The Japanese noodle restaurant chain Marugame Seimen, which specializes in udon (thick wheat noodles), has started a social media marketing campaign targeted at high school-age girls, JK Udon Kawaii (“High School Girls Udon Cute”).
Noodles (Page 27)
Our Japanese reporter eats Japanese ramen in a noodle bar in Paris – but how does it compare to his own country’s salty fare?
Yakisoba bread is pretty common at Japanese bakeries, but this is the first time we’ve ever heard of bread soba.
Cooking udon, or any other kind of fresh pasta, just got a whole lot easier.
Is Tokyo restaurant’s new menu item a culinary dream come true, or do two rights make a wrong?
Your significant other not big on sweets? Then these udon noodles filled with a lot of “heart” may be the perfect treat this Valentine’s Day!
Food manufacturer Myojo recently released a special version of their popular Ippei-chan instant yakisoba noodles that includes a chocolate sauce topping. We tried it… so you don’t have to.
A soba restaurant tucked away in the mountains of Saga Prefecture is known for every one of its menu items making use of the soba (buckwheat) plant.
Fans of manga artist Rumiko Takahashi will be happy to know that a slightly unexpected new product featuring her work will soon be hitting stores—instant ramen!
Yaki udon, a Japanese stir-fried noodle dish made with thick, flat wheat noodles, is a popular and much-loved staple of Japanese cuisine. Both yaki udon and yakisoba—a similar dish which uses a thinner buckwheat noodle instead—are cheap, tasty, and readily available from many street food stalls and Japanese-style pubs). So when one of our RocketNews24 Japan reporters read that not only had a yaki udon restaurant opened up in Kenya, but that it was that it was a huge hit with the locals, he just had to check it out for himself.
Read on for our Japanese reporter’s restaurant review as he travels halfway across the world for a bowl of noodles.
For many Japanese, somen is the go to food of choice for keeping the summer heat exhaustion blues away. These thin, white Japanese noodles that resemble vermicelli are traditionally made from wheat flour and served chilled.
But what do you do if a somen craving hits and you don’t have a full serving of mentsuyu, or noodle dipping sauce, on hand to eat them with? What if you’re tired or eating somen the traditional way? Or what if you’re in need of a little caffeine kick with your meal?
If you answered mix your noodle sauce with Starbucks coffee, congratulations! We’re stumped as to how our Japanese staff arrived at this weird food combination, but apparently it tastes much better than it sounds.
Happy Saturday, everyone! We hope you got through the week with all your bits and pieces still connected and without getting fired. But before you go off and start being nice to people now that you have a day off, let’s argue about food.
This week we’re talking about soy sauce-based ramen and miso-based ramen – two firm favourites in the world of delicious, soupy noodles and each with legions of fans. But of course, as Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert told us in the 1986 film Highlander, there can be only one, so pick a side and make your click count.
For decades, the international perception of ramen was that it was something for lazy college students to buy in bulk for when they wanted a quick, hot meal, with only minimal thought given to flavor or presentation. And while ramen does sometimes take that form, assuming it’s all like that is sort of like basing your whole image of pizza on microwavable frozen varieties.
Thankfully, there’s a ramen renaissance going on, as the rest of the world is getting onboard with just how delicious Japan’s favorite noodle dish can be. In response, some restaurants in Japan are adapting to make their food more accessible to foreign visitors, such as this restaurant in Tokyo that serves halal ramen.


















7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
7 great places to see Mt. Fuji from without having to climb it
Mr. Sato accosts award-winning actor Hideaki Ito【Interview】
Cyberpunk anime meets traditional culture in Ghost in the Shell gold leaf Japanese changing screens
This is possibly the coziest train in all Japan thanks to onboard hot spring footbaths【Pics】
The humane (and adorable) way to make a flat hamster 【Video】
To celebrate 7-Eleven Day, here are seven 7-Eleven Japan items that need more love
Tokyo train stations giving out awesome giant Pokémon cards, but you’ll want to hurry
Final Fantasy furniture, Monster Hunter pieces too, coming from Japanese houseware company
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Starbucks Japan releases new zodiac chilled cup drink for 2026
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
Hello Kitty Choco Egg figures are an adorable trip through three periods of Japanese pop culture【Pics】
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Can a dirty butthole make you filthy rich in Japan? We’re starting a New Year’s lottery experiment
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Stamina-destroying “Paralysis Noodles” are Tokyo’s newest over-the-top ramen innovation
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
The humane (and adorable) way to make a flat hamster 【Video】
To celebrate 7-Eleven Day, here are seven 7-Eleven Japan items that need more love
Tokyo train stations giving out awesome giant Pokémon cards, but you’ll want to hurry
Final Fantasy furniture, Monster Hunter pieces too, coming from Japanese houseware company
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Line up in the hall, open your shirts, show your bras – Real instructions from one Japanese school
Rumors say Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple sticks you with bad fortunes, so we bought 100 to find out
Starbucks Japan releases new zodiac chilled cup drink for 2026
Competitive karuta manga series Chihayafuru lays all cards on the table with its final chapter
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
What’s the rule for where to put strollers on Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains?
Black Thunder chocolate-bar-shaped fishing lures coming next year
Final results: Here’s what Seiji’s balding head looks like one year after hair transplant surgery