Great reporting. Having lived in Japan for a long time, I can totally relate to everything that is being reported. It is extremely unnerving for food prices to 2x or 3x in such a short time -- it's especially true of vegetables that are supposed to be cheap (like cabbage). It wasn't touched on in the video, but the price of rice is going through the roof, too. I'm sure it has to do with the weak yen, expensive energy prices and probably changes in weather. But people haven't been getting raises, so it really hurts.
Rice is a special case. The Japanese government has been paying rice farmers to not grow rice in an effort to raise the price and reduce government subsidies. Apparently, this strategy has worked. A 5 kilo bag of rice which used to cost 1,800 Yen now costs 3,400 Yen and the new price appears to be permanent. I told my wife we should eat potatoes instead of rice to punish the Japanese agricultural bureaucrats and rice farmers for their greed. That lasted for about a month before she insisted we pay the higher price.
Good to hear these independent ramen restaurants are trying to stay in business in these challenging times by creating ways to reduce costs while providing customers with good food. Vietnamese also have a a ‘dry’ option for traditional soup noodles like pho and mi. The standard noodles with toppings are served drizzled with an umami-rich, tangy, tomato-based sauce, accompanied with a small side bowl of soup broth to sip between bites. It is as delicious and reduces the soup without eliminating it altogether, and is as popular as the traditional soup version. Some other cost-saving ideas: - to reduce fuel costs, use a pressure cooker to make the broth instead of the long simmer - offer a new ramen soup made with a mixture of chicken, beef, and pork bones in combinations that minimizes costs yet maximizes flavor - partner with other restaurants and industries to obtain soup bones that they consider byproducts, such as from fried chicken restaurants which can offer boneless fried chicken and sell the bones to ramen shops at a discount to make the soup. Hard times require innovative thinking and flexibility balancing traditional and new ideas.
How irony is when the shop has to close for bankruptcy even after the customers are supporting it BUT not willing to pay more than 1000 yen due to some cultural stigma???
Japan doesn't increase wages, and even if they do increase the wage it is so little. How do you expect people to buy and spend money on things when the salary problem is not fixed?
Well this is mainly due to the weak Yen which is because of the decades long policy of the central Bank of Japan to print unlimited amounts of money and have negative interest rates to artifically support the stagnant economy. They've been kicking the can down the road for decades. The Japanese people who have been protected by their central bank now must have to feel pain and make very painful changes which is unlikely because Japan has legendary at not changing since the 90s. It would not suprise me if it went to $1=200 Yen in a few years. Japanese should ask WHY the yen is so weak.
difficult to turn around an economy with little skilled labour immigration ( cause people make triple or quadruple higher salaries in other countries ) and tons of old people, failing pension system and insane bureaucracy and a culture of never changing anything. it really isn't looking good for them. and they have a crazy amount of debt which will collapse on them if they raised interest rates.
@@thejumper7282 If the US printed more currency, it weakens the purchasing power of the dollar, which would actually help the Japanese. The US keeps the dollar strong and stable with trade policies, and many parts of the world still sees the US dollar as the gold standard, despite economic difficulties the US has faced off and on.
It's ridiculous he has to consider that. Yes, I live and work in Japan too. The "1000 yen ramen wall" needs to go and it doesn't understand the reality of today. Based on the customer's comments, the restaurant has quality ramen. I used to live in Kobe before and know Nishinomiya very well. It's very middle class. Not too far from Osaka and Ashiya. They could afford the bump if the ramen retains its great quality. Why would anyone want to agree with his closure?
Wait it's only 18 in Washington?! Compared to the wages we get in Berlin, 15€ is even less affordable here. Which is truly ridiculous. I think Germany is one of the hardest hit nations from the Ukraine war due to the natural gas dependency
@DD-DD-DD You have to put it in perspective. Average apartment in the USA is 1000 to close to 5000 a month not including other bills. And some make 35k a year
I find it hard to understand the "Wall of 1000 Yen." Surely, there must have once been a "Wall of 500 Yen" that was eventually overcome. The problem of a weak Yen seems to be a major factor in many food price increases. The Japanese government could take measures such as raising interest rates to strengthen the Yen. However, Japanese industry is very happy with the weak Yen because it makes their exports cheaper for Americans and Europeans to buy. It's another case of the Japanese government doing what industry wants rather than listening to Japanese consumers. This indifference to consumers will not change until the Japanese change their voting patterns.
Bruh Shut up 30 years ago also Ramen was under 1000 or 1000. That's why it is given that 1000 name there was never 500. But I would say Inflation will always be there no doubt.
@@Gantaipao Were you born yesterday? There has to have been a time in the past when the Yen was worth twice as much as it is today. Oh, in dollars that time was September 2011. As little as ten years ago, I remember I could get "one coin" (500 Yen) lunches at a small restaurant downtown. That restaurant closed a long time ago.
If Japan can grow all of their food domestically then the rising cost wouldn't have been an issue. They should rethink how to use the land for every day food more and less for the premium products, or else Japanese will go to hunger. Crazy to think such a developed country is going backwards so fast.
