Thank you for visiting Minamino Shoten. I started this store with the desire to deliver the ramen and Japanese dried noodles that I love so much, in a way that transcends all boundaries, including national borders, languages, tastes, and dietary conditions.
I place so much importance on food that when asked what my priority is in life, I immediately answer, “Food.” My grandfather suffered from kidney failure and was advised by doctors to reduce his salt intake in order to survive, but he continued to eat whatever he wanted until the day he died, saying, “A life without delicious food is worthless.” . Inheriting his genes, I also began to be particular about food, and along the way, I fatefully encountered ramen and “dried noodles.”
When I started job hunting, the first words that came to mind were, of course, "food" and "noodles." To begin with, I ate three meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I started recording my own opinions. During that time, I came across an instant noodle maker whose noodles were particularly excellent, and got a job there. After 3 months of factory training, I learned the basics of instant noodle production, and then moved on to the sales department. I went on a food tour while calling it work, and also visited ramen shops all over Japan in my private time.
On the other hand, you will also learn about the crisis facing the dried noodle industry. This is due to the lack of a successor and lack of working capital. Dried noodles have a “drying” process after making fresh noodles, and it is necessary to prepare an environment where the temperature and humidity are thoroughly controlled. And the cost of maintaining the vast land and equipment for this purpose. However, because dried noodles are so common in Japan, the selling price is not high enough to cover these costs. Traditional techniques are declining because people try to adhere to the unwritten rule that “cheap and delicious food is the best.” I felt that such a composition had already been created.
Is it not possible to better reflect the attitude of craftsmen who are not arrogant but humble about their skills, who continue to train single-mindedly, and the value of that technology in the market and prices? Just as I was thinking about this, I was blessed with an opportunity to try a popular Japanese-style ramen shop run overseas by a local. Although the quality of these soups is uniformly impressive, for some reason they don't go well with the noodles (raw noodles). The reasons for this are that there are still only a few noodle factories in the area, that it is difficult to export raw noodles from Japan due to the expiry date, which is an important ingredient, and that it is difficult to make homemade noodles due to differences in water and lack of technology. It wasn't hard to imagine that.
What came to mind was the idea of exporting Japan's "dried noodles." Dry noodles, which have a texture comparable to fresh noodles and can be stored at room temperature for long periods of time, could contribute to improving the quality of noodles in overseas ramen businesses. At the same time, the average price of a bowl overseas is several times higher than in Japan, and the existence of dried noodles itself is still unknown, so it may be possible to break out of the low-profit, high-sales situation faced by Japanese noodle manufacturers. I came to the idea that this might be the case. However, as we do more research, we discover that cross-border food issues are a major barrier. The application process is mind-bogglingly complicated, and we have to deal with complex standards such as raw materials and additives that are prohibited for export, which vary from country to country. And we must continue to raise human resources and expenses to maintain the certifications we have obtained. Due to these factors, there were many small and medium-sized noodle manufacturers who had given up on exporting overseas.
We don't have many products at the moment, but we plan to collaborate with Japan's proud noodle makers and craftsmen to create wonderful dried noodles and ramen that people all over the world can enjoy. is. We will continue to make steady progress, step by step, so please stop by from time to time.
July 11, 2024
"Minamino Shoten" owner Maki Minamino
