【New Store Opening】Igniting Kanuma with Spicy Noodles – Local Specialty Spicy Ramen 'Warabe' Opens in Suhirocho in Early October

"The people of Kanuma eat the least of Kanuma's ingredients" – A 26-year-old entrepreneur from Kumamoto, who moved to Kanuma to inherit his family’s konjac raw material business, spent three years developing a local specialty spicy ramen reimagined with hometown ingredients.

Nature District LLC (Kanuma City, Tochigi Prefecture / Representative: Dan Imamura, 26) will open its local spicy ramen specialty store, "Kanuma Karame Noodle Warabe," in Suhirocho, Kanuma City, in early October 2026.

Official website: https://www.warabe-kanuma.com/

Main visual of Kanuma’s local spicy ramen

While there are many spicy ramen chains nationwide, "spicy ramen made solely with local specialty products" exists only here.

Spicy ramen originated in Miyazaki Prefecture. It features a chicken broth base, the kick of garlic and chili peppers, eggs and leeks, and uniquely chewy noodles. It's a popular genre with multiple nationwide chains, primarily in Kyushu.

However, most aim to "reproduce Kyushu’s flavor with consistent quality anywhere in Japan." Warabe chose the opposite path: "reinventing Kyushu’s traditional spicy ramen using Kanuma’s local ingredients."

Why? Because Kanuma is an extremely rare region capable of supplying all three key components of spicy ramen in-house.

Spicy Ramen Components

Kanuma’s Answer

Ground Meat

Tochigi Jidori (Tochigi Prefecture’s branded free-range chicken)

Chewy Noodles

Special noodles mixed with locally produced Kanuma konjac

Finishing Leeks

Kanuma Leeks (Kanuma is one of Japan’s top leek-producing areas)

"There are many spicy ramen chains nationwide. But 'spicy ramen made only with local ingredients' exists only here. That’s Warabe’s unique reason for being," (Representative Imamura)

Kanuma has fantastic ingredients, yet their appeal has not been communicated.

Kanuma City, Tochigi Prefecture, is one of Japan’s top producers of konjac raw materials and ranks high in leek production. It also boasts Tochigi Jidori, the prefecture’s only branded free-range chicken. Yet, there are almost no local dishes that feature these ingredients as the main attraction.

Representative Dan Imamura (26), who moved from Kumamoto to Kanuma in 2023 to inherit his family’s konjac raw material business (a generational trade), felt a sense of dissonance while living there.

"Locals aren’t serving Kanuma-produced konjac or leeks at home. Especially younger generations rarely buy them themselves. A place with such ingredients lacks the 'everyday food' that lets people enjoy them. It’s not just wasteful—it’s frustrating."

This dissonance became the starting point of this venture.

The 26-year-old’s answer: reinventing Kyushu’s traditional spicy ramen in Kanuma

Spicy ramen is a local noodle dish originating in Miyazaki Prefecture. It consists of a chicken broth base, the stimulation of garlic and chili peppers, eggs and leeks, and uniquely chewy noodles.

For Imamura, raised in Kumamoto and having lived and trained with a renowned free-range chicken farmer in Miyazaki, spicy ramen was a flavor deeply ingrained in his body. At the same time, the main components of spicy ramen—ground meat, leeks, chewy noodles—coincidentally matched Kanuma’s local ingredients—Tochigi Jidori, Kanuma leeks, and Kanuma-produced konjac—almost one-to-one.

"Reinventing Kyushu’s soul with Kanuma’s ingredients. I became convinced that Kanuma’s local spicy ramen could logically exist."

Thus, 'Warabe' was born.

