Hey gamers, do you like ramen? I sure do.
So, how about making some ramen?
This game, *Japanese Ramen Simulator*, is a simulation game where up to six players run a ramen shop.
Create new menu items, pay close attention to the interior design, and while scrambling to keep up with the rush, craft the perfect bowl of ramen that will wow critics… It was a masterpiece of a simulator—high-quality yet never short on humor!
This time, I played it with a few friends, including Mr. O—a junior from my college days who actually works at a ramen shop.
You start by opening a ramen shop in a corner of an unspecified land surrounded by a five-story pagoda and Mount Fuji. First, decide on a name and quickly whip up a sign. You can refine the design later, so a preset option is fine for now.
The counter, cooking utensils, stove, noodle cooker, and sink—all the essentials are provided right from the start.Follow the tutorial to prepare the tonkotsu broth in a stockpot, add the kaeshi (soy sauce base) and cooked noodles, top it with nori and other toppings, and you’re done. You can already customize the broth’s ingredients at this stage, but for now, just follow the instructions.
All that’s left is to change the “Preparing” sign to “Open” to start serving customers.
It’s not too difficult at first—since there are few toppings and cooking steps, you can whip up a bowl of ramen in no time.
Eventually, ingredients like menma and chashu will be added, requiring you to slice and store them, and you’ll also be able to offer side dishes like gyoza, beer, and rice—which means you’ll need to install a gyoza grill and a beer tap.
Naturally, customer orders will become more varied, so you’ll have to carefully check the order list each time to ensure you prepare them accurately.
This is actually quite fun!
To begin with, even just serving a single bowl of ramen to a customer requires grabbing a clean bowl, mixing the boiled noodles with the soup, adding the toppings, checking the order slip, bringing it to the table, collecting the empty bowl once the customer is finished, washing it, and returning it to its original spot.
To carry out these operations smoothly, you’ll gradually start paying close attention to the interior layout—such as the placement of equipment and the spacing around the counter.
“Since I’ll be doing the dishes here, the register goes here, which means I can secure about this much space for table seating…” As you go along, you really start to feel like you’re running a real ramen shop, and you get that sense of excitement that’s so characteristic of a simulator game.
This housing experience, which prioritizes functional beauty, offers a distinct vibe from survival craft games or MMORPGs, and felt very refreshing.
Also, according to Mr. O, one of the best parts is how surprisingly authentic the ramen shop feels down to the smallest details.
During morning prep, you put the stockpot on the stove, confirm everyone’s stations, and exchange greetings before opening for business.
During the lunch rush, it gets hellishly busy—you might get scolded by a customer for the wrong toppings, or have them walk out because the food took too long.
After closing, we’d eat our staff meal while placing orders for missing ingredients, brainstorming new menu items, and taking a break in the back of the shop…
While there are plenty of game-like simplifications—like ordered items arriving via drone in a single second—that aside, the game offered a level of realism that let you fully experience what it’s like to work at a ramen shop.
On the other hand, there are plenty of comedic elements as well.
One example is the terrifying fact that there’s a gambling den right next to our shop, where you can siphon money from the register to try your luck at a coin-toss game.
“This is m-money we all worked so hard to earn…!” With bloodshot eyes, the moment you take that all-or-nothing gamble gave me an indescribable thrill that’s hard to find in other games (just make sure not to ruin your friendships).
There are other moments that are just a bit out of touch with reality—like when you try to fling a dirty bowl or cup into the sink only to hit a customer standing right in front of you in the back of the head and make them angry, or when thieves show up regularly to try to steal the day’s takings, forcing you to fend them off with shuriken and kunai—and they’re so absurd they’ll make you laugh.It really reminds me of the PS classic *My Cooking*.
The bald ramen critic with sunglasses who appears as the boss also looks like someone I’ve seen somewhere before…
Whether it’s messing up orders left and right if you don’t manage the order slips properly, or regretting the “extra-large topping” original menu items—the kind of thing an elementary schooler would come up with—when they’re ordered during peak hours, this game strikes a great balance between realism and comedy.
Thanks to the ingredients, interior decorations, and items that unlock one after another, this is an excellent simulation game that’s impossible to put down.
We’re open for business again today! Hey, welcome! Customer #9, one order of deep-fried crab, bean sprouts, green onions, tonkotsu broth, firm noodles, and extra garlic, please!
Since we had the chance, I interviewed Mr. O, who works at a ramen shop, about three points.
――What aspects of *Japanese Ramen Simulator* did you find realistic?
Mr. O: The cooking equipment—like the noodle boiler, the tebo (a colander with a handle for boiling noodles), and the commercial gyoza grill—felt very realistic; I found myself thinking, “Yeah, that’s exactly how it is.”
It was also realistic that the game included the core components of ramen: the sauce (kaeshi), the broth (dashi), and the noodles. The fact that you can experiment during the broth-making process—like adding more bones or trying out aromatic vegetables—really added to the realism. It’s also realistic that the umami and aroma stats don’t change in a way that’s easy to read right away when you try these things (laughs).
The fact that the soup is simmered in-house, the sauce is store-bought, and the noodles look like they’re delivered from a noodle factory really gives it that “your average ramen shop” vibe.
It’s also a common sight in ramen shops for staff to naturally call out things like “I’ll make the soup” or “I’ll bring out the water” while the shop is open. This improves coordination when working in a cramped kitchen, and it makes the place look lively to customers, which is a good thing.
It’s actually quite realistic that offering water can calm down customers who are waiting. I’ve learned that simply saying, “Sorry to keep you waiting,” conveys the message, “We haven’t forgotten your order,” and customers will wait patiently without getting angry.
――What are the enjoyable and challenging aspects of working at a ramen shop?
Mr. O: It’s satisfying when customers enjoy the ramen I’ve made myself.
On the other hand, if the quality of the broth is inconsistent, even if the customer doesn’t notice and is satisfied, I might not be satisfied myself. Especially when we have a high volume of customers per hour, the quality tends to drop, so maintaining it can be challenging.
Also, depending on the shop, if we’re open continuously from opening to closing, there are always customers inside and no time to rest, plus there’s preparation work for the evening shift, so it’s a constant rush… which can be tough.
――Do ramen critics ever visit your shop?
Mr. O: Since the shop I work at is part of a chain, they don’t usually come to our specific location. Even if they did, it would likely be for a mystery shopper evaluation, and if a critic were to contact us directly, they’d probably go to headquarters—so I don’t think they generally come here.
That said, these days, with reviews on Tabelog and Google, as well as daily evaluations and shares on various social media platforms, it feels like every customer is a critic. Satisfying everyone is one of our goals.
“Japanese Ramen Simulator” is currently available in Early Access on PC (Steam).
