Nippon Hasha, Inc. was founded in 2011 by five individuals, Ryan Cruz, Raffy David, Mario Rossi, Andre Sy, and Patrick Sy. Bringing the best Ramen experience to Manila was made possible when they met a group of 3 Ramen champions including "Ramen God" Kazuo Yamagishi. Thus, the Ramen Yushoken brand was born, which translates to "House of Ramen Champions.” They opened their first branch in Molito, Alabang in November of 2012.
The group has always employed a serious, no-compromise approach in developing their menu and dining experience. Further elevating this was done by launching Mendokoro Ramenba, a Ramen bar concept that was opened in 2014 in Salcedo Village, Makati City. Doing so was both groundbreaking and risky in itself as a bar format for dining in was never used in any restaurant concept locally before. The format was meant to showcase the product-first approach where one goes to just enjoy the bowl of Ramen in undistracted solace. It is a format that has been proven to be quite well-loved by many, as shown how all the subsequent branches they opened have enjoyed tremendous success.
8 years onwards, a significant part of the formula for Nippon Hasha’s success is the value that they put on their people, as they have always focused on their leadership and employee culture. They have consistently had the highest retention and employee satisfaction rates in the industry and have done this by constantly improving on their employee experience, and not just the customer experience.
To date, they have 6 branches in 4 locations including Taguig and Cebu. They also have a sister company, AOJ Umai Inc. which has the popular Japanese Restaurant, Kazunori & Kazu Cafe. In 2022, the group launched a new brand, Marudori in 8 Rockwell, and expansions of Ramen Yushoken and Mendokoro Ramenba in other cities such as Ortigas, Pasay, and Quezon City.