Seeing the same trend for restaurant owners in the US and Canada. And it's partly because of the rise in the cost of overhead as well as cost of supplies. Commercial real estate and food/equipment suppliers jacking up prices, causing a cascading effect that hits everyone downstream, including shop owners and the customers.
The official statistics claim fresh food inflation is under 3% yet we have clear cut cases here of varied items increasing 50-100% in price over four years and this is hardly a complete list. Dairy and rice are just as bad. The reality is interest rates should be raised to strengthen the yen but they can't do that as too much debt was racked up funding wasteful projects and welfare for old people so they'd never be able to pay the interest. It won't ever get better unless it gets a lot worse.
I was Last in n Japan. ramen startet at 380yen Till 700y. I Had enough Money, but for me from Germany, 800y was the max. I Want to Spend for a Pot of ramen. In Germany u pay Like 2500yen for ramen.15Euro.
Feels like soup-less ramen isn't really the answer to this. Costs are cut sure but you just lose the customers that would have visited because they loved the soup. Feels like a operating model change out of ramen would be a better answer than removing the costly soup component.
Ramen shops in my country, the phils that are run by japanese nationals costs US$6.00 average. The japanese big chain ramen house that were awarded michellin stars before charges US$19.00 per bowl and still people queue up.
Snowballing costs are happening in my country too, even the prices of street food has doubled in the last few years. It's really sad, soon cheap and decent quality food will be a thing of the past.
1:47 I ate at this ramen place in Ikebukuro. It's near the entrance to Sunshine City (the one with the long ass escalator), the one with the Nitori beside it. This place is solid af.
There is another reason why good Prices rise in addition to the weak yen. Corporations in the USA buy farm land and rent them back to the producer with the goal to increase rent slowly to gain yearly profit. This can only be archived If the Farmer demand more for there products which turns to raising costs for a Lot of cuntrys on the globe. Its the pure greed.
whats interesting is in theory the plummeting value of the yen should only affect imports so as long as you dont need a car or nvidia gpu you should be fine. but im guessing they dont got a big local agriculture system to keep costs down and instead import food like china does?
Thanks for the video. Followed you on Bluesky. It depends on the Ramen shop but plenty of shops charge more than 1000. Everyone knows that prices are rising. Is there really a 1000 yen wall or is it all in the owners minds? And as the person in my family who does the weekly shopping for many years now its shocking to see the prices of things steadily going up. Milk, yogurt, bread etc all way way higher than before. I went back to Oz last year and wow, the prices there are ridiculous if you earn a japanese salary. A beer in a pub is like $11-12
So he'd rather go out of business and lose a few dumb dumbs than raise the prices a bit? That's a bit illogical. Perhaps he thinks bumping costs will obliterate his entire customer base and he'll lose so much profit in the interim that it's better to shut up shop prior to that, but in my opinion the patrons will still turn up. Everybody knows what's going on with the economy.
When prices went up for going out, I stopped spending money at my favorite places. It sucks but I'm not going to bankrupt myself when I can make ramen at home
What's is happening in Japan is happening everywhere. Restaurants worldwide are closing. People are working in the cost of food, housing, fuel, is increasing, but their wages aren't increasing. America and Europe has been dealing with this as long as Japan has. Citizens pay three times much as Japan to live and job loss increase daily. You may not believe this, but tourist or foreigners coming to Japan will not be able to save them. When you get too bad, the foreigners gonna return home. Back to the very home day left with the same conditions., Karma.
Japan has a different problem. It imports a lot of what it consumes, and the Japanese Yen has been very weak against the US dollar since the end of 2021; worse than levels seen in the late 90s. One thing Japan does have in common with the US is wage stagnation, but suppressed consumer price increases kept things affordable for the Japanese until recently.
Raw ingredient prices are rising particularly because food is imported. The Yen is weakening relative to the US dollar. Over here, we face a similar issue, but my country's currency has not weakened significantly. Instead, it seems to be profiteering. In my country, almost every food item is imported, with much being grown in a neighbouring country. The prices in that country have remained relatively stable so it is unlikely to be a rising production cost issue. I think the Japanese government should look towards moving to industrial-scale agriculture instead of the current inefficient small-scale system. A shift that will improve Japan's self-sufficiency and boost food exports too. Japanese rice and produce sell for a premium outside Japan.
Could be tough considering how mountainous Japan is. Take a look at google maps and you can see how little flat land Japan has compared to other countries.
It won't. There are already many plant based alternative food products in Japan, like Miso and Tofu. The problem is that the price hikes is hitting all good products, especially rice.
It doesn't matter if you are a vegetarian or a carnivore. Aging society of advance nation like Japan could not compete anymore, economically. The prices won't simply cheaper.
