Men Oh Tokushima Ramen: A Little Tokyo Ramen Shop With Shikoku Roots

Men Oh Tokushima Ramen serves an $18.50 bowl that tastes of one small Japanese prefecture, from a narrow ramen shop at 456 E 2nd St inside Honda Plaza in Little Tokyo. The house signature is Tokushima ramen, a style from the island of Shikoku built on pork bone broth simmered for 16 hours and dark soy seasoning, then piled with stir-fried pork belly instead of only sliced chashu. Lunch starts at 11:30 am every day.

What makes this counter different from the many tonkotsu shops in the neighborhood is its regional focus. According to Discover Los Angeles, Men Oh is a chain from Tokushima with 12 locations in Japan, and the Los Angeles branch brought the prefecture's soy-forward style to Southern California. Its own website describes it as the number one Tokushima-style shop among more than 300 ramen stores in Tokushima, a claim the company makes about itself.

Order the Tokushima Ramen first. The menu lists the pork bone broth cooked for 16 hours and infused with a specialty soy seasoning, medium straight noodles, and a heap of stir-fried pork belly alongside simmered chashu, bamboo shoots, green onions, bean sprouts and a seasoned boiled egg. The sweet, salty pork belly is the point here, so add an extra portion of Butabara for $4.00 if you are hungry.

If you prefer something closer to the Fukuoka bowls that dominate Los Angeles, the Tonkotsu Ramen at $18.50 uses Kurobuta pork-bone broth with salt seasoning and thin straight noodles. The Spicy Tonkotsu, also $18.50, swaps in curly noodles and an original spicy miso ball that melts into the soup as you eat. Heat seekers can add another miso ball for $2.50 or a spoon of habanero paste for $3.00.

Lighter options exist too. The Shoyu Ramen costs $18.00 and pairs a clear chicken broth with soy seasoning and curly noodles, a good choice for a lunch that will not slow you down. The Black Garlic Ramen is $18.50. Vegetarians have the Vegetable Ramen at $18.50, which the online ordering menu describes as a shiitake mushroom and kelp broth. Extra chashu runs $4.50 for three pieces, and an extra egg costs $3.50.

The side dishes are worth a second look. Pan-fried pork gyoza cost $9.00, takoyaki costs $10.50, and the fried chicken comes two ways, with mayonnaise sauce for $11.50 or sesame sauce for $12.00. The Tokushima Don, a rice bowl topped with the same seasoned pork belly that defines the ramen, is $17.00, while the Tokushima Don Mini at $10.00 makes a sensible add-on when two people want to share.

Timing matters because the kitchen closes between services on weekdays. The official site lists Monday through Thursday hours of 11:30 am to 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm to 10 pm, and continuous service from 11:30 am to 11 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That gap between 2:30 and 5:30 catches plenty of visitors, so a weekday lunch right at opening or a weekend mid-afternoon bowl is the calmest way in.

The shop does not take reservations, according to its Yelp listing, so it runs on walk-ins. Seating is limited, and Time Out describes the room as a small shop with a handful of tables and a long bar. Solo diners usually move fastest because a single bar seat turns over quickly. Groups of four or more should avoid the 7 pm weekend rush, and if the line stretches past half an hour, order pickup through the online menu instead.

Inside, it feels like a neighborhood noodle counter in Japan rather than a design project. The long bar faces the kitchen, so you can watch bowls being assembled and the pork belly being tossed in the pan before it lands on the noodles. The room is plain and bright, with simple wooden tables against the wall. It is a place to eat a hot bowl quickly and give your seat to the next person at the door.

Men Oh opened in Little Tokyo in the fall of 2012, as Umami Mart reported the following year, and it has held its spot in Honda Plaza through more than a decade of new ramen openings around Second Street. That staying power is notable in a neighborhood where ramen competition is fierce. The shop has collected press over the years, and its website quotes the Los Angeles Times, Eater LA and Zagat on its homepage.

An honest note: not every critic loved the broth. The food blog FoodGPS wrote in 2012 that the soup did not bring much subtlety, and diners who chase delicate, layered broths may agree. The fix is to order with that in mind. Skip the Black Garlic if you want contrast, and lean into the Tokushima Ramen, where the bold soy flavor and sweet pork belly are the whole idea rather than a flaw.

After the meal, walk two blocks north to Fugetsu-Do at 315 E 1st St, a family confectionery that has made mochi and manju in Little Tokyo since 1903 and is open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. From there, stroll First Street past the historic storefronts toward Central Avenue. One planning note: the Japanese American National Museum's pavilion is closed for renovation and is scheduled to reopen on January 23, 2027.

Pickup and delivery orders run through the restaurant's Toast online ordering page, which also lists the full menu with current prices. The shop posts holiday closures, including Thanksgiving Day, November 26, and Christmas Day, December 25, 2026. Honda Plaza's lot is gated and charges a fee, so the Metro station two blocks away is the least stressful way to arrive on a busy Friday night.

This ramen shop suits diners who want to taste a regional Japanese style they will rarely find in America, office workers who need a quick lunch bowl near the Civic Center, and anyone already in Little Tokyo for mochi on First Street. Start with the Tokushima Ramen and a plate of gyoza, then come back for the Spicy Tonkotsu. For more downtown noodle ideas, ask the Karpo APP.