Honebuto Mikaku in Imabari: How to Order at the Back-Fat Ramen Shop Where the Toppings Are Free (2026)
Some ramen shops in Japan hand you a bowl and that is that.
Honebuto Mikaku is the other kind.
Here you choose the base, then call your toppings, and the toppings cost nothing.
For a visitor it is one of the most fun ways to eat ramen in Japan, and one of the most confusing to order if nobody explains the system.
This guide explains the system.
What kind of shop this is
Honebuto Mikaku is a rich, filling ramen shop in the Sakurai area of Imabari.
Its style is seabura chatcha: a soy-sauce and pork-bone soup finished with ladled-on pork back fat.
The name comes from the sound of the fat being shaken through a strainer over the bowl.
The main branch is in Matsuyama, and this Imabari branch sits near a secondary school, so expect students at the counter.
The noodles are on the thick side, and the bowls are built to fill you up.
Step one: pick your base
The menu starts from four bases.
White, Red, Black, and mazesoba, which is a soupless bowl you mix yourself.
The colour names refer to the different soups, and pointing at the menu works perfectly well.
Decide the base first, because everything else is added on top of it.
Step two: call your free toppings
This is the part that makes the shop worth knowing about.
Five things can be customised, and none of them costs extra.
Back fat
Say nothing and you get the normal amount.
You can also ask for nuki (none), gito (extra), or gito-gito (a lot).
Vegetables
Bean sprouts and cabbage.
The levels are normal, choi-kachi (a little extra), and kachi (piled high).
Order kachi and a small mountain of bean sprouts arrives, and you will dig for a while before you find the noodles.
Garlic
With or without.
Fish
A hit of dried bonito, with or without.
Karame
This makes the soy tare stronger, for anyone who finds the soup too mild.
If that sounds like a lot to remember, the safe first order is simple: pick a base and say nothing.
The default bowl is the shop’s intended version, and you can experiment on your second visit.
The seasonal bowls
In the warmer months the shop also runs tsukemen and chilled ramen.
Tsukemen is a plate of noodles served next to a separate dipping soup.
Here the dipping soup is the usual rich broth with a touch of acidity added, with the chashu pork waiting inside it.
These are seasonal menus, so they are not on offer all year.
If they are on the wall when you visit, consider it good timing.
Two discounts worth knowing
On weekday lunchtimes, a medium-size upgrade is free.
If you are hungry, a weekday lunch is the best-value visit.
There is also a student discount, shown on notices at the entrance and inside.
It requires a student ID, so bring one if you have one.
Opening hours
Lunch runs from 11:30 to 15:00, with last orders at 14:30.
Dinner runs from 18:00 to 21:00, with last orders at 20:30.
Mondays are the regular closing day.
Extra closing days are announced on the shop’s official Instagram, so check it before a special trip.
Honebuto Mikaku Sakurai on Instagram
Some listings online still show older opening hours, so trust the times above, which are correct as of August 2026.
Getting there from JR Imabari Station
The shop is in Sakurai, in the south-east of Imabari, about 8 kilometres from JR Imabari Station.
By car or taxi it takes roughly 10 to 15 minutes.
By train, take the JR Yosan Line to Iyo-Sakurai Station, and the shop is about 1.1 kilometres on foot from there, around 15 minutes.
Trains on this line are not frequent, so check the return time before you go.
There is a car park at the shop, but it is small, and at busy times you may wait for a space.
Open Honebuto Mikaku in Google Maps
Questions visitors ask
Are the toppings really free? Yes.
The five customisations above cost nothing on top of your bowl.
What happens if I say nothing? You get the standard bowl.
That is a perfectly good first order.
Do I need to speak Japanese? Pointing at the menu covers the base.
For toppings, the single words above (gito, kachi, karame) are the whole vocabulary.
Is the tsukemen always available? No.
Tsukemen and chilled ramen are seasonal.
When is it closed? Mondays, plus occasional extra days announced on Instagram.
Make it part of an Imabari food day
Imabari’s most famous dish is yakibuta tamago meshi, a roast pork and egg rice bowl, and the three classic shops are compared in the yakibuta tamago meshi guide.
For handmade udon near the port, there is Matsu Seimenjo.
Everything else on the Imabari side is gathered in the Imabari guide for Shimanami cyclists.
Information correct as of August 2026.
Opening hours and menus can change, so please check the shop’s Instagram before you travel.
Original article in Japanese: 骨太味覚 今治桜井店の注文方法｜白・赤・黒・まぜそばと無料トッピングの選び方（つけ麺も）
