Fukuoka’s Tomato Ramen Sanmi (元祖トマトラーメン三味(333)) is a ramen business with several locations in Fukuoka Prefecture. Tomato’s acidity meets rich ramen broth in a bowl somewhere between Italian and Japanese flavors. The original account credits Sanmi with developing its tomato ramen in 2004 and describes roughly 30 locations nationwide, concentrated in Fukuoka; those are historical source claims.
Sanmi had several branches in Fukuoka. The account describes a particularly well-known Hakata location on Canal City’s fifth-floor Ramen Stadium, with photographs and autographs of celebrity visitors. There were also two shops in the busy Tenjin area. We visited the Tenjin Daimyo Central location (三味(333) 天神大名中心店) in the heart of Tenjin, an easy place to find while exploring the neighborhood.
The broth combines a sauce of tomatoes cooked until soft with ramen stock, and you can choose the heat level. A popular finish is risotto made using the soup left after the noodles. Side dishes included cheese, shrimp, vegetable and bite-size gyoza, plus fried rice. Some branches offered inexpensive lunch sets, though the selection varied. This distinctive tomato ramen had clearly found an audience in Japan.
Sweetness, acidity and umami from tomatoes and aromatic vegetables meet thin, straight noodles, giving the bowl a pasta-like character. The spicy ramen offered seven heat levels and was suggested as an end-of-evening meal after drinks. A tomato hot pot was another option, described in the source as ‘tomato mochi-nabe’; the later passages call it tomato motsunabe.
The atmosphere felt more like a café, and some locations operated 24 hours at the source date.
The risotto service turns the soup left after your tomato ramen into a rice dish.
When ordered with the ramen, this finish was JPY 100. Rice and tomato sauce were cooked together and topped with cheese and parsley. The ramen broth worked well as an Italian-style risotto, so many diners enjoyed both in one meal. There were other ways to use the broth, too.
For example, cheese and rice simmered in the tomato ramen broth created a second flavor experience after the noodles. The tomato motsunabe broth could also become risotto, combining the richness of offal with tomato’s fresh acidity. Other side dishes and desserts rounded out the menu.
Tomato Ramen Sanmi — Tenjin Daimyo Central
三味(333) 天神大名中心店 · Passage Building 2F, 1-12-58 Daimyo, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka 810-0041, Japan
★★★★★ · Ramen restaurant (archived map-card rating)
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