Yen is weaker, making the import products costly, meanwhile there is a global inflation over the world which you can add to the overall cost and you get the current situation, products prices affecting other product prices, it's like a domino. Here the talk is about pig meat, which is heavily imported from the US and Canada, Japan should consider other markets for this and also find solution to grow domestic production
if it's the same for everyone then price will eventually reach new standard for ramen shop to survive. Or if your shop is in touristy area, i guess you can make the tourist subsidize the locals
Your bank will always parrot the same catchphrase, "just raise your prices bro, keep raising them" It's as if they operate on an alternate dimension where people just grow their own money
Open ramen restaurant in the West. Those ramens cost as expensive as fine dining cuisines. Ramen, one side dish, one dessert with one beer cost as much as steak dinner.
interesting at the end of the video the ingredient manufacturer was bought. in theory yoshinoya could sell their ingrediants to the ramen sibling company near loss while jacking up prices for the independents.
Something that may have to change for some of these types of shops to survive is to adapt and change the meat uses in the dish itself. Possible changes to organ meat or going for vegetable ramen. Shame about this news.
sounds to me like everyone needs to raise prices together. itll happen either way. all these cheap places will go out of buisness and the more expensive guys will fill the gap or they need to do that themselves.
wow - I love Japanese cabbage - ice-water crispy shaved in salads with dressing, and read it was cheap - but now it's increased to 336% the 2019 price - that's scary !
those chains are mostly frequented by tourists, and in the city center usually the smaller ramen places are located in places outside the tokyo centre and more frequented by locals who dont earn as much
@@deekei which is interesting in itself. beef is pretty cheap in texas. you would think it would be the same for country side in japan. but maybe the issue is they dont have as much land.
Prices are going up in the entire world, I dare say it is a conspiracy that all countries experience the same rather than a few countries doing well and some doing poorly. For Ramen, the soup is just to flavour the food in the bowl, I'll often leave the half the soup behind as too much liquid. I do like flavoured noodles without soup. 1,000 Yen is like $9 here but Ramen often goes from $13 and up to $20.
They can probably lessen the amount of noodles and ingredients. I actually have trouble finishing one bowl of ramen. I don't mind a lesser amount as long as the price is the same and the taste is the same.
if they wont do something about the current currency rating then japan must say goodbye to their prideful empire and accept the fact that they have fallen
Well weak yen is only temporary, i mean many currencies around the world are losing so much value against the US$. Brazils currency has lost 30% already. China's yuan is the weakest in 15yrs. Almost every currency is falling in value. The Y1000 cabbage is really expensive but maybe its only seasonal. Climate change also has a lot to do with this. Cabbage prices per head in my country, the phils would cost US$6.00 per head off season and would cost only US$0.20 during peak harvest. When cabbage is expensive, we use other ingredients
Operating at a loss for ANY business, is unsustainable. Either they will close or they will have to raise prices. If they all raise prices, customers will eventually understand that it's the trend.
@mokisan 8 years ago when i was studying in Malaysia, the wall is around 7-8 rm, anything above that likely you are eating at a nice mall.Now 9rm is somewhat like regular price for outside food
Japanese goverment dont be a greedy goverment, japan need more and more low level worker, like farmer, fisher, and so on to make the price of vegetables and basic food goes lower and lower.
Japan ramen restaurants are of such high quality. Perhaps , the way to approach the issue is to treat the traditional ramen as a treat rather than a daily meal. There are many ways to offer a cheaper meal for daily meals eg dry noodles, they can give a small bowl of soup with the dry noodle. Cutting cost and downgrading standards is not the Japanese way …..but , tough times may need tough solutions. Noodles in Malaysias hawkers have been downgraded sooo much. I have to bring my own seasonings and garlic etc to amp up the taste. But I am fine with it.
@@mozzarellamaniac6300 what is the incompetent government doing about it? The BOJ sold some of their USD reserves and the yen is still getting weaker and weaker
If you want a service you pay the right amount for it. The truth is that Japanese people got accustomed too much in not "COOKING" and eating cheap. Try to eat out everyday in London for each meal you would go bankrupt. If you want cheap do it yourself or eat plain pasta.
How about reducing the meat and or just cutting the meatsize? Take extra charge for the original meat I was pretty impressed by the vegane and vegetarien Japan Ramen spots. Still not many. 85 years ago meat was luxuary. Also people have to pay if they really want meat.
Japan give me money to go grow fodder in Gifu!! I will do it!!! But seriously... maybe it would be good to see the government encourage younger people to stop moving to tokyo and start making the countryside cool. There's a slow trickle for it... but Japan NEEDS to give people support to go do it. I also would like to see Japan invest in using robotics to help with farming. Surly in this, the year 2025, the technology exists to make it possible to use robotics to assist and greatly improve farming productivity. Japan needs to be exporting more stuff into the world other than anime or we are all in big trouble. A positive is that sloooowwly people are indeed moving to the countryside, but I worry that it will all be too little too late. Lets make the inaka cool!! Tokyo is nice... but its so expensive. PLUS BONUS, people in the countryside have more kids! It's win win.
That’s what you get for being a US colony 🤷♂️ When you’ll realize that Russia, China , Korea both North and South are not enemies but valuable trading partners maybe things will improve.
sounds like a business owner being stubborn, the only way to survive is to increase your prices in relation to operations. Customers will continually patronage a business as long as it has a product in need.
