Can Nandenkanden Rise Again? Ramen Pioneer Hiroshi Kawahara’s Bold Revival Plan

What the famous President is up to now

“‘FRIDAY’ featured me quite a lot. One way or another, I must have appeared around twenty times over the years, don’t you think? (laughs)”

The words “Nandenkanden” are printed across his T-shirt. When President Hiroshi Kawahara (62) appeared before a FRIDAY reporter for the first time in a long while, the darkly tanned skin and piercing eyes that once defined his image were gone, giving him a much gentler impression.

“You know, I’m actually fair-skinned by nature. Even if I go to the beach, I turn pale again in no time. I’d always admired tanned skin, so one day I was saying at the restaurant, ‘I want to get darker!’ A customer who owned a tanning salon told me, ‘Come for free.’ So I went, and I really did get dark!

Then Kazuya Kato (54), the son of Hibari Misora, who appeared with me on ‘The Tigers of Money,’ and I got excited and said, ‘Let’s open a tanning salon together!’ We actually did it as part of the show’s project. Before long, though, the employees disappeared in the middle of the night and abandoned the business.” (laughs)

Standing beside him is his son, Kota Kawahara (30), a handsome young man with fair skin and refined features. Looking at him, one gets the sense that this is probably what the elder Kawahara originally looked like. Father and son are now planning to revive Nandenkanden, the ramen chain that sparked the tonkotsu ramen boom of the 1980s and 1990s.

“My son said he didn’t want to let it disappear. I never inherited my own father’s business. I always thought, ‘Kota should pursue whatever he wants. It’s fine if Nandenkanden ends with my generation.’ So I’m grateful. But since I’m still recovering from illness, I figured I’d have him help out too.”

President Kawahara collapsed at his home in July 2022—the same day former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot. At the time, only Kawahara and his son Kota were at home.

“My father was usually very healthy and hated hospitals. He’d only catch a cold once every few years. But that day he stayed lying down the whole time. Even when I spoke to him, he’d only respond with a faint ‘Yeah.’ His complexion, which was normally dark, had turned pale, and in a weak voice he said, ‘Please, call an ambulance.’

At the hospital, he was diagnosed with infective endocarditis and aortic valve insufficiency. His heart valve had stopped functioning. He underwent surgery to receive an artificial valve and eventually had four operations in total after that,” Kota recalled.

The Phantom “Michael Ramen”

After being discharged from the hospital, Kawahara appeared on a couple of variety shows, but the physical strain was too much, and he decided to stop. More recently, he received an offer to appear on “Nep League” (Fuji TV), but declined, saying, “Given my condition, I just can’t.”

For Koki, reviving “Nandenkanden” was also about helping his father regain his spirit.

“Normally, trademarks are owned by a corporation, but my father personally owned the ‘Nandenkanden’ trademark. He had licensed it to others before, but he kept holding onto it because he hoped I would inherit it someday. My main career is in digital marketing consulting, so honestly I was unsure whether to take over. But when my father, lying in bed after collapsing, said in a faint voice, ‘I want you to carry on the ramen business,’ something switched on inside me. I thought, ‘I’ll do it!'”

His father reportedly became energized, saying, “I’ll handle the flavor. Koki has marketing skills, so let’s combine the two.”

“I’ve never actually worked in my father’s restaurant, so the first thing I’m doing is recreating the ‘Nandenkanden’ soup. Fortunately, the recipe still exists, and with help from former employees we’ve been able to reproduce the original taste. The next step is finding partners to help reopen a physical restaurant. To make a comeback for ‘Nandenkanden,’ we’re focusing on increasing public exposure. As part of that effort, we’re operating pop-up ramen shops at super sento bathhouses and izakaya pubs.”

As the interview continued, ramen preparation began. Nostalgic sheets of seaweed printed with the “Nandenkanden” logo made an appearance.

