Toyama black ramen: what it is, where it is from and what a bowl costs

From

Toyama Prefecture

Soup

strong soy sauce with coarse black pepper

Also

lots of green onion

Checked

18 October 2026, JNTO

• JNTO describes a soup with a high concentration of soy sauce, generously topped with coarse black pepper.
• It is known for a large amount of green onion on top.
• JNTO says it began around 70 years ago in post-war Toyama, with salty soy sauce to replenish salt for manual workers.
• JNTO presents Toyama black ramen as a standout local dish of Toyama, found in ramen shops across the prefecture.

The government's retail price survey records the price of a bowl of chuka soba (ramen) at ordinary shops every month in 81 cities. In August 2026 it was 733 yen in Toyama City (capital of Toyama), 46 of 81 from the highest. Tokyo's 23 wards were 620 yen, 73 of 81, so ramen in Tokyo is not more expensive than in most cities. This is an average of the shops in the survey, not the price at a famous shop.

The survey does not cover Toyama, so this is the price in Toyama's capital, Toyama City.

Spending on eating out at ramen shops

13,507 yen a year per household in Toyama City (2023–2025 average; 5 of 52 cities; Japan 8,752 yen)

Ramen shops

201 in Toyama in 2016, 18.9 per 100,000 people (13 of 47; Japan 14.3)

Spending is from the household survey of two-or-more-person households in 52 large cities, so it is the city's number, not the prefecture's. Ramen shops are the 2016 Economic Census count of businesses classified as ramen shops; some ramen shops are counted with Chinese restaurants, so the real number is higher. Per-person numbers divide by the 2016 population (our calculation).

Airport

Toyama Airport

Into the city

20 min into Toyama (quickest way in our airport guide)

• Toyama Airport: getting into ToyamaTrains, buses, fares and lockers