Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch

Dotonbori Kamukura. It is the largest ramen chain restaurant from Osaka. As of January 2024, when this blog entry was written, there are a total of 94 branches, mainly in the Kanto and Kansai regions. When it first opened a branch in Tokyo (Dotonbori Kamukura Shinjuku Branch), it was featured on a national TV program.

This time, I had lunch at one of the branches, Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch. When I’m in the mood for something less adventurous, it’s great to have a restaurant like this nearby…

It is very narrow, so be careful with your luggage…Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch is a store like this.

Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch is located along the Sennichimae shopping street that stretches from in front of Bic Camera Namba toward Dotonbori. Many shopping streets these days are shuttered, but this shopping street is very lively and uplifting to walk along. Nearby there is a branch of Kinguemon, a famous soy sauce ramen shop, Ichiran Dotonbori Branch Annex, and Kinryu Ramen, so this is also a gourmet street. So, if you are in trouble for a meal in Namba, it is a good idea to walk along this street for now.

According to the information on the Tabelog, Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch has a total of 40 seats. Doesn’t 40 seats at a ramen restaurant sound like a pretty large restaurant? But in fact, it is very small. The restaurant has a narrow frontage and a long, narrow structure toward the back, but it seems as if they just crammed as many counter seats as they could into the space. The aisle is just barely wide enough for one person to pass through, so you should be careful about the size of the luggage you bring in.

From this one bowl of ramen, Kamukura began… Oishii ramen from the standard menu at Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch

That aside, what I ordered this time at Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch was their standard menu item, Oishii ramen (price: 770 yen (tax included)). After about 5 minutes of waiting, the ramen arrived in front of me…

The soy sauce-colored clear soup is topped with a large piece of chashu pork, a large amount of Chinese cabbage, and thin slices of pork. In this day and age, a bowl of ramen is priced at 770 yen, which I think can be called a Showa price without exaggeration.

Let’s start with the soup… The overall flavor is light, but the richness of the pork belly and the sweetness of the Chinese cabbage are blended into the soup, giving it a gentle flavor that is hard to describe. It does not have the impact that makes you say “Wow, this is…” the first time you try it, but the more you eat it, the more the umami starts to seep into your body, and it has a mysterious charm that makes you want to eat it again, even though you do not know what it is. It’s a strange attraction, isn’t it? And strangely enough, I never get tired of the taste, no matter how many times I eat it. I am very curious about how they produce this flavor, but it seems that the recipe for the soup is a top secret known only to the president of the company.

On the other hand, the noodles are medium-thin and straight, with a slightly high water content. The surface of the noodle is smooth and easy to slurp up, and it has a firm chewy texture. The noodles do not have a strong wheatiness, which goes well with the gentle flavor of the soup. Despite its smooth surface, the noodle absorbs the soup surprisingly well.

The main topping, a large piece of chashu pork, is packed with meaty flavor and tastes like ham. It is moist, and once bitten into, the concentrated flavor of the meat is gradually absorbed… Really, don’t underestimate Kamukura as a chain restaurant! It has become a common practice these days to add more chashu pork, but this single piece of chashu pork is something that makes you appreciate it all over again.

I left the restaurant after finishing the delicious ramen at Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch in just a few minutes. It was from this Oishii ramen that Kamukura began! I can’t say that this ramen is bad, because it is their signature dish. I wish this ramen would spread more throughout Japan… Sinc

Examples of other menu items at Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch (prices include tax)

• Chashu ramen 1220 yen
• Small chashu ramen 1140 yen
• Boiled egg and green onion ramen 1030 yen
• Negi kimuchi ramen 1030 yen
• Boiled egg and bean sprout ramen: 1,030 yen
• Full vegetable ramen 1020 yen
• Konnyaku ramen 870 yen

Next door is the Tsukemen specialty restaurant Menya Doton Dotonbori Head Shop… Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch is a 6-minute walk from the nearest station, Namba Station on the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line.

Next door to Dotonbori Kamukura Sennichimae Branch is the only Tsukemen specialty restaurant in the chain, Menya Doton Dotonbori Head Shop. It opened in June 2023 as a spin-off store of Kamukura, offering a brushed-up version of tsukemen, which was originally offered as a limited menu item at the store. If you are wondering “What kind of tsukemen does Kamukura make?”, please visit and try the ramen shop. If you have the stomach for it, you may want to try eating both ramen and tsukemen.

Here are the details of the restaurant…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious ramens in Osaka, please stop by this article below…