An Unusual Ramen Shop

I have been in and out of the Hakata area many times, but still had never encountered this before. In addition to the cramped sushi restaurants, there are small ramen shops with individually separated tables. And why…?

Apparently the owner of such a shop in Hakata, Ichiran, conducted a convey amongst its female clientele and discovered that women said it was not easy for them to enter ramen shops and eat while people watched them, that they were embarrassed…

I have no idea if this is legitimate, but thinking back on it… I can’t recall a single time in Japan I have seen a woman eating ramen. That’s just my experience of course, but I do recall a time a friend of mine and myself were wandering the streets of Fukuoka looking for something to eat. When we approached a ramen shop, I quickly indulged, but she abstained. Interesting…

Any thoughts? Prove or disprove me… I want to know how credible this claim is. Because ramen is fattening, women think eating it in public shows gluttony…?

Ichiran in Hakata

Another good example

My thanks to Setsuo-san for telling me about this.