Joining Point Hope's restaurant cluster
Richard Milana and Yuichiro "Junior" Takebata own Hachiya Ramen, whose first restaurant opened in 2024 at 996 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. in Mount Pleasant. The Post and Courier reports that the original has proved popular. The Cainhoy restaurant will occupy a slightly smaller space but retain the same layout.
The new address is in Point Hope on the Cainhoy Peninsula. A September 2026 overview from King & Society Real Estate identifies a dining cluster along Foundation Street, Hopewell Drive and Clements Ferry Road that includes Hachiya Ramen, Philosophia and Catrina's Tacos and Tequila, alongside national brands Firehouse Subs, Dunkin and 16 Handles.
That overview, citing Post and Courier reporting, says Point Hope is planned to accommodate up to 9,000 housing units and an estimated 45,000 residents at full buildout. The developer's community site describes Point Hope as one of the Charleston region's fastest-growing master-planned communities, with dining, wellness and retail businesses opening throughout 2026.
Ramen and a house-made soy sauce
Hachiya's menu includes karaage, gyoza, onigiri and three hot ramen options. Its signature pork tonkotsu noodle soup takes 48 hours to prepare. A brothless cold ramen is especially popular in summer: chilled noodles come with chashu pork, bean sprouts and a marinated Storey Farms egg with a golden yolk.
Takebata also makes a custom soy sauce used in karaage, pork buns and the marinade for soft-boiled eggs, according to a July 18, 2025, Charleston City Paper profile. He told the publication he perfected the sauce in 2018 while working at Hachiya Kyoto Steakhouse and Sushi Bar, after roughly 100 attempts over six years.
In that report, Takebata said he believed he was the only person making his own soy sauce in South Carolina, and possibly the Southeast. He reported using 1,000 to 1,500 eggs each week.
The partners behind the restaurants
Hachiya Ramen is a sister restaurant to the longstanding Hachiya Kyoto Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. What Now Charleston reported on June 21, 2024, that Milana manages both businesses with Takebata.
Takebata's restaurant career in the United States began after he arrived from Japan in 2008 at age 19, according to the Charleston City Paper profile. He worked at Miyabi Japanese Steak & Seafood Restaurant in Savannah until 2012, then at a sushi restaurant in West Ashley until opening Hachiya Ramen in 2024.
Service designed to grow
Milana and Takebata describe hospitality as central to the business, from holding the door and welcoming customers to guiding them through ordering at self-service machines. They also ask employees to remember guests' names and usual orders.
For Takebata, prompt food preparation is another part of that service. His aim is to offer meals that are quick and affordable without sacrificing quality.
"The ramen, that's our product, but this is just one of the ways we show people our Japanese hospitality," he said. "We are very focused on the service."
The matching menu and layout at the two locations reflect the owners' ambition to take Hachiya Ramen beyond Charleston while maintaining the food and service standards established over the past two years.
"We are not thinking about only 10 or 20 (restaurants)," Takebata said. "We are thinking about 100 or 200 ... or 1,000."
