At Santouka, through out the day, there is constant flow of customers who seek the delicious ramen they serve. Not only can you have lunch there, but since it is located within the food court of Mitsuwa MarketPlace, you can stop by after the market. The delicious aroma might lure you there as well.
One of the attractions is that you can stop by anytime you please. Santouka first opened its main restaurant in 1988 at Hokkaido, Asahikawa. There are now approximately 50 store locations.
It opened its America branch two years ago. Right after opening, it was overwhelmingly popular among the Japanese population but soon after it go popular among local Americans and Asians other than Japanese as well. There might be those who think the familiar taste of Santouka is changed in America but there is no worry. Most ingredients are air transported from Japan so the taste is exactly the same.
 
Shio Ramen $6.99
This dish represents Santouka. The soup simmers with lard and the medium-fine noodles wait its turn to be eaten under the layers of chashu, salted bamboo shoots, green onion, and Judas-ear. There’s a petite ume placed in the middle. The ume is said to be there as an image to give a hint of red to the mouth of a woman with long eyelashes, big eyes, slender and elegant woman.
You can feel such romance within the soup. With the salt and fish fragrant added to the tonkotsu soup, you don’t feel much of the heavy taste of the pig bone.
The soup is rich in flavor and has the flavor of creamy saltiness which draws out the flavor of the noodles. As you drink the flavorful white soup, you feel energized. Santouka’s ramen is a “soup that you can drink till the end.” Once you start, you can’t stop till you finish.

Special Toro-Niku Ramen $9.99
Toro-niku is precious cheek meat that is limited in amount that is available from a single pig. The meat has just the right amount of fat and the flavor is very tender. The meat falls apart in your mouth and brings sensation.

You can enjoy the quality of the fat and the sweetness of the noodle to the fullest when you eat the toro-niku along with the ramen when the toro-niku has been warmed by the soup. The toro-niku is served on the side so you can also enjoy toro-niku by itself. If ate in that manner, you can taste the flavor of the toro-niku directly and it will become an unforgettable experience.