
Another find at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. I think what’s happening here is Sapporo Ichiban is distributing Marutai made tonkotsu. Whatever’s going on, I like it – the last one I had was delectable. Let’s give it a try!
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Another find at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. I think what’s happening here is Sapporo Ichiban is distributing Marutai made tonkotsu. Whatever’s going on, I like it – the last one I had was delectable. Let’s give it a try!

It should be noted that this is being posted on National Noodle Day – October 6th, 2025. I didn’t really see anything pointing for the reason for the inception of this day. All I find are things about noodles. Anyways, I guess every day is National Noodle Day over here.

I’ve been asked a few times if I’m coming out with a new top ten Japanese list – well, here you go. This list is current as of review #5150 and there are a couple new varieties on here. Good stuff! Much of it will be pretty hard to come by though – try eBay and eBay Canada as those tend to work pretty well. Anyways, hope you enjoy The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Japanese Instant Noodle Of All Time 2026 Edition as much as I did compiling it!

Big thanks to Noodle Journey for this one! This is another cold noodle, this time from Japan. Let’s hit it up!

Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount! This was in a triple box they sent – basically three boxes all at once. It didn’t come with any documentation, so I don’t know much about it. It only takes two minutes to steep which is pretty short. Let’s give it a try!

The third and final iteration of the Marutai varieties found at the Bellevue, WA Uwajimaya supermarket. My daughter Mimi picked a couple varieties at 99 Ranch Market that day and one was a tonkotsu. She tried the Kumamoto Marutai and liked it, so she’s going to get to try this one too.

Here’s another one we found at Uwajimaya a couple weeks ago. Marutai stuff is quite wonderful – especially their Kumamaoto variants. Without further ado!

Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!

Found this recently when visiting Uwajimaya in Bellevue, Washington. I went there to get some fish cake – narutomaki and kamaboko- and surprisingly found this. I don’t usually find much there that I’m interested in by way of ramen, but this time was fortuitous. Let’s give it a try.

Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!

Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!

I get asked to do different top ten lists often – ones for people with dietetic restrictions, one for specific types of noodles, etc. The return of the Japan list should satisfy those who have wanted it to return. The problem with the Japan list is that Japanese varieties often come and go very quickly like the seasons; they are to be enjoyed and then remembered. Hopefully you’ll be able to find most of these, but if not it is because of this reason. This list is comprised of my ten favorite varieties from Japan out of my reviews up to number 4,400. If you’re in Japan and have varieties you think I should try or are a manufacturer there, please contact me. With that, here is The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Japanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2023 Edition.

Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!

Here’s another neat one from Zenpop.JP. Thank you! So Zenpop has all sorts of monthly boxes including ramen boxes. Nine instant ramen in one box for a good price – check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER at checkout for a discount!

Well, it appears it’s time for something from Japan. Hopefully I’ll be doing more Japanese stuff again soon, but currently this is the only variety I have. This is another one I got at the Bellevue S*Mart – and it has a story. It was on the shelf, however it hadn’t been entered into the system as of yet. The lady called the manager to come down and had us wait. We were about to leave (two young children aren’t too interested in standing at a check stand for long before troublemaking ensues). Well, he came down, then went back up to enter it into the system. So we got it. It’s a really interesting store – they’re got a lot of stuff I haven’t seen anywhere else. Well, it’s probably a good one to wait for – Marutai straight noodle ramen products tend to be some of the best around. Let’s check it out!

Here’s a classic one from Japan found in a Zenpop box – check out zenpop.jp and use the coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!

Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!

Here’s one I found up in Canada at one of my favorite discoveries this year, a little store called Smart’n’Save in the Lansdowne Centre mall in Richmond, BC. This is a shoyu ramen, which translates to what we call soy sauce in English. I’ve always been impressed with Marutai’s stuff – let’s check it out!

This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!

Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.

This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!Here’s what they had to say about this particular variety – “Kagoshima prefecture is located towards the souther part of Kyushu Island and is defined by it’s proximity to the sea.

Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. Pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.

Here’s one that came by way of Javier over at Box From Japan. With Box From Japan, you can get different subscription boxes – whether it be ramen or candy. Sometimes they have other special boxes – they have a Pikachu box, for example. Definitely worth a look!

Here’s one that was a gift from the folks at Washoku Explorer – thanks again! This variety from Nagasaki definitely has a fish sense to i, however let’s look at Wikipedia on the subject of Shoyu ramen –

Here’s one the folks at Washoku Explorer sent as a gift with their tonkotsu explorer kit. This one looks really good from the picture – I’ve reviewed the bowl version of this in the past… Let’s check it out!

Okay so a few weeks ago I got a neat box in the mail. It contained the Washoku Explorer Tonkotsu Ramen kit. The idea is that you can get a nice kit with all the things you need to experience a great bowl of Japanese ramen at home – even the bowl! You can visit Washoku Explorer here. They have all sorts of other Japanese kits – really fascinating and a neat idea! The Tonkotsu Ramen kit includes this Marutai Hakata Tonkotsu ramen (2 packs with 2 servings each) and well as some special garnishes/add-ons I’ll show you below. Let’s check it out and give it a try!

Here’s another one that was sent to me by Javier over at Box From Japan – thanks! Box From Japan is a subscription service – you can get a box sent to you every month with some great noodles within! From the description, this almost sounds like it might be a vegetable tonkotsu, but I don’t know. Says lots of cabbage – interesting! Let’s hit it up!

Here’s another one that was sent to me by Javier over at Box From Japan – thanks! Box From Japan is a subscription service – you can get a box sent to you every month with some great noodles within! From what I’m reading, it sounds like this one has a tonkotsu broth – with pork bone flavor! Let’s check it out!

Here’s another one from Box From Japan! Thanks, Javier! I also want to thank Shinichi S. for helping with the translation! Shoyu translates to English as ‘soy sauce.’ Shoyu ramen is one of the classics from Japan – been around forever. Let’s see what makes this particular bowl variety tick!