Chinese Restaurant Ten’yu

A dish called champon seems to exist all over Japan. While it’s not particularly well-known nationwide, Amagasaki City in Hyogo Prefecture has its own version called Amagasaki Champon (commonly known as Amachan). This Amagasaki Champon is said to have evolved independently from Nagasaki champon. While it shares the common feature of having a thick sauce (“ankake”), the ingredients and seasoning are left up to each individual shop. This means you can enjoy a different flavor of champon at every shop you visit.

According to the official Amagasaki Champon website, as of September 2025, there are 22 restaurants serving Amagasaki Champon. Among them, the restaurant I chose for my Amagasaki Champon debut is that place frequently featured on Kansai TV programs…

This restaurant is the originator of Amagasaki Champon… Chinese Restaurant Ten’yu is a restaurant like this…

The restaurant I chose for my Amagasaki Champon debut is Chinese Restaurant Ten’yu, located along National Route 2. Established in 1997, it is said to be the “birthplace of Amagasaki Champon.” Numerous stickers from TV programs that came to cover the original Amagasaki Champon adorn the entrance. But even more impressive are the autographed posters from celebrities lining not just one wall inside, but stretching all the way up to the ceiling… While it’s a locally rooted neighborhood Chinese restaurant, in terms of sheer number of autographed posters, I think it holds its own against any popular restaurant nationwide.

Now, I arrived at Chinese Restaurant Ten’yu just past 11:00 on a certain weekend. I was only a few minutes late for opening time, but the 20 seats inside were already nearly full. I was finally guided to the last available table seat. After that, I could see from inside the shop that a crowd was steadily gathering outside the storefront. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, “If I’d been just one minute later, it would have been touch and go…”

Amagasaki’s local B-grade gourmet staple! How did the original Amagasaki Champon I ordered at Chinese Restaurant Ten’yu?

So, here’s the original Amagasaki Champon (price: 850 yen including tax) – a local B-grade gourmet staple rooted in Amagasaki – that I ordered at Chinese Restaurant Ten’yu that day. About 10 minutes after ordering, the Amachan arrived looking like this…

You can tell just by looking that this is a thick, rich soy sauce-based champon. The bowl is large and packed with volume.

Alright, let’s dive right in with the soup… This broth has an incredibly intense soy sauce flavor. Honestly, compared to all the soy sauce ramen I’ve had before, the savory aroma and umami of the soy sauce here are top-tier. But surprisingly, the saltiness is actually on the milder side. The dashi base is also quite mild, giving the impression that the dish truly relies on the richness of the soy sauce itself.

The noodles, meanwhile, are standard medium-thin Chinese-style ramen noodles. I was expecting thick noodles like the miso champon found in Akita’s Chinatown, but this completely defied my expectations. However, they’re cooked al dente, so even being thin, they hold their own against the thick sauce and offer a satisfying bite. They cling perfectly to the thickened soup, and with every slurp, the savory soy aroma bursts from your mouth to your nose.

As for the ingredients in the thick sauce, I could identify nine types: carrots, onions, cabbage, bok choy, bean sprouts, wood ear mushrooms, pork, shrimp, and squid. That said, there wasn’t much meat or seafood; it felt mostly like vegetables. Being able to eat so many different vegetables at once is great for nutritional balance. I never got bored at all, finishing every last drop of the thick sauce without leaving a single bit behind.

Other Menu Items at Chinese Restaurant Tenyu (Prices Include Tax)

• Sweet and Sour Pork Set Meal: 950 yen
• Fried Chicken Set Meal: 950 yen
• Fried Noodles: 850 yen
• Nagasaki Champon: 850 yen
• Ramen: 750 yen
• Fried Rice: 650 yen
• Mapo Tofu: 650 yen

The popular “Doro-chan,” an evolved version of Amagasaki Champon… Access to Chinese Restaurant Ten’yu is a 9-minute walk from the nearest station, Hanshin Electric Railway’s Amagasaki Station.

This Chinese Restaurant Ten’yu has another signature menu item alongside Amagasaki Champon: Doro-chan. This is a creative dish made by adding egg to Amagasaki Champon and enhancing it with garlic and chili oil for a kick. It’s said to be hugely popular among spicy food lovers. The price is 1,000 yen (tax included), which is 150 yen more than the Amagasaki Champon. If you get the chance, do try this evolved version of Amagasaki Champon.

Now, here are the restaurant details…

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