IssouNakasu

Another great ramen place that is high on our must eat list. The wait outside in the rain was well worth it. Don't leave without trying this Issou ramen. Fast service and one must be decisive when you arrive to order from the machine before queuing. A very small corner eatery and be prepared to shar...e a long table with everyone else slurping their ramen. Full-bodied wholesome thick broth. A little expensive compared to other ramen shop but taste different from the rest and a slightly bigger portion of noodles. Comes with wood ear fungus. The plus point here is you get to add your own freshly grated garlic to the ramen which gives it more kick and also the additional raddish adds flavor to the entire ramen where some places provide pickled ginger. Enjoyable and worth the wait to the last drop of broth.

Visited February 2024

We were staying at the Lively Hotel near the Nakasu Kawabata subway station so this was a 6 minute walk for us. There are other Issou Ramen locations in Fukuoka. There were 4 people ahead of us and this location is small. I would say it sits around 15 people. However, turnover is quick and if th...ere is a line, you don't need to wait long. You order with a vending machine but there isn't any English. We ordered the cheapest bowl of ramen for 730 yen each. Also ordered the gyozas - 400 yen for 10 pieces. I liked the noodles and the soup was good. The soup is pretty thick. I can see how some people might think the taste and smell are odd. I didn't enjoy the pork since it was pretty fat and not very tender. The gyozas we had were pretty good. I thought that was good value.

Visited December 2019

We visited on a Wednesday night and the small restaurant was full! Orders are made via a vending machine style system, and we found the staff didn't speak much English. The gyoza were delicious and the ramen was very rich - super porky, so if that's your thing, this is the place to go!

Visited October 2019

I was there to queue 15 minutes before the opening hour and we are not the first in queue. Service was quick and we were seated swiftly. But most importantly the ramen is so rich in flavor that I ranked it the best I ever eaten in Japan. However my kids find it too strong for their likely. If u like... your ramen soup to be rich and flavorful this is a restaurant not too be missed even we had to queue in the rain

Visited June 2019

The first thing that I noticed upon walking into Hakata Issou Nakasu was the smell. I've read about the "stench" of tonkotsu but have never experienced it until this restaurant. Ordering is via a vending machine, but it doesn't have any English. A staff showed a picture book, but again it's written... in Japanese and you have to try to match it to the right button on the machine. Luckily it was a quiet night so I wasn't holding up any queue behind me. The soup is thick and rich, but it has some kind of unpleasant undertone to it that I've not tasted in other tonkotsu ramen. A few of the reviews on Google mention it and now I understand what they meant. The pork is very thin and tender but bland-ish. All in all, it was not my cup of tea. I've had other Hakata ramen from Ippudo, Ichiran, Ikkosha, and Shin Shin and like those much better than Issou.

Visited June 2019