Nagoya Ramen Festival

The Tokai region’s largest ramen event, the Nagoya Ramen Festival, returns this year with an impressive lineup of 30 ramen shops divided into three stages. Beginning February 3, visitors can explore a wide variety of bowls from across the region and beyond, with each stage featuring 10 different vendors.

Event Dates:

• Stage 1: February 3–8

• Stage 2: February 10–15

• Stage 3: February 17–23 (national holiday included)

Among the many participating shops, two standout restaurants — Ramen mellow and Ramen Burai — have been selected as official “Ultimate Ramen” produced vendors, curated by the well-known Pia MOOK food series 『究極のラーメン』 (Ultimate Ramen).

“Ultimate Ramen” is a respected annual ramen guide published by Pia Inc., offering a comprehensive look at must-try bowls across several regions. The Tokai edition highlights around 430 ramen bowls, including 91 notable new openings, organised by areas such as Nagoya, Owari, Mikawa, Gifu, Mie, and Hamamatsu.

The guide is popular not only for its detailed shop coverage but also for its extensive reader benefits, including: 16 half-price coupons (2026 edition); “Men Pass” (麺パス): a one-year discount passport usable at 58 shops; The annual Ultimate Ramen AWARD, now in its 14th year, recognising top ramen restaurants across the Tokai region.

Because of its trusted editorial selection and large influence, the Nagoya Ramen Festival regularly collaborates with Ultimate Ramen to introduce specially produced shops each year.

Featured “Ultimate Ramen” Shops

Stage 2 – Ramen mellow

Ramen mellow is renowned for its signature broth made from just pork bones and water, creating a rich yet exceptionally clean tonkotsu flavour. For the festival, the shop presents a special bowl: a super-rich tonkotsu sauce enhanced with back fat and black soy sauce, paired with wide, extra-thick handmade noodles. The bowl is generously topped with tender simmered pork, offering a deeply satisfying and addictive flavour profile — one of the owner’s proudest creations.

Stage 3 – Ramen Burai

Making its first appearance at the festival, Ramen Burai is the flagship restaurant of Aichi’s well-known “Bu-series” ramen shops. Its limited festival bowl combines homemade miso from its sister shop Buryu, Iwate duck, and Burai’s signature whole-grain roasted noodles. Topped with duck mince, low-temperature-cooked pork chashu, and aromatic grilled negi (Welsh onion), this luxurious miso ramen delivers a deep, richly layered flavour.

Tickets are priced at 1,000 yen per bowl when purchased at the venue, while advance tickets are available for 950 yen through Ticket Pia. Buying in advance allows visitors to bypass ticket machine lines for quicker and smoother entry.

The festival is open daily from 10:30 to 20:30, with the last order taken at 20:30. On the final day of each stage — February 8, 15, and 23 — the event closes earlier, running from 10:30 to 18:00, with last orders at 17:45. The festival will be closed on February 9 and February 16 for stage changeovers.