What is Ra-Kare(Ramen Curry)? A New Food Culture?

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Column 2026.05

[Ramen Curry Press Conference]

The other day, I had the pleasure of attending the press conference for “Ra-Kare(Ramen Curry),” a new fusion of ramen and curry, held at the House Gaban headquarters in Tokyo.

What is Ramen Curry®? …Quoting the explanation from SARAH’s page:

“Ra-Kare(Ramen Curry)” is a completely new curry rice dish created by combining spices with the soup that ramen restaurants have perfected. Because it allows each restaurant’s unique broth to shine through, every dish has a one-of-a-kind flavor. It offers an unprecedented culinary experience, fusing ramen and curry, two of Japan’s most popular national dishes.

According to data from FoodDataBank, operated by SARAH, ramen and curry are genres where user preferences tend to overlap, with approximately 40% of ramen posters also posting about curry. SARAH supports information dissemination and customer acquisition through its gourmet app “SARAH,” helping ramen shops increase their revenue and create new food culture.

https://corporate.sarah30.com/2026/04/0430/
This is a detailed explanation.

In other words, ramen lovers tend to also like curry.
Therefore, let’s create original curry dishes at ramen shops so that customers can enjoy both ramen and curry!
This is a menu item development proposal.

Ramen shops will see increased sales, and customers will be satisfied enjoying delicious, original ramen and curry.
Furthermore, the official website explained the difference between this and curry ramen, stating:
→ While curry ramen is ramen with a curry-flavored broth, Ra-Kare is curry rice based on ramen shop broth.
It seems they are clearly distinguished.

At the press conference and announcement, many famous ramen shops prepared their own unique “Ra-kare” dishes, which we were able to sample.

The participating shops are as follows:
*Raamen Iida Shoten(らぁ麺 飯田商店)(Shota Iida 飯田 将太)
*Mita Seimenjo(三田製麺所) (Kazushi Kanaka 鹿中 一志)
*Chinese Ramen Yangzhou Shonin(中国ラーメン揚州商人) (Ichitaro Miyoshi 三好 一太郎)
*Menya So(麺屋宗) (Munenori Yanagi 柳 宗紀)
*Momo no Ya(桃の屋) (Mayumi Sumida 隅田 真代)
*Menya Zetton(麺や絶豚) (Tomoyasu Ueda 植田 倫安)

The event began with a talk by Mr. Ikoma, president of House Gaban, followed by an overview from Mr. Tanaka, the person in charge of the Ramen Curry project. Comments were then given by the owners of the participating restaurants, Mr. Takahashi, representative of SARAH (the Ramen Curry website operator), ramen musician Captain Ide, and curry writer Happii (Atsushi Iizuka). This was followed by a Q&A session and a tasting.

Ra-Kare Product

‘Menya Zetton Roasted Dried Sardine Curry’
Sales Locations: Menya Zetton (2-7-19 Midori, Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture), Niboshi Kessha Menya Nishi Zetton (61-4 Ishie Okabe, Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture)
Availability Start Date: Scheduled from May 1st
https://nons-cafe-group.com/shop-zetton.php
A curry that lets you enjoy the unique flavor of dried sardines, a sweet base sauce, and the complex changes in taste from vegetables and ginger.

“Ramen Momonoya – Momonoya Special Curry”
Sales Location: Ramen Momonoya (2-10-8 Sakae-cho, Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture)
Availability: Currently available
https://www.instagram.com/momonoya_ramen/
A hearty meat curry with a rich meaty flavor.

“Menya Sou – Spice-Scented Chicken Oil Ramen Curry”
Sales Location: Menya Sou Takadanobaba Main Store (1-4-21 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku)
Availability: Mid-May (tentative)
https://www.menya-sou.com/
A delicious curry with a chicken broth base, spices, and a hint of coconut milk.

“Tsukemen Specialty Shop Mita Seimenjo – Mita’s RaーKare”
Sales Locations: Umeda, Namba, Senboku, Kamiyacho, Toyota, Shinjuku West, Kokubunji, Tama New Town, Ikebukuro West, Kawasaki, Mihara South, Okazaki (12 stores in total)
Availability Period: May 7th (Thu) – May 31st (Sun) [25 days]
https://www.instagram.com/mita.seimen_official/
A well-balanced curry where the umami of seafood and pork bone broth blends with spices.

“Chinese Ramen Youshu Shonin – Youshu Sour and Spicy Summer Vegetable Curry”
Sales Locations: To be implemented in all stores sequentially *May start at pilot stores
Availability Period: Scheduled to start around July
https://www.yousyusyonin.com/
A unique curry with vegetables on top of egg rice, not sour and refreshingly delicious.

“Iida Shoten – Iida Curry”
Sales Locations:
・Online EC Site: https://iidashouten.shop-pro.jp/?pid=190545625
・Iida Shoten Storefront: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM on Iida Shoten business days
・Iida Shoten Souvenir Direct Sales Store: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM (Immediately to the left after exiting the ticket gate at Yugawara Station)

Availability Start Date: Currently available
https://r.iidashouten.com/

A rich, thick, and flavorful curry made with second-batch dashi (broth).

[Application by Ramen Shops]

Ramen shops can register their stores on the Ramen Curry official website.
If you’re a ramen shop that wants to offer delicious curry, plans to offer it, or is already offering it, please apply using the registration form.
The requirements for inclusion seem to be using some kind of spice made by House Gaban Co., Ltd., or using their “Concentrated Curry Sauce for Ramen Curry” which is already in one package. For details, please see the official website.
“Ra-Kare(Ramen Curry)” Official Website
https://ramen-curry.com/
*”Ramen Curry®” is a trademark of House Foods Group Inc.

Personally, I love pouring ramen soup over half a bowl of rice or regular rice to make a kind of “rice porridge.”
The thought of adding curry flavor to this makes me excited about this new food culture that I really hope will spread!

This article was written by

Ramen Japan Editorial Staff TAKANO