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Ramen is one of those foods that is usually either a hit or a miss. We know places in Tokyo where you can get a great bowl of ramen for 500 yen and places that charge you 1,000 yen for something you could probably make better yourself with instant ramen from the convenience store.
In a perfect world, customers would be able to choose how much they pay for food based on the satisfaction derived from it. But alas, a perfect world it is not. Or is it? (It’s not)
Good news for ramen lovers out there, though. On July 25 a ramen shop opened in Tokyo that lets customers choose how much they pay for their meal after eating it!
Aptly named “Nedan no nai Ramenya” (The Ramen Shop with no Price), the restaurant works on the premise that customers shouldn’t have to pay any more than what they believe a meal is worth.
After eating, customers write the price they think the ramen deserves on a slip of paper and hand it to the staff at the register. And here’s the crazy bit: you don’t even have pay the amount you thought your meal was worth. They just want to know how much you would pay for it.
Of course, they do need to turn a profit and are probably banking on the conscientiousness of the Japanese people to keep them afloat. Try this in any other country and you’d be cleaned out in days.
Our correspondent Kuzo visited the restaurant on opening day and reports: “The soup uses a sweet soy sauce base and seems more tailored to female tastes. The noodles are on the soft side, which is also preferred by women. Overall, it’s your standard soy sauce ramen but those looking for something with more of an impact might find it lacking.”
Kuzo also tells us the ramen didn’t come with any toppings. Perhaps they’re playing it safe with costs until they get a feel of customers’ overall willingness to pay.
So how much did Kuzo end up paying for his meal? “It’s a secret.”
Nedan no nai Ramenya is open until Wednesday Aug 7 and admits a limited number of customers starting from 10:30, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00 every day.
■ “Nedan no nai Ramenya” (The Ramen Shop with no Price) Address: Shiodome NTV Plaza (In the Shiohaku event site) Access: JR Shimbashi Station, Yurikamome Shimbashi Station, Toei Oedo Line Shiodmoe Station, Toei Asakusa Line Shimbashi Station (More info and map here) Website: http://nedannonai-ramen-ya.jp/
© RocketNews24
9 Comments
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Badge213
So I'm totally confused after reading this article. It says:
So you don't pay how much you think it costs? they just want to know how much you would of paid for it? So you pay the regular price set by the restaurant? So I say I think this ramen is worth 350 but in reality it cost 500yen, I pay 500yen then? But if I say it's worth 500yen but in reality it cost 350 then I just pay the 350?
But the article also says:
So if I say 500 but it really costs 350, I still pay 500yen?
The article should be more clear on this structure!
Scott Stull
No, you pay whatever you want. If I ate a bowl of ramen and didn't like it, I could walk out and no pay. If I really like it, but I don't have that much money, I can say it was worth 1,000 Yen, but I only have 350. Or I could say it was worth 350 Yen and pay that.
A+b/a=a/b≡?
In early October 2007, the English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, made a small announcement on their website that fans could "pay what you want" for their anticipated 'In Rainbows' album. This was in response to the controversy of paying for music online versus pirated downloads. While 1.2million downloads were made, lower than anticipated, it seemed the band actually made money. But.... they never tried this again, and subsequent bands who have attempted it have failed miserably. My point... I question the survivability of such an idea for long-term profits. Guess time will tell.
sf2k
without clarity you cannot plan ahead or even buy supplies or pay staff or know how many staff you can afford. It's a nice PR gimmick but eventually the price will be made. Perhaps it should be seen as a marketing survey without the survey. In that, it is a good idea, but not for the survival of the business.
BurakuminDes
ab is spot on - I remember Radiohead doing this a few years back, asking their customers to pay what they thought was fair. They made money too. However apparently this system would "only work in Japan" - foreigners are just not "conscientious" like the Japanese:
Umm - it has been tried in "other countries" Mr Simonitch - and funnily enough the businesses were not "cleaned out in days." Are you seriously suggesting the Japanese are fair-minded whereas non-Japanese are not?
mrmalice
put that place here in a city it'd be flooded with homeless i think
nath
The website says that the Ramen is free. They just want to know what you would pay for it.
Given that, and looking at the pic above, my guess is that this is just a marketing campaign for a new brand of instant ramen. Or a renewed push for "Maruchan Seimen" (ok the romanization of that word sounds disturbing "マルちゃんマルちゃん正麺" - supposedly one of the tastier instant ramens out there.
After a few weeks they will announce that its just instant ramen, and available in your supermarket for 80yen a pack.
nath
Oops, doubled up on the マルちゃん. Either way, that type of ramen is one i wouldnt spend money on a trainfare for. I'd rather get a proper, solid offering from any of the Menya Musashi range, Ramen Jiro, Benkei Ramen etc. Even an 'expensive' ramen is only 1000yen, so not worth skimping out on flavour to save a few hundred yen.
Sachoo1
Try this in any other country and you’d be cleaned out in days. Specially here in New Zealand. All the HOBOS will be in thier doorsteps every hour.