Opened 2019 in a Kakaako print bay
A noodle shop that
shows its work
Shun Nakamura spent eleven years in Fukuoka and Osaka noodle shops, four of them doing almost nothing but skimming a tonkotsu pot. He says that was the useful part.
- Tonkotsu simmer, start to strain
- 18hr
- Shops across Oahu
- 3
- Average of 1,624 guest ratings
- 4.8
- Hosomen noodles in the basket
- 90s
2019 to now
Bay 3 was a print shop
The roll-up door and the concrete floor are original. We put the noodle station where the presses had been, built a fourteen-seat counter so people could watch the pass, and opened with four bowls and a list of things we did not yet know how to do.
Waikiki came in 2022, built around a single question: who feeds people properly at midnight on Kuhio Avenue? Kaimuki followed in 2024 and went the other way entirely, sixteen stools, four bowls, one shift, closing when the noodles run out.
The broth has not changed since the first week. Everything else has: the noodle hydration, the tare log, the allergen card under the counter, the separate plant-based station, the decision to buy pork whole from Waimea so an 18-hour pot could pay for itself.
Four things we argue about and keep landing on
How we work
None of this is unusual. It is just written down, which turns out to be the difference.
- 01
The broth decides everything
We buy bones before we buy anything else, and the shape of the menu follows what an 18-hour pot can support. Nothing gets added to the list that the kitchen cannot hold at the same standard on a 410-bowl Friday.
- 02
Say what is in the bowl
Nine allergens tracked across every dish, printed on a card under every counter and published in full on this site. Servers learn it before their first shift. If we cannot remove something, we say so instead of guessing.
- 03
Buy from people we can drive to
Noodles from four miles away, pork from Waimea, leaf from Waimanalo, mushrooms from Laupahoehoe. Short chains mean fresher food and it means we know who to call when something is wrong.
- 04
Fast is part of the cooking
A bowl that sits is a bowl that overcooks, because noodles keep cooking in hot broth. Four and a half minutes from ticket to counter is a quality standard, not a service target.
Six of us, three shops, one pot chart
The people at the pots
Tap a portrait for the part of the job that does not fit on a business card.
Spent four of those years doing nothing but skimming and topping up a tonkotsu pot, which he says was the useful part.
Eleven years in Fukuoka and Osaka noodle shops before moving to Oahu in 2018. Writes the pot chart every morning.
Came out of fine dining and brought the produce relationships with her. Responsible for the donburi list existing at all.
Runs the pass at Kakaako and writes the seasonal board the morning the Nalo box lands.
Keeps a log of every tare batch going back to 2021, which is how the shoyu tastes the same in March and September.
Sets hydration and kansui with the Kalihi mill and cooks all nine tare batches each week.
Toasts the Hamakua shiitake on racks above the pass for four days before they go anywhere near water.
Built the kombu shiitake dashi and guards the separate pot, basket and boards that keep it honest.
Wrote the one-page allergen card that sits under the counter at all three shops.
Trains every server on the allergen matrix before they take a single table. Runs the late shift in Waikiki.
Decides how many noodle portions to cut each morning, and when they are gone the door closes.
One shift, sixteen stools, four bowls. Opens and closes the smallest shop on his own.
Permits, training and the things we can prove
- 01Hawaii DOH green placardLast inspected March 2026
- 02ServSafe certified managementAll three shops, renewed 2026
- 03Allergen training for every serverBefore a first shift, refreshed quarterly
- 04Honolulu Ramen Week, people's choiceSample award, 2025
- 05Hawaii Farm Bureau memberIsland-sourced produce
- 06Compostable takeout packagingSince 2023, except the broth seal
Kakaako, Waikiki, Kaimuki
Three shops, three different rooms
Each room runs a different length of menu and a different set of hours. The flagship is the only one with a full prep kitchen.
Kakaako
Auahi Street · 34 seats · Opened 2019
The flagship and the only shop with the full prep kitchen. Every broth starts here at 4:30 am.
- Mon to Thu
- 11:00 am - 2:30 pm, 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
- Fri and Sat
- 11:00 am - 2:30 pm, 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Waikiki
Kuhio Avenue · 28 seats · Opened 2022
The late one. Full ramen list until 1 am on Friday and Saturday, which almost nothing else in Waikiki does.
- Mon to Thu
- 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
- Fri and Sat
- 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm - 1:00 am
Kaimuki
Waialae Avenue · 16 seats · Opened 2024
Sixteen stools, no tables, one shift. The smallest room and the shortest menu.
- Tue to Thu
- 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
- Fri and Sat
- 11:30 am - 2:00 pm, 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Come and eat something
The tonkotsu is the one to judge us on, and the shoyu is the one that shows whether the kitchen can cook. Order either and we will be happy.