Great reporting as always. One point not mentioned for the reason of increased cabbage costs (also rice prices skyrocketing) is weather abnormalities the past few years. The government subsidized electricity bills during the invasion of Ukraine when prices went through the roof. In the future it's likely they will have to find ways to subsidize farmers as more and more crops begin to fail.
bro just raise the price lol. garbage fast food burgers cost almost $20 for a combo meal in the states. I would gladly pay 2x 1000 yen for a genuine bowl of ramen. 😋🤤
Las Vegas used to have all you can eat roast beef sandwiches, or pancakes, or spaghetti for $1, so you could eat 3 different meals a day for $3......People don't understand how great the 90s were unless they lived it
Reduce pork ingredients in the stock, add anchovies & chicken carcass & other ingredients (sweetness). Toppings meat, reduce pork slices, pork balls, fish balls, crab fillet...or import cheaper ingredients from Asian countries like Malaysia 😊. Must be street smart . Import Frozen soup from Malaysia
As a frequent tourist, I'd gladly pay more than the locals. They should get membership cards for residents to get "discounted" ramen, while I'd gladly pay the more expensive rate. Make no mistake, I know how stupid I sound. But it seems to be a scenario where nobody really wins, and either business owners suffer, or regular working people. I always thought that Ramen had great bang per buck value, but now I know why. I know it's kinda selfish in some regards, but people on holidays are probably more willing to part with their money.
You sound like a lib, not only volunteering to pay more for yourself, but implying you'll force the rest of us to pay more with you.....Anyone with an IQ over 50 can see this will cause many foreigners to stop buying at all, causing more businesses to close ....Stay in Portland please
@@meiko_kaji its more complicated than that. inflation can be about monetary supply (like it is in the us currently) but also it can be because something becomes rare (like oil, due to war, which is currently happening in ukraine right now)
Great reporting. Having lived in Japan for a long time, I can totally relate to everything that is being reported. It is extremely unnerving for food prices to 2x or 3x in such a short time -- it's especially true of vegetables that are supposed to be cheap (like cabbage). It wasn't touched on in the video, but the price of rice is going through the roof, too. I'm sure it has to do with the weak yen, expensive energy prices and probably changes in weather. But people haven't been getting raises, so it really hurts.
More than probably change of weather.
living in Germany its exactly the same, past 2-3 years a lot of inflation, wages didn't follow...
Rice is a special case. The Japanese government has been paying rice farmers to not grow rice in an effort to raise the price and reduce government subsidies. Apparently, this strategy has worked. A 5 kilo bag of rice which used to cost 1,800 Yen now costs 3,400 Yen and the new price appears to be permanent. I told my wife we should eat potatoes instead of rice to punish the Japanese agricultural bureaucrats and rice farmers for their greed. That lasted for about a month before she insisted we pay the higher price.
@@prieten49A rise of almost 100%. That is truly insane.
ok
Thank you for translating the reactions of restaurateurs and customers as well as the raw data.
Good to hear these independent ramen restaurants are trying to stay in business in these challenging times by creating ways to reduce costs while providing customers with good food.
Vietnamese also have a a ‘dry’ option for traditional soup noodles like pho and mi. The standard noodles with toppings are served drizzled with an umami-rich, tangy, tomato-based sauce, accompanied with a small side bowl of soup broth to sip between bites. It is as delicious and reduces the soup without eliminating it altogether, and is as popular as the traditional soup version.
Some other cost-saving ideas:
- to reduce fuel costs, use a pressure cooker to make the broth instead of the long simmer
- offer a new ramen soup made with a mixture of chicken, beef, and pork bones in combinations that minimizes costs yet maximizes flavor
- partner with other restaurants and industries to obtain soup bones that they consider byproducts, such as from fried chicken restaurants which can offer boneless fried chicken and sell the bones to ramen shops at a discount to make the soup.
Hard times require innovative thinking and flexibility balancing traditional and new ideas.
How irony is when the shop has to close for bankruptcy even after the customers are supporting it BUT not willing to pay more than 1000 yen due to some cultural stigma???
Signs of cultural decay
Would you pay a hamburger for $10?
they get viral with chuuka ryouri after ww2 for carbonhydrate need, not smth thousand year culture thing.
Yes @@irfanhandono
@@irfanhandonoif it’s good, why not?
Here, burgers can cost as much at $20. So what’s your point?
Japan doesn't increase wages, and even if they do increase the wage it is so little.
How do you expect people to buy and spend money on things when the salary problem is not fixed?
Clearly that was not true as costs were increased, this means someone else must have received higher salaries as a result of these cost increases.
@@zollen123if you have to import the ingredients .......
@@zollen123yeah the Rich elite
The yen prices going down play a lot more as japanese import tons of stuff especially meat
Well this is mainly due to the weak Yen which is because of the decades long policy of the central Bank of Japan to print unlimited amounts of money and have negative interest rates to artifically support the stagnant economy. They've been kicking the can down the road for decades. The Japanese people who have been protected by their central bank now must have to feel pain and make very painful changes which is unlikely because Japan has legendary at not changing since the 90s. It would not suprise me if it went to $1=200 Yen in a few years. Japanese should ask WHY the yen is so weak.
because america keeps printing the dollar
Study English. Participate more in the global econony. Reject isolationist policies.
