Portland, ORJapanese

A Tokyo ramen house that chose Portland's soft water for its first location outside Japan in 2016. The yuzu shio ramen, brightened with citrus rather than built on heavy fat, is the signature bowl, alongside a vegan tantanmen finished with a sunflower seed broth at the Central Eastside room.

A clear broth specialist on N Williams that skips tonkotsu in favor of refined shoyu, shio, and miso bowls made with daily handmade noodles. Its mala tantanmen, offered with pork or vegan broth, is the shop's most requested order and the clearest showcase of its lighter approach.

A garlic tonkotsu specialist whose broth pulls a deep, roasted flavor without the usual heaviness. It carries a full izakaya menu of small plates alongside the bowls, a hearty, comforting counterpoint to the city's growing crop of lighter, clearer broth ramen shops.

Toya builds its chintan broth for clarity and restraint rather than richness, with noodles made fresh daily and a vegan miso option that holds up against the meat based bowls, in a compact Buckman space. The restraint makes it a good entry point for anyone put off by heavier tonkotsu.

A compact ramen ya near the Hawthorne Bridge focused on Nagahama style tonkotsu, built on thin, springy noodles and lightly scorched pork, in the style popularized in Fukuoka's original ramen stalls, with hip hop memorabilia on the shelves. The lean, no frills room keeps the focus on the bowl.