Kikunoya — Restaurant in Beppu

Five stars for the food, but the atmosphere and cleanliness were lacking.

I found this on Google when looking for a ramen place near the Hells. It's actually not that close, you have to walk from the main tourist area for a bit, and the main road is kind of dreary. I was actually hesitant to go in because the outside doesn't look very welcoming...(And honestly the inside is not a lot better.) But I'm glad I tried it because the food was amazing! The ramen broth is honestly one of the best I've ever had, anywhere. The gyoza were...

Simple ramen diner but the food quality was pretty good. Most of us had the white ramen and the broth was delicious and not overly strong, unlike some other tonkotsu ramen places. The dry ramen/mazesoba however wasn’t as nice so I’d suggest skipping that. The gyoza was also really crispy on the outside and had a nice moist filling!

There were quite a few parking lots right outside too so it was convenient for us. It also helped that we could order in English...

We were not sure if we should try this at first, but seeing a group of local teens entering eased our doubt. We order one white and one with scallion. They were both great. The soup is rich in favore but not too salty and heavy. The pork is the best I’ve ever tasted. You can trust my view on port as it from Hong Kong. They were tender and soft. Get some ramen before your way back...