 people who chose "not pork bone", 15, or 80%, were women.

There were also young women who wanted to eat “new ramen” that looked good in photos, and women who didn’t like the smell and peculiarities of pork bones.

There were also transferees from outside the prefecture.

Until last year, Fukuoka Prefecture had an excess of in-migrants for seven years in a row.

Due to the large number of transferees and immigrants, there is a glimpse of demand for ramen other than tonkotsu.

Voices of people who chose pork bones “

I

like tomato ramen.

“

I came to Fukuoka from Osaka last year. At first, I ate pork bones, but in Osaka I ate a lot of soy sauce, so <man in his 20s>”

“Looking for a restaurant on Instagram or TikTok. So, when I have time, I go to eat new ramen.

Even so, the Fukuoka people's love for pork bones remained unwavering.

The result was not proportional to the number of new store openings.

Voice of a person who chose

tonkotsu: "That's a stupid question, I'd choose tonkotsu (man

in his 50s)" "

I was born in Fukuoka, so that's true <woman in her 20s>"

"I've only eaten pork bones <man in her 70s>"

cheapness and tradition wall

By doing a street questionnaire, I stumbled on the story of "pork bone pinch!?"

In order to solve the deepening question, I turned to an expert who eats 400 bowls of ramen a year.

Rikiya Yamaji is a food journalist.

I heard that he was planning to come to Fukuoka, so I listened to him while walking around town.

``The cheapness of pork bones ramen is a barrier.'

' Mr. Yamaji, who stopped in front of the signboard of a pork bones ramen shop, pointed out the ``low price and traditional wall'' of pork bones ramen that new stores face. was.

Price first.

Tonkotsu ramen in Fukuoka is cheap anyway.

Prices of 350 yen and 500 yen are not uncommon.

and traditional food culture.

In Fukuoka, there are not only Ippudo and Ichiran, which are well-known nationwide, but also a lot of medium-sized chains and independent shops that serve tonkotsu ramen.

For this reason, many people have their own tonkotsu ramen shops in their neighborhoods, and when it comes to ramen, it can be said that "tonkotsu" is the common language of the people of the prefecture.

In other words, if a new ramen shop were to open in Fukuoka like this, they would not be able to break through the thick wall of pork bone ramen, and in many cases they would dare to enter with a new and different flavor. It was Mr. Yamaji's analysis.

In addition, gas prices and ingredients such as wheat are soaring these days.

He analyzed that if he opened a new store, he would like to offer ramen at a price that is easy to make a profit.

“In the case of new ramen, such as soy sauce and salt, there is a perception among consumers that it is only natural that it is slightly more expensive than tonkotsu ramen. "

Kasuga City is a ramen battleground adjacent to Fukuoka City.

The owner, Yasuyuki Moriyama, who opened a ramen shop a year and a half ago, says, ``In Fukuoka, where there are many famous ramen shops, pork bones are hardly competitive.''

The shop offers salt ramen with plenty of shellfish stock and soy sauce ramen with the flavor of dried sardines (850 yen each).

When I called out to a customer, she said, "I'm happy to be able to eat various flavors (woman in her 40s)."

Fukuoka is famous for tonkotsu ramen, but every time it's not tonkotsu, it sometimes has a different flavor.

She felt that such a need might be the reason why the number of new non-pork bone restaurants is increasing.

flapping pork bones

Ever since I was a child, I've always had pork bone-flavored instant noodles and cup noodles at home.

Even elementary school lunches serve tonkotsu ramen.

When I started researching this ramen, I felt that the tonkotsu culture of Fukuoka natives is deeply rooted, and conversely, the strength of tonkotsu ramen.

Finally, we asked Mr. Hideto Kawahara, the representative of the long-established chain “Hakata Daruma”, which has been in business for 60 years, about how the Tonkotsu side feels about the current situation where the number of “non-Tonkotsu” restaurants is increasing.

The store is busy every day.

In order to preserve the historical "pork bones", Mr. Kawahara is particular about using specific parts of the bones and mixing the noodles according to the humidity and temperature.

If you think about it, you can work backwards to match the SNS era and calculate the time to "take a picture" and make the boiling time a little earlier than before.

The store has 9 stores nationwide.

In addition, Japanese-style tonkotsu ramen has become a boom overseas, and we are expanding to more than 10 stores in the United States and Taiwan.

In some regions, chicken-based ramen is also made, and the ramen culture is being disseminated not only tonkotsu but also to the world.

Mr. Kawahara said with a gentle smile that he hoped that a new ramen culture would develop in Fukuoka regarding the increase in the number of ramen shops other than tonkotsu.

“I want to continue making ramen to protect Fukuoka’s hospitality and tourism resources.

Tonkotsu ramen that I usually eat casually.

But that cloudy soup is full of Fukuoka tradition and depth.

The usual one cup I ate after finishing the interview was awfully seeping into the back of my stomach.

Fukuoka Broadcasting Station Reporter

Takeshi Fukuhara

Joined the station in 2018 In

charge of incidents → sports → prefectural government in Fukuoka

Originally from Osaka, "Soy Sauce School"

After drinking "pork bones"