21 Must-Try Local Foods in Kyushu

One of Japan’s “three great local ramen styles,” Hakata ramen is known for its rich, milky-white tonkotsu (pork bone) broth and straight, thin noodles.
Another Hakata ramen hallmark is customizing the flavor with pickled red ginger or spicy takana (mustard greens), and ordering the noodle firmness to your liking.
The soup varies by shop—some focus on maximum richness, while others balance deep umami with a clean, light finish.
Fukuoka is also home to other local ramen styles like Kurume ramen and Nagahama ramen, so you can enjoy a wide variety of bowls without getting bored—even if you ate ramen every day.
If you’d like to learn more about Fukuoka’s local ramen, check out this article as well.

Motsunabe, a hot pot made with beef offal (hormone meat), cabbage, and garlic chives, is another hugely popular local specialty.
The combination of offal with a soup seasoned with soy sauce or miso on a bonito-and-kelp dashi base—finished with accents like chili peppers and garlic—is hard to beat.
The offal’s natural sweetness, plus the dashi and a spicy kick, makes it especially appetite-boosting.
In Hakata style, the classic way to finish is by adding champon noodles.
Enjoy the noodles coated in the umami of the ingredients and broth.
There are three main motsunabe styles—soy sauce, miso, and mizutaki-style—but soy sauce is the standard.
If it’s your first time, start with the classic soy sauce version.

One of Fukuoka’s most popular souvenirs is karashi mentaiko (spicy cod roe).
Unlike mentaiko commonly eaten in the Kanto and Kansai regions, Fukuoka-style mentaiko is made by marinating tarako (pollock roe) in a spicy seasoning.
With its kick of heat and rich roe flavor, karashi mentaiko is perfect with rice.
It’s also great for seasoning pasta, or mixed with butter and mayonnaise and spread on a French baguette—an ingredient that plays a standout supporting role in all kinds of dishes.

Yobuko in Saga Prefecture is well known as a prime fishing area for delicious squid.
Yobuko squid is called the “king of squid,” prized for its remarkable translucence, texture, and sweetness. Its satisfyingly firm bite is something you won’t find in other ingredients.
It’s best enjoyed simply, as sashimi, without overcomplicating it.

Sicilian rice is a dish of rice topped with salad and stir-fried meat and onions, finished with a drizzle of mayonnaise.
There are various theories, but one story says it began as a staff meal that employees loved, later refined to look more appealing and served to customers as “Sicilian rice.”
It’s a simple dish, but because the ingredients and seasoning can change the impression completely, it’s fun to compare versions at different restaurants.
Some places even make a deluxe Sicilian rice using Saga-brand meat.

When you hear “champon,” you may think of Nagasaki, but Saga has its own local champon too.
Saga-style champon has evolved in its own way, featuring lots of vegetables and bold seasoning.
Try comparing Saga’s champon—where a tonkotsu broth pairs with thick, pleasantly chewy noodles and plenty of toppings—with Nagasaki champon.

Sasebo burgers are now popular all over Japan.
The harmony of a carefully made patty, fresh vegetables, a special sauce, and the bun creates a one-of-a-kind taste.
Sasebo in Nagasaki is known as the birthplace of the hamburger in Japan, and the burger has been passed down as a local soul food.
If you’re visiting the birthplace of the hamburger, you can’t miss trying the local burger.

Turkish rice is a one-plate meal that combines pilaf, spaghetti, and a pork cutlet.
You could call it the adult version of an “okosama lunch” (kids’ plate), with kid-favorite foods served all together.
Pork cutlet, pilaf, and spaghetti is the classic combo, but some versions include hamburger steak or fried shrimp—the exact lineup depends on the restaurant.
It’s a Nagasaki specialty recommended for anyone who wants to eat a little bit of everything.

Nagasaki champon is made by stir-frying more than a dozen ingredients—such as vegetables and seafood—then simmering them in a cloudy broth made from chicken bones or pork bones, with special thick noodles.
Because it uses so many ingredients, it’s not only delicious but also highly nutritious.
You can enjoy two types: a rich version made with a tonkotsu base, and a lighter version made with a chicken-bone base.
Be sure to try both styles of Nagasaki champon and compare them.

A classic Kumamoto snack and a popular souvenir, ikinari dango is a local favorite.
The chewy dough, sweet potato, and red bean paste are balanced by a subtle touch of salt—so good you won’t be able to stop eating.
There are also plenty of variations, such as versions mixed with brown sugar or yomogi (Japanese mugwort), or made with purple sweet potato.
Souvenir ikinari dango is sold frozen, and if you warm it up in a microwave or steamer, you can enjoy that fresh-made flavor at home.

Basashi (horse sashimi), now enjoyed across Japan, is said to have originated in Kumamoto.
It’s typically served as thinly sliced raw horse meat, eaten with condiments like sliced onions, grated ginger, and garlic, and dipped in sweet soy sauce.
The melt-in-your-mouth umami, lifted by the punch of the condiments, makes it perfect as a snack with drinks.
Because the texture and flavor vary by cut—such as lean meat, marbled meat, mane, and raw liver—be sure to try an assortment platter.
Another plus is that it’s low in calories yet rich in nutrients.