@@DD-DD-DD You nailed it perfectly. Litteraly.
difficult to turn around an economy with little skilled labour immigration ( cause people make triple or quadruple higher salaries in other countries ) and tons of old people, failing pension system and insane bureaucracy and a culture of never changing anything. it really isn't looking good for them. and they have a crazy amount of debt which will collapse on them if they raised interest rates.
@@thejumper7282 If the US printed more currency, it weakens the purchasing power of the dollar, which would actually help the Japanese. The US keeps the dollar strong and stable with trade policies, and many parts of the world still sees the US dollar as the gold standard, despite economic difficulties the US has faced off and on.
It's ridiculous he has to consider that. Yes, I live and work in Japan too. The "1000 yen ramen wall" needs to go and it doesn't understand the reality of today.
Based on the customer's comments, the restaurant has quality ramen. I used to live in Kobe before and know Nishinomiya very well. It's very middle class. Not too far from Osaka and Ashiya. They could afford the bump if the ramen retains its great quality. Why would anyone want to agree with his closure?
Thank you for the video, I enjoy watching your videos and seeing a different side of Japan than I usually would
That's US $6.35 with current rate. In comparison, ramen soup in Washington DC area ~$18.00.
It sounds good to you, but Japanese people aren't earning dollars. They earn yen.
Median salary in Japan is about $24,000USD
Wait it's only 18 in Washington?! Compared to the wages we get in Berlin, 15€ is even less affordable here. Which is truly ridiculous. I think Germany is one of the hardest hit nations from the Ukraine war due to the natural gas dependency
In which city? :o in Berlin it's 15-20 usually
Compared to the Washington wages, it's much less affordable here
@DD-DD-DD
You have to put it in perspective. Average apartment in the USA is 1000 to close to 5000 a month not including other bills. And some make 35k a year
I find it hard to understand the "Wall of 1000 Yen." Surely, there must have once been a "Wall of 500 Yen" that was eventually overcome. The problem of a weak Yen seems to be a major factor in many food price increases. The Japanese government could take measures such as raising interest rates to strengthen the Yen. However, Japanese industry is very happy with the weak Yen because it makes their exports cheaper for Americans and Europeans to buy. It's another case of the Japanese government doing what industry wants rather than listening to Japanese consumers. This indifference to consumers will not change until the Japanese change their voting patterns.
I agree, Inflation will happen overtime, and maybe in the future there will be a wall of 1500 Yen. Because prices will keep increasing.
Bruh
Shut up
30 years ago also Ramen was under 1000 or 1000.
That's why it is given that 1000 name there was never 500.
But I would say Inflation will always be there no doubt.
@@Gantaipao Were you born yesterday? There has to have been a time in the past when the Yen was worth twice as much as it is today. Oh, in dollars that time was September 2011. As little as ten years ago, I remember I could get "one coin" (500 Yen) lunches at a small restaurant downtown. That restaurant closed a long time ago.
If Japan can grow all of their food domestically then the rising cost wouldn't have been an issue. They should rethink how to use the land for every day food more and less for the premium products, or else Japanese will go to hunger. Crazy to think such a developed country is going backwards so fast.
Facinating. Thank you for this.
the artificial inflation suppression last 30 years in Japan is baked into Japanese mindset it seems.
What do you mean?
@@Gantaipao Japan hasn't had inflation in the past 30 years, they forgot prices increase naturally.
Seeing the same trend for restaurant owners in the US and Canada. And it's partly because of the rise in the cost of overhead as well as cost of supplies. Commercial real estate and food/equipment suppliers jacking up prices, causing a cascading effect that hits everyone downstream, including shop owners and the customers.
The official statistics claim fresh food inflation is under 3% yet we have clear cut cases here of varied items increasing 50-100% in price over four years and this is hardly a complete list. Dairy and rice are just as bad.
The reality is interest rates should be raised to strengthen the yen but they can't do that as too much debt was racked up funding wasteful projects and welfare for old people so they'd never be able to pay the interest. It won't ever get better unless it gets a lot worse.
Nothing is cheap anymore.
Except your mom
There's one, our salary.
I was Last in n Japan. ramen startet at 380yen Till 700y.
I Had enough Money, but for me from Germany, 800y was the max. I Want to Spend for a Pot of ramen.
In Germany u pay Like 2500yen for ramen.15Euro.
That last bit is important. The more self-sustained a country is, the better :)
so it makes sense now to grow your own veggies in a garden?
I've actually started doing that again 😅
Always has been
@smuggy8576 not true.
Also thank you for reporting!
Great report, thank you. Very sad that the humble ramen restaurant is in trouble.
Feels like soup-less ramen isn't really the answer to this. Costs are cut sure but you just lose the customers that would have visited because they loved the soup. Feels like a operating model change out of ramen would be a better answer than removing the costly soup component.
Which means that those that remain, do so by reducing quality of ingredients or even by using expired or less fresh ingredients.
