Tokyo Ramen Festa

Ramen shops from around the country set up in the central plaza of Komazawa Olympic Park in Setagaya, Tokyo, for five days at the turn of October and November. Twelve are taking part, among them shops that have come in earlier years.

This is the last one. The festival has been held in this park since 2009, and the organisers have said that 2026 ends its run here, which is why the year carries the word final.

The organisers set out to bring together ramen that is rarely to be found in Tokyo: the ramen of particular places, some of it long established, some of it recent work by shops building a local style out of ingredients grown or caught nearby. The shops serve what they serve at home rather than a simplified version of it.

This year the food comes out of kitchen cars rather than tents. Ramen is paid for by ticket, one ticket to a bowl, which keeps cash off the stalls. Tickets bought at Seven-Eleven this year carry a number for a draw, and a winning number is exchanged at the ground for a further bowl.