There’s a ramen noodle shop in Akasaka, Tokyo, appropriately called Akasaka Ramen, that’s been around for ages. One of the reasons it has lasted so long is a menu item that gets a lot of press: the Jumbo Spare Rib Challenge. If you can polish off this bathtub-sized bowl of ramen in 20 minutes or less, you will get 10,000 yen (about $100), and probably a stomachache.

Think you’ve got the guts to get the glory? Well, you probably don’t.

The mammoth bowl holds about two liters of salt-based tonkotsu soup. To that is added eight servings of thick noodles and four spare ribs, each weighing about 400 grams. The whole thing weighs in at about 6 kilos, or just over 13 pounds. To put that in perspective, that’s about the same as scarfing down your average bowling ball.

Owner Sune Sato says he originally developed an extra large size for students who didn’t have much money but wanted to eat their fill of ramen. From there, he got the idea for this super-sized version that would bring an element of competition to the mix. Since he started offering it back in 2003, he says about 80 people have taken the challenge. When asked how many succeeded in finishing it within the time limit, Sato says, “Less than 10.”

“Surprisingly, more women try it than men. In fact, the record holder for fastest time was a 20-something woman who finished in 16 minutes. That’s even faster than Gal Sone,” he adds, referencing the Japanese television personality famous for eating huge portions.

In fact, women are actually allowed a handicap of 30 minutes to finish the dish, but that’s still pretty impressive.

Anyway, if you’d like to try this gut-buster, it will cost you 5,000 yen and you have to make a reservation at least two days prior. Good luck!

Shop info:
Name: Akasaka Ramen
Address: Akasaka 3-13-5, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0052
Phone: 03-3583-9231

Source: Akasaka Keizai Shinbun
Images: Yahoo! Japan News, Challenge Menu Ten