Representative Dan Imamura

The Five Values Warabe Delivers

01. Addictive Flavor – ADDICTIVE FLAVOR

· Overwhelming deliciousness from ground meat made with Tochigi Jidori

· Multi-layered spiciness from four types of chili peppers

· Smooth, sweet mellowing of spiciness using Kanuma leeks

02. Guilt-Free – GUILT FREE

· Special chewy noodles mixed with locally produced Kanuma konjac

· Soup design incorporating the gut-health benefits of koji

· No artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, or coloring agents used

03. Local Circulation – LOCAL CIRCULATION

· Sourcing ingredients from local farmers in Kanuma City, maximizing local production for local consumption

· Noodles with locally produced Kanuma konjac, co-developed with a noodle manufacturer (in development)

· Integrated supply chain directly linked to our family konjac raw material business

· Returning revenue to the local economy through in-region reinvestment

04. Class System 'Shin Warabejuku' – A Promotion System That Gets More Fun the More You Visit

Kanuma was once a post town on the Reibishi Kaido, a place where people rested and regained energy. This concept is translated into modern times by designing a 12-level class system based on spiciness.

· 12 levels: Town Girl (No Spice) → Child → Hatamoto → Daimyo → Great General → Ruler of the World (Lv.12)

· Promotion system requiring full consumption from 'General' level upward

· Built-in reason to repeat visits: the more you come, the higher your class rises

05. A One-of-a-Kind Space Where Spicy Ramen and Coffee Coexist

At the back of the store, the roasting facility of sister store 'Ginza Coffee,' complete with large roasters, is installed in a glass-enclosed space. Customers can watch roasters at work up close while eating spicy ramen.

"Spicy ramen and aromatic coffee. Placing seemingly opposite elements in one space—that’s Warabe’s worldview."

Strengthened circulation routes with sister store 'Ginza Coffee' (1-minute walk) turn exploring Kanuma City into a destination in itself.

Why is this young representative’s voice so persuasive?

The track record of sister store 'Ginza Coffee' proves it.

Representative Dan Imamura opened Ginza Coffee in 2024 with no prior experience and no connections.

· Approximately 500 customers within 2 weeks of opening

· Over 10,000 customers within about 1.5 years of opening

· Featured in over 30 media outlets

· Changed foot traffic in the Ginza-dori area, once called a 'shutter street'

'Warabe' is an attempt to recreate the 'honest storytelling of local ingredients' cultivated at Ginza Coffee in the new format of spicy ramen.

Full story: https://www.warabe-kanuma.com/story

Ginza Coffee Store

Roadmap: Making Kanuma the 'Eastern Holy Land of Spicy Ramen'

Phase

Initiative

KPI

First Wave (Current)

POPUP store (details at the bottom of the article)

Confirm local reaction, adjust flavor

Second Wave

Opening of Warabe Main Store (early October 2026)

Explosive awareness from day one, establish recognition of Kanuma spicy ramen

Third Wave

EC and souvenir expansion

Bring konjac noodles and Tochigi Jidori nationwide

Fourth Wave

Opening of Shin-Kanuma Station Front Store

Open at Kanuma’s gateway, become the face of the town

Fifth Wave

Tokyo Store (Kitasenju Station)

Open in Kitasenju, connecting Tokyo and Kanuma

Sixth Wave

Franchise expansion

Make Kanuma the 'Eastern Holy Land of Spicy Ramen'

Brand Logo

Additionally, the extreme spicy challenge menu 'Phoenix' will be available

Separate from the 12-level spicy promotion system, the extreme spicy challenge 'Phoenix' will also be offered to all. Details to be announced in a 'Phoenix Unleashed' press release in late October to November.

Store Overview

Store Name

Kanuma Karame Noodle Warabe (Kanuma Spicy Noodle Warabe)

Location

1916-1 Suhirocho, Kanuma City, Tochigi 322-0083, WARABASE 1F

Opening Date

Early October 2026

Business Hours

Lunch: 11:30–14:30 (Last Order 14:00) / Dinner: 17:00–21:00 (Last Order 20:30) ※Planned

Regular Holidays

Tuesday, Wednesday ※Planned

Seats

20 seats (counter and tables)

Parking

Approx. 10 free spaces adjacent to the store

Access

15-minute walk from Tobu Shin-Kanuma Station / 1-minute walk from Ginza Coffee