Ramen Girls: the feminization of ramen

[thomas]

Nikkei Asia, CBS, and other major news outlets have picked up on a trend described as the "feminization of ramen":

Japan's ubiquitous ramen shops have long served the most proletarian dishes at no-frills counters, where customers unceremoniously slurp and gulp their way through boiling-hot noodles. But while the ramen joints were long an almost exclusively male domain, the cement-floored greasy spoons of yore are giving way to hip décor, handcrafted pottery, and—hang onto your chopsticks—fusion flavours. And women are lining up.

The feminization of ramen is a trend in Japan, where women are increasingly becoming a dominant force in the ramen world. Traditionally, ramen shops were considered an almost exclusively male domain, with customers slurping noodles at no-frills counters. However, recent changes have shifted this landscape: the emergence of "Ramen Girls," celebrations of women's love for ramen, and female-friendly ramen joints catering to diverse tastes. These shifts reflect broader societal changes, encouraging more people, regardless of gender, to enjoy this beloved Japanese dish.

Going upmarket — and appealing to both sexes — may offer a lifeline, as some ramen shops are facing an existential crisis. A 2013 report by CBS News partner network TBS TV said a ¥700 bowl of ramen earned vendors about ¥410 in profit — a slim margin that has since shrunk thanks to soaring raw material, utility and labor costs to only about ¥200. Tokyo Shoko Research said 2023 was the worst year for ramen shops since 2009, with a record 74 closing their doors nationwide. Business magazine Diamond Online has noted that, with low barriers to entry and extreme competition, ramen shops generally have a high rate of failure — with two-thirds expected to close within three years of opening. Owners resorting to more expensive ingredients to lure trade is only going to squeeze profits further, but as they help stretch the definition of "ramen," women and overseas visitors are helping keep a beloved national dish alive.

Can women and foreigners help drive a ramen renaissance to keep Japan's noodle shops on the boil?

Women long avoided Japan's ubiquitous ramen shops, but could female and foreigner-powered innovation save the humble noodle soup?

www.cbsnews.com

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Bar owner Riona Aizawa claims she has consumed 461 bowls last year.

One of the global trends of 2023 was the rise of "girl dinner" following a TikTok post by Olivia Maher that popularized a visually pleasing, personalized snack plate in which the main ingredients were bread and cheese, thrown together to avoid the labour of cooking. But girl dinner is following in the wake of girl ramen, which has been trending since 2015 when the first Ramen Girls Festival was launched in Yokohama. The event was staged by Satoko Morimoto, who shot to media fame by blogging about her love for ramen and the admission that she tucks into 600 bowls a year. Morimoto urged young Japanese women to brave the best ramen restaurants, stand tall among the predominantly male clientele crowding the entrance, and unleash their inner ramen obsessions when they finally faced their dreamboat bowls of hot soup and noodles. At the Ramen Girls Festival, chefs of both genders served up tantalizingly delicious bowls to female ramen lovers -- and to men who dared to step through the pinkly decorated entrance of this outdoor event. The RGF was annexed to the annual Ramen Expo event during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are strong indications that the festival will be revived as a separate event in 2024.

Paywall alert:

Japan sees rise of 'ramen girls'

Women move in on the male-dominated world of noodle soup

asia.nikkei.com