Udon Shop from Kitakyushu Expands to Other Regions of Japan with Rich Broth

By Shun Hatanaka / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

6:00 JST, September 16, 2025

Sukesan Udon, a restaurant chain that started out in Kitakyushu, is popular for its wide variety of so-called comfort foods for residents, such as udon noodles with a chewy texture and carefully prepared broth.

In recent years it has expanded to the Kansai and Kanto regions, with its fan base also growing. It also sells oden simmered stew, katsudon pork cutlet rice bowls and botamochi, a traditional sweet made of steamed mochi rice and red bean paste.

Company founder Shoji Onishi, who died in 2015, opened his first shop in Kitakyushu in 1976. The store’s name is derived from one of the kanji characters in his first name, which can also be read as “suke.”

The udon broth is based on an original recipe that Onishi developed through two years of trial and error when he began his business. Its rich flavor comes from many ingredients such as sababushi dried mackerel, kombu kelp and shiitake mushrooms. As the udon originated in Kitakyushu, which is a steel manufacturing base, the broth has a rich and slightly stronger than normal taste that factory workers enjoy.

The menu is also extensive, offering more than 150 items including oden and various toppings. Rice bowls are also popular, such as their katsu-toji don topped with pork cutlet and egg. Botamochi has also gained popularity as the perfect dessert to follow the udon made with rich broth, and has become a signature item of the chain.

Although the company operated only in the Kitakyushu area for many years, Onishi was said to have wanted to share Sukesan’s taste, his great pride, with as many people as possible.

Around 2009, the company branched out to other areas of Fukuoka Prefecture. The company then aimed to expand eastward.

Venturing to Osaka

“We have preserved our taste for years. It must not change, even in Kansai.”

In spring 2023, an executive of Sukesan Co. that operates the chain emphasized this point when explaining a plan to expand the business into Osaka. Compared to Kansai-style udon, Sukesan udon has a chewier texture and a sweeter broth. For a company that had mainly expanded its business in Fukuoka Prefecture, starting a business in Osaka was significant.

It is not uncommon for chain restaurants to adjust the taste of their products to suit the preferences of consumers in their target regions. However, the company had no intention to change the rich taste that had been passed down for nearly 50 years since the company’s start.

The company also faced another challenge in Kansai. The chain was not well-known, so it had to work to become known among residents.

Shohei Fujita, the company’s sales manager said to himself, “We just have to do our best to get residents to try it.”

Starting that summer, company employees visited large retailers and department stores in a food truck for test marketing, attracting customers by repeatedly saying, “This is Sukesan’s udon.”

At 10 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2023, its Imafuku-Tsurumi store in Tsurumi Ward, Osaka, opened for 24-hour service. The line of customers never broke for 27 hours. Fujita sighed with relief, thinking, “Products made with heart will be accepted anywhere.”

In 2024, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the restaurant giant Skylark Holdings Co. and has continued to expand nationwide. Currently, the company operates a total of about 80 stores in the Kyushu, Kansai, Kanto and Chugoku regions.

Old, new fans

Shops outside Kyushu, such as those in Kansai and Kanto, attract people who have moved from Kyushu as regular customers and are also winning new fans.

To try and ensure that local communities love the chain for years to come, the company is also working on achieving Sustainable Development Goals. These efforts include food education activities for children using food trucks and recycling cooking oil used for deep frying.

The company’s marketing and public relations chief, Noriko Ito, makes a point of listening to customer feedback when visiting stores.

Ito has heard comments such as, “I came to this shop with my mother in the past,” and “I visited as a treat after finishing my entrance exams.”

Ito feels that the chain’s growth has been supported by many fans.

The company will continue striving to attract customers to its existing and new stores.