This is sad :(. I went to japan and its a beautiful country. I hope that their economy can recover.
time to move the restaurant overseas
Ramen shops in my country, the phils that are run by japanese nationals costs US$6.00 average. The japanese big chain ramen house that were awarded michellin stars before charges US$19.00 per bowl and still people queue up.
Very interesting insight
Thanksh for the video! 😀
what does government do to save the situation?
they raised tax yes u heard me right
Snowballing costs are happening in my country too, even the prices of street food has doubled in the last few years. It's really sad, soon cheap and decent quality food will be a thing of the past.
1:47 I ate at this ramen place in Ikebukuro. It's near the entrance to Sunshine City (the one with the long ass escalator), the one with the Nitori beside it. This place is solid af.
There is another reason why good Prices rise in addition to the weak yen. Corporations in the USA buy farm land and rent them back to the producer with the goal to increase rent slowly to gain yearly profit. This can only be archived If the Farmer demand more for there products which turns to raising costs for a Lot of cuntrys on the globe. Its the pure greed.
whats interesting is in theory the plummeting value of the yen should only affect imports so as long as you dont need a car or nvidia gpu you should be fine. but im guessing they dont got a big local agriculture system to keep costs down and instead import food like china does?
Thanks for the video. Followed you on Bluesky.
It depends on the Ramen shop but plenty of shops charge more than 1000. Everyone knows that prices are rising. Is there really a 1000 yen wall or is it all in the owners minds?
And as the person in my family who does the weekly shopping for many years now its shocking to see the prices of things steadily going up. Milk, yogurt, bread etc all way way higher than before.
I went back to Oz last year and wow, the prices there are ridiculous if you earn a japanese salary. A beer in a pub is like $11-12
Those ramen shops offer bundles or extra service like extra toppings, side dish, bigger servings, etc.
So he'd rather go out of business and lose a few dumb dumbs than raise the prices a bit?
That's a bit illogical.
Perhaps he thinks bumping costs will obliterate his entire customer base and he'll lose so much profit in the interim that it's better to shut up shop prior to that, but in my opinion the patrons will still turn up. Everybody knows what's going on with the economy.
When prices went up for going out, I stopped spending money at my favorite places. It sucks but I'm not going to bankrupt myself when I can make ramen at home
@@ThatBlokeInJapan-v5p do you understand the business-customer dynamic in Japanese culture? It's not very logical
What's is happening in Japan is happening everywhere. Restaurants worldwide are closing.
People are working in the cost of food, housing, fuel, is increasing, but their wages aren't increasing.
America and Europe has been dealing with this as long as Japan has. Citizens pay three times much as Japan to live and job loss increase daily.
You may not believe this, but tourist or foreigners coming to Japan will not be able to save them. When you get too bad, the foreigners gonna return home. Back to the very home day left with the same conditions., Karma.
Japan has a different problem. It imports a lot of what it consumes, and the Japanese Yen has been very weak against the US dollar since the end of 2021; worse than levels seen in the late 90s. One thing Japan does have in common with the US is wage stagnation, but suppressed consumer price increases kept things affordable for the Japanese until recently.
Raw ingredient prices are rising particularly because food is imported. The Yen is weakening relative to the US dollar. Over here, we face a similar issue, but my country's currency has not weakened significantly. Instead, it seems to be profiteering. In my country, almost every food item is imported, with much being grown in a neighbouring country. The prices in that country have remained relatively stable so it is unlikely to be a rising production cost issue.
I think the Japanese government should look towards moving to industrial-scale agriculture instead of the current inefficient small-scale system. A shift that will improve Japan's self-sufficiency and boost food exports too. Japanese rice and produce sell for a premium outside Japan.
Could be tough considering how mountainous Japan is. Take a look at google maps and you can see how little flat land Japan has compared to other countries.
What a shame to hear that so many small business owners are struggling. I wonder if switching to plant-based recipes will save them money?
It won't. There are already many plant based alternative food products in Japan, like Miso and Tofu. The problem is that the price hikes is hitting all good products, especially rice.
It doesn't matter if you are a vegetarian or a carnivore. Aging society of advance nation like Japan could not compete anymore, economically. The prices won't simply cheaper.
I think countries should be as self-sufficient as possible with food to prevents situations like this from happening.
That's gonna be a problem in Japan's case since it doesn't have a lot of land to grow food.
Because high competition and cheap prices. In America, a bowl of decent ramen runs you 15-20$. Same quality ones in Japan is 5-8$
But in Japan you don't get payed for overtime.
Yen is weaker, making the import products costly, meanwhile there is a global inflation over the world which you can add to the overall cost and you get the current situation, products prices affecting other product prices, it's like a domino. Here the talk is about pig meat, which is heavily imported from the US and Canada, Japan should consider other markets for this and also find solution to grow domestic production
if it's the same for everyone then price will eventually reach new standard for ramen shop to survive. Or if your shop is in touristy area, i guess you can make the tourist subsidize the locals
Your bank will always parrot the same catchphrase, "just raise your prices bro, keep raising them"
It's as if they operate on an alternate dimension where people just grow their own money
Open ramen restaurant in the West. Those ramens cost as expensive as fine dining cuisines. Ramen, one side dish, one dessert with one beer cost as much as steak dinner.
interesting at the end of the video the ingredient manufacturer was bought. in theory yoshinoya could sell their ingrediants to the ramen sibling company near loss while jacking up prices for the independents.