One of Kyushu’s signature tonkotsu ramen styles, Kumamoto ramen is known for the savory aroma of roasted garlic that instantly whets your appetite.
Kumamoto ramen features a deep, creamy broth and smooth, medium-thick straight noodles.
It also typically comes with garlic chips (roasted or fried), mayu (garlic-infused oil), and wood ear mushrooms—hallmarks of Kumamoto ramen.

A specialty of Oita—one of Japan’s top prefectures for chicken consumption—toriten is a local classic.
Rather than typical karaage, it’s coated in a fritter-like batter, with a distinctive texture that’s crispy outside and fluffy inside—so good it’s addictive.
Even within toriten, the experience changes completely depending on whether juicy thigh meat or lighter breast meat is used.
With a variety of seasonings too—garlic-based, salt-based, and more—be sure to try and compare different toriten.

In Oita, another famous specialty alongside toriten is Nakatsu karaage.
The chicken is marinated in a sauce based on soy sauce or salt, using around 10 seasonings such as garlic and ginger, so the flavor penetrates all the way to the center.
With its bold seasoning, Nakatsu karaage is perfect with rice or as a snack with drinks.
Nakatsu City in Oita Prefecture, the home of Nakatsu karaage, has so many karaage specialty shops that it’s known as the “holy land of karaage.”

A Beppu Onsen specialty, jigoku mushi is a traditional cooking method dating back to the Edo period, in which ingredients are steamed using hot spring steam.
Vegetables become sweeter, while meat and seafood are quickly steamed at high heat, keeping their umami while letting excess fat drip away—making it a healthier option.
It’s also used for items like steamed bread and manju, which come out soft and fluffy.
There are also facilities where you can steam ingredients yourself, so it’s a fun way to enjoy not only the food but the unique cooking method too.

Chicken nanban, now eaten nationwide, is said to have originated in Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture.
A staff meal at the Western-style restaurant “London” is often cited as the prototype of chicken nanban.
If you’ve tried chicken nanban outside Miyazaki, you’ll likely be surprised by how different the authentic version is.
Outside Miyazaki, chicken nanban is often karaage topped with sweet vinegar sauce and tartar sauce.
In its hometown, however, the chicken is coated in egg before frying, then thoroughly soaks up nanban vinegar, and is finished with tartar sauce made to pair perfectly with chicken nanban.
This is a local specialty that’s especially worth trying if you’ve only had chicken nanban outside Miyazaki.

Nikumaki onigiri (rice balls wrapped in meat), popular enough to be sold as frozen food, also originated in Miyazaki.
Thin slices of pork leg marinated in sauce are wrapped around rice and grilled until nicely browned—an irresistible onigiri.
Depending on the shop, you’ll find a wide range of toppings and flavors, such as salty seasoning, mentaiko mayo, cheese, and sweet-and-savory sauce.
You can even find nikumaki onigiri shops at Miyazaki Airport, making it easy to grab one anytime.

Miyazaki beef is top-tier wagyu, having won the Prime Minister’s Award for four consecutive competitions at the National Competitive Exhibition of Wagyu.
Miyazaki beef features fine marbling (shimofuri) distributed evenly throughout the meat.
This marbling contains plenty of oleic acid, giving it a smooth, delicate mouthfeel; once you take a bite, subtle sweetness and a rich aroma spread across your palate.
Within Miyazaki Prefecture, there are many yakiniku and steak restaurants where you can try Miyazaki beef—so even if it means splurging a bit, it’s worth tasting.

Shirokuma is a shaved ice dessert topped with condensed milk, then finished with colorful toppings like cherries, raisins, mandarin oranges, pineapple, and sweet red beans.
The birthplace of shirokuma is Tenmonkan Mujaki Honten, located in Kagoshima’s downtown area.
When it first went on sale, it was a simple shaved ice with white syrup and red syrup, but after repeated improvements, it evolved into a refreshing condensed milk-style syrup.
To add color, angelica, cherries, and raisins were placed around the outside as toppings.
Because it looked like a polar bear when viewed from above, it came to be called “shirokuma.”
Today it’s easy to find at supermarkets and convenience stores, but if you visit Kagoshima, be sure to try the authentic shirokuma at the original shop.

Satsuma age is made by mixing ground fish paste with tofu and Kagoshima’s local sake, then deep-frying it.
From plain versions made with just fish paste to varieties mixed with ingredients like carrots or burdock, there are plenty of options, so you can enjoy them without getting bored.
It’s most delicious eaten as-is, but it’s also recommended with mayonnaise, wasabi soy sauce, or ginger soy sauce.
Because even the fish bones are finely ground, it’s high in nutritional value—such as protein and calcium—yet low in calories and relatively low in salt, which is another welcome bonus.

Raised amid Kagoshima’s magnificent natural environment, kurobuta pork is a highly valued, popular ingredient sometimes called “black diamond.”
Its tender, clean bite, melt-in-your-mouth texture, and outstanding umami and sweetness make it exceptionally delicious.
Kurobuta’s roots go back a long time—around 400 years—when it’s said to have been brought over from the Ryukyu Kingdom (present-day Okinawa).
If you want to fully enjoy the flavor of kurobuta, shabu-shabu and kurobuta tonkatsu are recommended.