Ramen Inflation Era: Japan’s “High-end Lunch” Attracts “Foreign Tourists” as well

More than 90% of our customers are from overseas.

There were no Japanese at Ippudo in Ginza.

In late March, when the warmth of spring finally enveloped Tokyo, a FRIDAY reporter visited Ippudo’s Ginza East branch and was surprised to see a surprising sight.

Jazz music was playing in the restaurant, which had just opened in August of last year, and as the waitress said, “More than 90% of our customers are from overseas,” the restaurant was filled almost entirely with foreign tourists, with the exception of the reporter. At the next table, Elizabeth and Brioni, two women from New York, were deftly using chopsticks and a bamboo ladle to sip their “Kyoku Hakumaru Gen-Mi” (1,390 yen).

I had never been tempted to go to Ippudo in New York because it was so expensive,” said Elizabeth, “but in Japan, you can get it for a very reasonable price. In Japan, you can get it for a very reasonable price. The ramen is delicious and inexpensive, and the restaurant is clean, stylish, and great! (Elizabeth)

Food analyst Takao Shigemori said, “Ippudo is the first ramen restaurant in Japan to open in the ’70s and ’80s.

Ippudo was founded in Fukuoka in 1985. Ippudo was founded in Fukuoka in 1985,” says food analyst Takao Shigemori, “and has grown into a nationwide chain by changing the image of tonkotsu ramen, which is smelly, dirty, and tasty, with clean restaurants and jazz music.
Today, there are approximately 130 restaurants in Japan. In fact, there are more stores overseas than in Japan. However, a bowl of ramen costs about 3,000 yen in the U.S., plus state tax and tip. Japanese people would be hesitant to pay 1,500 yen for a bowl of ramen and a double portion of ramen, but for these women, the price is less than half the price in their own country.

It seems that the overwhelming support of foreign tourists who are flocking to Japan to take advantage of the weak yen is behind the fact that not only famous restaurants with lines out the door, but also chain restaurants now charge over 1,000 yen per customer.

The secret is to “attract core fans so as not to lose them

Similar to Ippudo, ICHIRAN is also trying to capture the inbound demand for its ramen. The bill for the “Natural Tonkotsu Ramen” (1,080 yen) with “half-boiled salted boiled egg” (160 yen) and “refried egg” (210 yen) is 1,450 yen. The line of customers in front of the restaurant is filled with foreign tourists who do not mind the over 1,000-yen price tag.

Ichiran, with about 80 restaurants in Japan and eight overseas, is a chain with many elements that make it popular overseas. With a meal ticket system and an English menu, customers simply fill in their preferred consistency and the amount of toppings, and can enjoy their ramen without talking to the waiter. The composition of the creamy pork bone broth with spicy sauce on top is also brilliant. Spicy food is popular everywhere in the world, so ICHIRAN will continue to grow in power,” said Mitsuhiko Suda, a producer in the restaurant industry.

Tenka Ippin (209 outlets in Japan), which, along with Ippudo and Ichiran, is part of the “Ichi” ramen chain, is challenging the 1,000-yen barrier by attracting devoted “Tenichi fans” who love its “kottori ramen” (from 920 yen).

The restaurant’s menu includes “kottori” in items other than ramen, such as “kottori tenzumi-han” (590 yen and up), “kottori apricots” (190 yen), and “kottori karaage” (450 yen), and it has a firm grip on Tenichi fans, or “kottori” fans in other words. The Nakano branch has even introduced a “cup de kottori” (190 yen), a soup-only takeout. In any case, we are preventing customers from leaving by attracting core fans.

Along with Fukuoka, Kyoto is apt to be the birthplace of giant ramen chains. Tenka Ippin is a prime example, but Kyoto is also the birthplace of Kairikiya, a back fat soy sauce ramen chain with 156 outlets nationwide.

Unlike Tenka Ippin, Kairikiya, founded in ’03, operates mainly in suburban roadside commercial food courts, and in Kyoto, it also taps into inbound demand.” It is rising rapidly, recording a profit of 860 million yen in the fiscal year ended December 2012,” said market advisor Hideo Amano.

The second part is here: ” Breaking Through the 1,000-yen Barrier: In an Era of Ramen Inflation, the Secret to Growth is ‘Family-Friendly’ and ‘Limited Menu’ “.

From the April 25/May 2, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY