Tonkotsu Ramen at Kokutei Ramen

For authentic Tonkotsu ramen, go to Kumamoto. Not only is Kumamoto a beautiful city with street trolleys and wonderful sightseeing, but they are famous for Kumamoto style, Tonkotsu ramen. Tonkostu ramen is a pork bone based ramen noodle soup. The noodles are thick, firm and a include garlic flavoring. The soup is a milky white color, the pork is boiled and cooked for many hours, in most cases overnight.

For your information, there are four main types of ramen in Japan:
Shio: salty flavoring
Shoyu: soy sauce based
Miso: miso based
Tonkotsu: pork bone based

Of these, Tonkotsu is the most desirable. To find a restaurant that serves Tonkotsu ramen is a little more difficult than finding the other types of ramen in Japan. Perhaps it is because it takes so much longer to perfect the soup and much longer to prepare than the others.

The Kokutei Ramen shop in Kumamoto is the most famous ramen shop in Kumamoto for authentic Kumamoto style Tonkotsu ramen. I visited on a weeknight just after 7:30pm and there was line of about 20 people waiting to get in. In Japan, don't let a line scare you. If a restaurant has a line, it means the food is very delicious and is a tourist destination in itself. It is worth the wait and in this case, I waited for about 15-20 minutes.

http://www.kokutei.co.jp/#top
The photos on their website will make your mouth water.
Directions from Kumamoto station to Kokutei here:
http://bit.ly/RCR0kQ