Something that may have to change for some of these types of shops to survive is to adapt and change the meat uses in the dish itself. Possible changes to organ meat or going for vegetable ramen. Shame about this news.
sounds to me like everyone needs to raise prices together. itll happen either way. all these cheap places will go out of buisness and the more expensive guys will fill the gap or they need to do that themselves.
wow - I love Japanese cabbage - ice-water crispy shaved in salads with dressing, and read it was cheap - but now it's increased to 336% the 2019 price - that's scary !
Exports have been great
There is more than just imports
Same happening in Australia too, and other countries....
its about 2700 yen here for a bowl of ramen in usa
In Brazil I paid the equivalent price of 2200yen in october. I imagine the price today, because we have a lot of inflation going on right now.
how much the minimun wage there? that's the answer here.
How do do the chains overcome the 1000 yen wall? As far as I can remember Ippudo and Ichiran charge more than 1000 yen for ramen
those chains are mostly frequented by tourists, and in the city center
usually the smaller ramen places are located in places outside the tokyo centre and more frequented by locals who dont earn as much
@@deekei which is interesting in itself. beef is pretty cheap in texas. you would think it would be the same for country side in japan. but maybe the issue is they dont have as much land.
Prices are going up in the entire world, I dare say it is a conspiracy that all countries experience the same rather than a few countries doing well and some doing poorly. For Ramen, the soup is just to flavour the food in the bowl, I'll often leave the half the soup behind as too much liquid. I do like flavoured noodles without soup. 1,000 Yen is like $9 here but Ramen often goes from $13 and up to $20.
1000 yen ceiling? Would they want to test that assumption first before going for bankruptcy?
Many small business ownwers in this country feel stuck are willing to get out when the first chance they get.
Expensive Ramen will be competing with Malatang which is booming in Japan.
They can probably lessen the amount of noodles and ingredients. I actually have trouble finishing one bowl of ramen. I don't mind a lesser amount as long as the price is the same and the taste is the same.
if they wont do something about the current currency rating then japan must say goodbye to their prideful empire and accept the fact that they have fallen
Well weak yen is only temporary, i mean many currencies around the world are losing so much value against the US$. Brazils currency has lost 30% already. China's yuan is the weakest in 15yrs. Almost every currency is falling in value. The Y1000 cabbage is really expensive but maybe its only seasonal. Climate change also has a lot to do with this. Cabbage prices per head in my country, the phils would cost US$6.00 per head off season and would cost only US$0.20 during peak harvest. When cabbage is expensive, we use other ingredients
just trade bilaterally among countries with weak currency
Too many of them
In the future they will laugh at this "wall of 1000 yen" when they are paying 1000 yen for an egg.
Before Pearl Harbor, 1 Japanese Yen = 1 US dollar. After Hiroshima, 1 US Dollar = 400 Japanese yen.
Operating at a loss for ANY business, is unsustainable. Either they will close or they will have to raise prices. If they all raise prices, customers will eventually understand that it's the trend.
Time to emigrate and open a ramen shop abroad.
Salaries in Japan are so low it's sad
Why not instead of increasing price, just make the servings smaller
I never eat outside anymore. Too expensive. I can prepare a decent ramen meal for 1 dollar.
In America I pay almost 20.00$ ￥2000 for tonkatsu ramen 🤣
So... There's a chance that Ichiraku Ramen will close in Naruto
Well, in Malaysia, a bowl of layman food called wanton mee used to be RM5. The wall is around RM6 to 7. Now its RM9.
Has the prices increased in Malaysia too?
@mokisan 8 years ago when i was studying in Malaysia, the wall is around 7-8 rm, anything above that likely you are eating at a nice mall.Now 9rm is somewhat like regular price for outside food
@ everywhere in the world
Japanese goverment dont be a greedy goverment, japan need more and more low level worker, like farmer, fisher, and so on to make the price of vegetables and basic food goes lower and lower.
I'm not surprise if it costs 1-2k yen in Tokyo :o
Japan ramen restaurants are of such high quality.
Perhaps , the way to approach the issue is to treat the traditional ramen as a treat rather than a daily meal.
There are many ways to offer a cheaper meal for daily meals eg dry noodles, they can give a small bowl of soup with the dry noodle.
Cutting cost and downgrading standards is not the Japanese way …..but , tough times may need tough solutions.
Noodles in Malaysias hawkers have been downgraded sooo much.
I have to bring my own seasonings and garlic etc to amp up the taste.
But I am fine with it.
Ichiran sells all but their basic ramen over 1000 yen
Tourists are willing to pay though. Keep your business going for tourists.
Yup Japan is in crazy poverty now. And what are the politicians doing about it??
You don’t know what poverty is if you think that.
Don’t speak so loosely in ignorance.
Uhh blame people being unloyal to thier ancestors roots. its how Japanese corpos would word it.
