Hokkaido Ramen Santouka gains fans across the world

A ramen chain from Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido uses authentic taste and Japanese service to gain fans worldwide, from the northeastern U.S.'s Harvard Square to Southeast Asia, setting its sights on Europe. At Ramen Santouka's (らーめん山頭火) location near Harvard University in the suburbs of Boston, long lines of students and affluent locals form on Saturdays and Sundays. The location sells "more than 700 bowls on busy days," said Masanori Ueda, a director at Ab-Out, the operating company that manages the chain. The Harvard location boasts the highest sales among Ramen Santouka stores worldwide. The standard shio ramen goes for USD 15.50, more than in Japan, but the relatively high price point has not dented its popularity.

The secret of its success lies in the combination of taste and customer service. At U.S. stores, store managers or higher staff who have gained experience at Santouka's Japanese locations teach employees from the ground up in quality control and service. Water quality differs from store to store, necessitating adjustments to boiling time. Each location makes Ramen soup from dashi stock to achieve an authentic taste. Although opening stores without a separate kitchen for soup increases costs, the chain is "particular about serving soup in its freshest and most delicious condition," said Shinichi Kikuta, president of Ab-Out. Ingredients like noodles and toppings are generally procured locally but are sent from Japan if doing so affects the taste. Menus are always written in Japanese and English or the local language at overseas stores. Santouka had 40 overseas stores in eight countries and regions across North America and Asia as of January -- nearly three times its 14 locations in Japan. Overseas sales account for more than 80% of the total.

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Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Though there were 50 in Japan, the mountaintop fire ramen restaurant is 14 now.

Is the ramen restaurant not profitable? The number of the bankruptcy is 3.5 times a year earlier.
I raise minimum wages from next month.
[N studio commentary] / TBS NEWS DIG
The bankruptcy of the ramen restaurant occurs successively, and record-high possibility surfaces. What will there be in the background of the closure rush not to stop?

■As for the record-high possibility, a ramen restaurant is a closure rush

Anchor Kato Silvia:
According to Tokyo Shoko Research, the business failure of the ramen restaurant more than obligation 10 million yen of from January, 2023 to August increased to 3.5 times in 28 cases in comparison with the same time of the last year. When go as it is; record-high an annual business failure.

According to Takanori Miyauchi, representative director of ramen data bank "the famous shop following more than 40 years is driven into the closure. I tell you, 300 or more will close a shop in this year around Tokyo when I put the personal shops which are not reflected in the data.

There seems to be a problem of the price in the background where bankruptcy occurs successively.

In the case of Shizuoka-shi "Mendokoro Shionoya" salt side 700 yen
[2013]
・Noodles charges about 50 yen
・Energy bill about 40 yen
・Topping soup charges about 200 yen
→ The gross margin is about 410 yen

[recently]
・Noodles charges about 100 yen
・Energy bill about 90 yen
・Topping soup charges about 310 yen
→ The gross margin is about 200 yen

■Is the ramen restaurant not profitable? It is a chicken Gullah by a gas charges saving → In 淡麗 soup as for the change

Profit decreases by the raise of an original material cost and the energy bill, and management seems to be suppressed. Then I think that you should raise ramen charges, but there seems to be what's called "wall of 1,000 yen" to the ramen, and there seems to be the current situation that it is difficult according to Tsuyoshi Yamamoto of the ramen commentator saying "there is "the fear to prove fatal" and cannot readily step on the raise".

Furthermore, Yamamoto "in the first place the ramen restaurant says, "management is difficult". Because an initial expense is not high, it is easy to enter it financially, and rival shops increase necessarily. Then because I am not defeated by the another store, I will provide a product having high cost price rate, and a result, profit decrease, and management is that there are many shops turning worse.

As one misfortune followed more another minimum wages are raised from October 1. ▼Tokyo 1,072 yen → 1,113 yen ▼ whole country 961 yen → Is 1,004 yen (average), and personnel expenses increase, further; burden you.

Anchor Takahiro Inoue:
In the ramen restaurant, the business closing rate within three years is said to be 70%. If the image that consumers are cheap, and is delicious is 1,000 yen as I am stencild, it may be to go in other shops.

Sports psychologist (doctor) Tanaka Uruvekyo:
Even if it is revealed that a cost price rate rose by the brain, the quality thinks that the raise do not be in trouble though it is the same for consumers.

Anchor ホラン Chiaki:
When I reclaim the new shop while there are many ramen restaurants, on seeing word of mouth, I choose other shops if there is a thing feeling that it is one and is what or is different. I think that it is severe to really survive.

Anchor Kato:
Meanwhile, there is a shop surviving a critical situation for an inventive idea.

I changed the chicken plain hot water soup which was a come-on into 淡麗 soup in Yonago-shi, Tottori "麺処想" from July. It costs gas charges for the chicken plain hot water soup to cook a chicken Gullah over a high heat for approximately nine hours. After changing it to the 淡麗 soup which formed it over a low heat, I seemed to be able to hold down a considerable expense.

"RAMEN NOODLES Fuyutsuki Yukito" developed projection personality, ramen restaurant six in the prefecture and the ramen of "the pot ball type" without the soup jointly in Koriyama-shi, Fukushima. In this way, water supply, gas charges came by a slash in addition to an original material cost. I am particular about taste, and it means that I develop the noodles that it was said that it is sticky matching a pot ball.

Ah, my wife's second most favourite "news" program. Thanks for the update.