the ramen blog & other goodies!

I wish I knew about this before I got married! Natsuki Sakai and Ai Ito had their marriage ceremony at the Asahikawa Ramen Village, a ramen theme park in Hokkaido, Japan.
The groom, Sakai, told guests “We want our marriage to be as long and endless as a noodle and stay as hot as the broth in which noodles are served.”

Apparently, the only reason Sakai and bride Ai Ito could be married at the ramen village is because Sakai’s father is the head manager. I wonder if the RSVP cards read “shoyu or tonkotsu” instead of “chicken or beef”.

No word on how many nights the groom had to spend sleeping on the couch for pulling this off.

Source: Mainichi Daily News

It’s a shame that ramen yatai (street vendors) are disappearing from the streets of Japan. Catch a glimpse of a dying breed at Tokyo Daily Photo.

Even the Wall Street Journal is catching on to ramen. Check out this article, complete with video, about Ivan Ramen, the ramen shop in Tokyo opened by New York chef Ivan Orkin!

Ever think of the instant ramen industry as good corporate citizens? Ever thought they might be as greedy and corrupt as the music or oil industry? If you think the latter, you may be more right than you thought!

You’ve probably already seen Transformers, the movie? How about transforming ramen? via Canned Dogs 2007

Surveys galore about what Japanese people think about ramen (and an animated Cup Noodles commercial)

No, we did not get bought out by a daytime talk show and no, People magazine is not sponsoring us. Here’s one woman’s account of how she lost 10 pounds by eating ramen! (Oh, and the picture above…*not* the woman on the ramen diet!)

Are you curious about how the ramen in a can tastes like?

Everyone’s heard of the famous hot dog eating contests. But is the world ready for a ramen eating contest?

Picture this…you’re in Japan…armed with a laptop and a wi-fi connection, and you want a bowl of ramen, but you don’t know where to go. What to do, what to do?

Sony is probably the last company you would turn to in the quest for ramen, but leave it to them to come up with the X-Ramen Radar, a software program designed to help ramen fans find their favorite food by cross-referencing your wi-fi location with a database of ramen houses. Crisis averted!

Sony, my hat’s off to you!

via gizmodo

It’s like something out of a bad 80’s commercial: you’ve got your ramen in my ice cream! *You’ve* got your ice cream in my ramen!

Tokyo ramenya Kikuya has something for everyone. Want a bowl of ramen but can’t wait for dessert? Have a bowl of vanilla ice cream ramen or even chocolate ramen! Prefer a drink with your ramen but can’t be bothered with a cup? How about a nice bowl of coffee milk ramen? Or a green tea ramen? And for the ultimate in Japanese delights: natto ramen. If you’ve had natto before…enough said.

Japan It UP!

First of all, our deepest sympathies go out to all the people who’ve lost homes in the Southern California fires, and a great big heartfelt THANKS go to all the brave firefighters. The “ramen blog headquarters” is just a few miles from the Santiago Canyon fire, and we’re still trying to pick all the ash out of our ramen.

Have you been to instant ramen heaven?

Here’s something I thought I’d never say: here’s a NSFW quote about ramen — ramen?!?!

Ramen, the educational video, just like the ones you watched in grade school (complete with educational video cheesy music)? (look in the lower left corner of the page)
via tokyolifer

Hey kids, science experiment

Can you eat a “galaxy” of ramen? A “universe” of ramen? How about a “black hole” of ramen