A Japanese Specialty Turns into a Cultural Icon through the Ramen Stadium

 If you've ever been exposed to any type of Asian culture, or been a poor college student, you are probably familiar with the beloved Japanese ramen noodles. These noodles have been loved throughout all of Japan since they were first introduced by the Chinese over a century ago.

 This dish has proved so popular that four different categories and countless toppings have been created to please the eager customers' unwavering appetite for the noodles. Microwavable "Instant Noodles" were even created in 1958 by Momofuku Ando, which swept not only the nation, but the world, and became a Japanese cultural icon by the 1980s. Restaurants cover the nation where people can go and watch a Japanese chef whip up his regional noodle speciality. There is even a museum dedicated to ramen noodles, and I recently learned, a stadium as well. 

If you are a sports fan, than the word stadium might conjure up certain images in your head. While the Ramen Stadium in Japan isn't exactly the typical stadium a sports fanatic may picture- it is pretty epic in its own right. 

Eight popular ramen restaurants gather in one location in Fukuoka, Japan to provide the ultimate ramen experience. Your initial reaction might be that eight places serving the same dish seems repetitive, but each restaurant offers a different style of broth and noodles, so you could easily visit each and never eat the same food! 

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A souvenir shop has also been added, so when you're done trying the noodles you can go and purchase it from the selection of specialty ramens the store offers! The little shop also offers a Ramen gift pack that you'll only be able to find at this location.

If you ever visit Japan, your cultural experience is not complete without a visit to Ramen Stadium, so be sure to add that to the list of places to go! 


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Happy ramen eating! 

Meet Momofuku Ando, inventor of Ramen Noodles (Series Part 4 of 4)

Kids love them, college students live off them, they make a great on the go meal -- but do most people know the inventor behind the beloved Instant Noodles? 

Well, Taiwanese-Japanese business man and founder of Nissin Food Products Company, Momofuku Ando, can take that title. Originally Nissin was a small family-run company that produced salt in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan after the bankruptcy of his first company. 

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Ando's idea for Instant Noodles came during the post-war era when Japan was suffering from a shortage of food. Ando dedicated months of trial and error experimentation before finally on August 25, 1958 when he marketed the first package of precooked noodles, calling them Chicken Ramen. 

Originally the revolutionary instant noodles were considered a luxury item, priced around six times what the traditional noodles were at the time. Once prices began to drop, Instant noodles popularity took off at a rapid rate. 

In 1964 he became the chairman of the International Ramen Manufacturers' Association. There is even a museum (Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum) dedicated to him! 

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The efficiency and low prices of Instant Noodles and Cup Noodles created a fortune for Nissin. Ando lived to be 96 and when asked the secret to his long life he said that it was playing golf and eating Chicken Ramen nearly every day. 

Ramen Noodles: Discovering the Truth [Series: part 3 of 4]

Everyone is familiar with Maruchan Instant Ramen Noodles, especially college students, but not everyone knows about traditional ramen or the significance it has to Japanese culture. 

Ramen is a traditional Japanese noodle dish. Consisting of Chinese-style wheat noodles, it is often flavored with soy sauce in a fish flavored broth. Pork is a popular topping for the dish, but other toppings can be used as well. Almost every different area in Japan has a variation of ramen, for example Kyushu's tonkotsu, or pork bone broth. 

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Although ramen's significance lies in the Japanese culture, its origin is in China. Throughout the 1900s the popularity of ramen increased, but it was still a dish considered to be reserved for a special occasion. 

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Until 1958 when Momofuku Ando invented a dish dubbed the "greatest Japanese invention of the 20th century." This invention was instant ramen noodles. 

The founder and chairman of Nissin Foods invented a way to make ramen noodles by simply adding hot water. This invention is still incredibly popular today, consumed by people all over the world. A ramen museum was even been opened in Yokohama in 1994.