What Is Nikusui? Osaka's Hangover Soup Was Born at Chitose in Namba — "Beef Udon, Hold the Udon"

What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 60 of 945 comments

• Great beef, a distinctive method, real time and labor in it — a masterful bowl.

  肉質も良くて製法が特徴的で、手間暇がかかる秀逸な一杯。

  — @hideG1974Most liked1,722 likes

• The nerve it takes to order beef udon without the udon is impressive in itself.

  肉うどんのうどん抜きを注文する度胸がスゴイ

  — @kireina_zyaian379 likes

• The story goes he was hungover and wanted something light, so he ordered it without the noodles.

  二日酔いで軽く食べたかったからうどん抜きで注文したらしいね

  — @作業用-z3i46 likes

• Born because Hanaki Kyo of the Shinkigeki comedy troupe was hungover that day 😊 Chitose's nikusui is such a simple flavor and yet completely one of a kind — so good.

  新喜劇の花紀京さんが二日酔いだったから誕生した料理ですよね😊 千とせの肉吸いは素朴な味なのに唯一無二でめちゃ美味いですよね！

  — @てるてる坊主-t9r174 likes

• If the late Hanaki Kyo had never existed, nikusui would never have made it into the world.

  故・花紀京さんが居らんかったら肉吸いが世の中に出ることはなかった。

  — @user-Ksan969694 likes

• It's good enough that you can say it: nikusui anywhere else isn't nikusui.

  ここ以外の肉吸いは肉吸いじゃないって言えるくらい美味い

  — @なっくる-z8o92 likes

• They skim the scum off the beef so often that they need roughly double the amount of dashi. It's made with so, so much care.

  肉の灰汁を頻繁に除去してるので、実際の出汁の倍量ぐらいだしが必要 すご～～～～～～く丁寧につくってるのよ～

  — @itifan11 likes

• The tofu in a good nikusui is absurdly good… honestly I'd pay to have a whole extra block of it in there.

  美味しい肉吸いの豆腐は クソうまい…なんなら1丁分 追加して欲しいぐらい好き

  — @nash_bee36 likes

• And he quietly finishes with tamago-kake gohan without even remarking on it. A man who enjoys his food.

  言及せずに卵かけご飯までしっかり食べるはしださん 食を楽しんでそうで好き

  — @ピンポロ-u8k557 likes

• This place has developed an unbelievable line over the past ten years or so lol. Back in my school days you could just wander in.

  ここまじでこの10年くらいでとんでもなく並ぶようになったw 中高生の頃いつも気楽に入ってたのに

  — @usererer47 likes

• The Kansai-limited 7-Eleven nikusui is legitimately delicious.

  関西限定のセブンの肉吸いマジで美味しいです

  — @voyager_nico150 likes

• I love the 7-Eleven nikusui — that plus an onigiri is my whole lunch. One day I'll make it to Chitose itself.

  セブンの肉吸いが大好きです。昼ごはんはコレとおにぎりで満足です。いつか千とせにも行きたい。

  — @もんぷち-q6m18 likes

• SaveChitose↗千とせ 本店Namba Sennichimae, near Namba Grand Kagetsu

  Birthplace of nikusui, per the comments: "nikusui anywhere else isn't nikusui" (92 likes). Its branch, Chitose Bekkan, is on the 1st floor of the Namba Grand Kagetsu building. Expect a line these days (as of the comments).

  Sources: chitose-nikusui.com — checked 2026-08-24

Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.

What is nikusui?

Literally "meat soup": beef udon without the udon — thin-simmered beef in a light Osaka dashi, usually with tofu and often a soft egg. Commenters describe a broth skimmed so aggressively the kitchen needs about double the dashi, which is why the simple bowl tastes the way it does.

Where was nikusui invented?

At Chitose, a small udon shop beside the Namba Grand Kagetsu comedy theater in Osaka. Per the comments, hungover comedian Hanaki Kyo ordered his niku udon without the noodles, the kitchen obliged, and the off-menu order became the shop's signature and then an Osaka staple.

Is there a long line at Chitose?

Increasingly, yes. A regular who used to wander in as a student says the shop "has developed an unbelievable line over the past ten years or so" (as of the comments) — the days of a casual counter seat are mostly gone, so budget queue time around lunch.

What do locals order with nikusui?

The classic pairing in the comments is a small rice — often turned into tamago-kake gohan (raw-egg rice) alongside the soup. If you can't get to Osaka, commenters vouch for the Kansai-limited 7-Eleven nikusui as a legitimate stand-in (as of the comments).