Ramen has become globally popular, but the four major Japanese regional styles — Sapporo, Tokyo, Yokohama, and Hakata — are genuinely different dishes, not just variations in broth colour. Here is what each style actually is.
The Foundation: Tare and Broth
Ramen has two components that combine: the broth (dashi base — typically pork bone, chicken, fish, or a combination) and the tare (the flavour concentrate that seasons the broth — soy sauce, salt, or miso). The broth is usually prepared separately and then combined with the tare at service. This is why you can have miso ramen in Tokyo (miso tare, Tokyo chicken-soy broth) or soy ramen in Sapporo (soy tare, Sapporo-style broth). The combination of broth type and tare type creates the regional variation. Understanding this is key to understanding why “tonkotsu ramen” and “miso ramen” are not the same kind of category — tonkotsu describes the broth type, miso describes the tare type. Tonkotsu miso ramen (pork bone broth with miso tare) is a thing that exists.
The Four Regional Styles
Sapporo ramen (Hokkaido, northern Japan): miso-based (almost always — Sapporo is synonymous with miso ramen). A rich chicken or pork bone broth seasoned with miso tare, typically served with corn, butter, bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts. The miso tare varies between light (shiro miso) and dark (aka miso); the best Sapporo shops use a proprietary blend. The noodles: thick, wavy, to hold the heavy broth. Recommended shops in Sapporo: Ramen Republic (Sapporo Station), Nijo Market area for breakfast ramen. Tokyo ramen (Shoyu/soy style): a clear to slightly cloudy chicken and soy sauce broth (shoyu tare) — lighter, more delicate than other styles. The clarity of the broth is the marker of quality. Served with thin straight noodles, menma (bamboo shoots), nori (seaweed), and sliced pork (chashu). The Tokyo style (Shio/salt is also common in Tokyo) emphasises the clear, nuanced broth rather than richness. Yokohama Ie-kei ramen: thicker, richer — a pork bone (tonkotsu) base with soy tare, served with fat wavy noodles, pork belly chashu, nori, and spinach. Strongly umami, saltier than Tokyo style. Ie-kei is a post-WWII Yokohama development and has its own dedicated enthusiast community. Hakata ramen (Fukuoka, Kyushu): tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen in its purest form — a white, opaque, intensely porky broth made by boiling pork bones at high heat for hours. Thin, straight noodles (because they cook quickly — many shops offer bae-dama, a free additional portion of noodles added to the remaining broth). Typically very simple toppings: thin chashu, beni shoga (pickled red ginger), sesame seeds, green onion. Fukuoka’s Nakasu and Tenjin neighbourhoods have outstanding yatai (outdoor food stall) ramen.
Beyond the Four
Kitakata ramen (Fukushima): flat, wavy noodles in a clear pork-soy broth — one of Japan’s most beloved regional styles, less known internationally. Tsukemen (dipping noodles): cold noodles dipped in a concentrated, usually pork or fish-based sauce — invented in Tokyo in the 1950s, now one of the most popular ramen variants. Mazesoba (no broth): dry ramen mixed with sauce — a Nagoya specialty that has spread widely. The three international ramen cities (outside Japan): New York (Ivan Ramen, Ichiran), London (Shoryu, Ippudo), and Sydney have the highest quality international ramen scenes. The difference that travel reveals: ramen eaten in Japan is notably different from ramen everywhere else — particularly the noodle quality (freshly made vs dried/frozen) and the broth depth (made from scratch vs base stock).