“I came up with this together with the owner of a seaweed company. Printing technology has advanced so much now that you can print very tiny letters. You can even print QR codes. At Disneyland, they even sell seaweed printed with Mickey Mouse.

I’m from Fukuoka, and my great-uncle was the founder of the mentaiko company ‘Fukuya.’ When I was in elementary school, my mother told me, ‘Take some mentaiko to your teacher.’ When I did, the teacher asked, ‘What’s this?’ Since I ate it every day at home, I simply answered, ‘It’s mentaiko.’ The teacher replied, ‘What a strange name.’ When I got home and told my mother, she explained, ‘This product only exists in our family business right now. Your great-uncle came up with the name ‘mentaiko’ and is working hard to make it a specialty of Hakata.’

Now everyone knows what mentaiko is. That same great-uncle used to tell me, ‘Hiroshi! If you think of something, be the first to do it!’ That’s why I’ve always loved new and interesting ideas. We even had something called the ‘Please Wait Theater.’ We built a stage in front of the line of customers waiting outside and invited comedians to perform for them.” (laughs)

He even revealed that there had once been plans involving the global superstar Michael Jackson.

“Someone from CBS/Sony saw the printed seaweed and loved the idea. The plan was to create a ‘Michael Ramen’ topped with seaweed printed with Michael Jackson’s face and hold a press conference at ‘Nandenkanden.’ But right before he came to Japan, he got caught up in a scandal, so it never happened.”

President Kawahara installed the “Please Wait Theater” at the original “Nandenkanden restaurant along Tokyo’s Kan-nana (Ring Road No. 7). At its peak, more than 1,000 people lined up every night, making it a social phenomenon.

Toward a full revival

“Back then, tonkotsu ramen was still something unusual. I heard that the president of ‘Ippudo’ once said during a lecture, ‘The one thing I regret is that it wasn’t me who started the tonkotsu ramen boom—it was the president of ‘Nandenkanden.’ (laughs) The timing was perfect. If it were today, I probably wouldn’t have opened a ramen shop. There are so many different kinds of ramen now, and it’s become completely ingrained in Japanese food culture.”

Even as he said this, Kawahara immediately offered advice to his son Koki, who was preparing ramen beside him.

“There’s not enough green onion.”

As he helped with the plating, he added:

“It would be better with some wood ear mushrooms too.”

“My biggest wish is for my son to recreate the flavor from our peak years. My health is gradually improving, so once we reopen a physical restaurant, I’ll be back in the kitchen. And when I’m able to move around more, I’ll return to appearing on variety shows. I originally wanted to be a comedian—I was an apprentice under ‘W Kenji.'”

Kawahara, who has always loved innovative and unconventional ideas, said he has concepts for new menu items as well. However, Koki turned to the reporter and emphasized:

“Our first priority is rebuilding the Hakata tonkotsu ramen business. Rather than expanding into too many things halfway, we need to restore that original taste and get the business back on solid footing.”

Kawahara continued:

“I used to think about opening a udon restaurant too. Fukuoka is famous for udon—it even has a monument marking the birthplace of udon. But one of Fukuoka’s three major udon chains, ‘Sukesan Udon,’ has already expanded into Tokyo. ‘West’ and ‘Makino Udon’ are also popular, and West happens to involve some distant relatives of mine. On top of that, they’re collaborating with my great-uncle’s company, ‘Fukuya’ People from Hakata really do love their food.” (laughs)

“I also once had plans for tonkotsu champon, Chinese cuisine, and even a specialty ochazuke restaurant. After all, ‘Nandenkanden’ means everything and anything. But I’m not going to stray anymore. My son stood up because he didn’t want my flavor to disappear out of concern for my health. I can’t let that passion go to waste. First, I have to perfect the tonkotsu ramen that made us famous. That’s my mission.”

His son’s determination has reignited his father’s passion for ramen.

Interview cooperation: Nandenkanden

 

From the May 29, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”