Poverty is a result of many factors, not by the government's incompetence alone.
@@SHURYŌNOSHIKAHOSHI do you live and work in Japan? Getting paid in JPY?
@@mozzarellamaniac6300 what is the incompetent government doing about it? The BOJ sold some of their USD reserves and the yen is still getting weaker and weaker
If you want a service you pay the right amount for it. The truth is that Japanese people got accustomed too much in not "COOKING" and eating cheap. Try to eat out everyday in London for each meal you would go bankrupt. If you want cheap do it yourself or eat plain pasta.
How about reducing the meat and or just cutting the meatsize? Take extra charge for the original meat
I was pretty impressed by the vegane and vegetarien Japan Ramen spots. Still not many. 85 years ago meat was luxuary. Also people have to pay if they really want meat.
"we can't survive anymore"
then don't
Well change the recipe? Close down is so sad 😢
Sad to see the state of Japan decline.
i usually pay 1580 yen for my ramen
Jet Li must really like Ramen
Japan give me money to go grow fodder in Gifu!! I will do it!!!
But seriously... maybe it would be good to see the government encourage younger people to stop moving to tokyo and start making the countryside cool. There's a slow trickle for it... but Japan NEEDS to give people support to go do it. I also would like to see Japan invest in using robotics to help with farming. Surly in this, the year 2025, the technology exists to make it possible to use robotics to assist and greatly improve farming productivity. Japan needs to be exporting more stuff into the world other than anime or we are all in big trouble.
A positive is that sloooowwly people are indeed moving to the countryside, but I worry that it will all be too little too late. Lets make the inaka cool!! Tokyo is nice... but its so expensive. PLUS BONUS, people in the countryside have more kids! It's win win.
That’s what you get for being a US colony 🤷♂️ When you’ll realize that Russia, China , Korea both North and South are not enemies but valuable trading partners maybe things will improve.
Russia is to blame for everyone's suffering by invading one of the world's biggest food producer/manufacturer Ukraine.
Partial blame for the west for not immediately stopping the invasion when they could have.
Come to Malaysia, Ramen is craze to all
I don’t have a blue sky account only X 😢
sounds like a business owner being stubborn, the only way to survive is to increase your prices in relation to operations. Customers will continually patronage a business as long as it has a product in need.
Did you even watch
Great reporting as always. One point not mentioned for the reason of increased cabbage costs (also rice prices skyrocketing) is weather abnormalities the past few years. The government subsidized electricity bills during the invasion of Ukraine when prices went through the roof. In the future it's likely they will have to find ways to subsidize farmers as more and more crops begin to fail.
@meiko_kaji sometimes it is. Not in the case I was using as only an example of how government subsidies can be used
bro just raise the price lol. garbage fast food burgers cost almost $20 for a combo meal in the states. I would gladly pay 2x 1000 yen for a genuine bowl of ramen. 😋🤤
you dont get it do you.
they explained it in the vid. there is a wall of $1000.
people dont go to eat ramen if its $2000 like you said
It's not like it's that hard to make it yourself, ramen is extremely overrated .....1000 is a bit much
A bowl of ramen is equivalent to a single hamburger in the US. Nobody pays $10 for a hamburger!
Similar to the $1.00 slice of pizza in NYC
Las Vegas used to have all you can eat roast beef sandwiches, or pancakes, or spaghetti for $1, so you could eat 3 different meals a day for $3......People don't understand how great the 90s were unless they lived it
Where I’m from, a bowl of very underwhelming ramen starts at 14 euros for miso ramen, and goes to 23 euros for the fancy one with prawns
This is not fair. I haven't visited Japan which I dream really really long and to try their authentic ramen now they are closing?! 😢
😢
Naruto crying rn:
I blame your governments' over-zealous response to C19.
Reduce pork ingredients in the stock, add anchovies & chicken carcass & other ingredients (sweetness). Toppings meat, reduce pork slices, pork balls, fish balls, crab fillet...or import cheaper ingredients from Asian countries like Malaysia 😊. Must be street smart . Import Frozen soup from Malaysia
0:17 What's the name of this cute guy?
Get a life
Ramen Eater Interview Guy
Bro 💀
As a frequent tourist, I'd gladly pay more than the locals. They should get membership cards for residents to get "discounted" ramen, while I'd gladly pay the more expensive rate.
Make no mistake, I know how stupid I sound. But it seems to be a scenario where nobody really wins, and either business owners suffer, or regular working people.
I always thought that Ramen had great bang per buck value, but now I know why. I know it's kinda selfish in some regards, but people on holidays are probably more willing to part with their money.
You sound like a lib, not only volunteering to pay more for yourself, but implying you'll force the rest of us to pay more with you.....Anyone with an IQ over 50 can see this will cause many foreigners to stop buying at all, causing more businesses to close ....Stay in Portland please
And why are prices going up? So executives and shareholders can fatten their wallets. Capitalism baby.
@@meiko_kaji its more complicated than that. inflation can be about monetary supply (like it is in the us currently) but also it can be because something becomes rare (like oil, due to war, which is currently happening in ukraine right now)