You walk into a raamen-ya and see a machine to your right and a poster of Lao Tsu, founder/writer of Tao, on your left (like the one on the left of this post). The machine has lots of buttons to push all with words related to raamen. You choose your favorite, you hope. You insert the money and start punching. Now, in the raamen shop I went to a couple of days ago, the basic miso raamen was 590 yen. About $6.00 (US). But if you want any toppings (green onions, more meat, bean sprouts) you have to pay extra. At this particular shop the extras were a buck each (about ¥100.) This adds up. If you want two toppings, your basic six buck raamen becomes eight.This system seems to be new and spreading. I'm sure it's a good deal for the shop owner as it cuts down on required staff and a register.
Also, to be fair, the drinks were all ¥50; incredibly cheap.
The raamen-ya: Gatsunko. The raamen: Shoyu (soy sauce) with extra bean sprouts. The service: slow but not noticeably slow. The raamen: good. Not knock me out good, but good. The ambiance: functional and sporting menus on artistic hangings on the wall: like the menus were a work of art, inlcuding ambient lighting. Some wood but fixed stools. This raamen-ya is near an engineering university where the student body runs 90% male so ambiance wasn't a top priority. That said, the outside attracted me: A very nice, modern, woody exterior with plants.
On a scale of 0 - 10, about a 7.5 (Points off for the extra toppings charge but points on for the exterior.) I should come up with some criterion for this scale.
Peace Through Raamen, My Friends, Peace Through Raamen.
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