Yes! Ramen soup in heated cans coming to Japanese vending machines and convenience stores

Sure, canned coffee is great and all, but this is what we’re really craving.

There are three ways you can tell it’s autumn in Japan: the humidity drops off, the leaves change color, and hot drinks appear in vending machines. Those are all wonderful in their own ways, but it’s the third one we’re focusing on today.

It’s not just cans of hot coffee and tea that you can buy from Japanese vending machines either. Corn potage soup is another hot fall/winter favorite, but last year saw the release of something even more enticing in the form of canned ramen broth soup. Not only that, it was made in partnership with Ippudo, one of Japan’s favorite tonkotsu (pork stock) ramen chains.

As with many of Japan’s more unique food and beverage innovations, canned Ippudo soup was a limited-time item, but now comes the happy news that it apparently sold well enough to prove people weren’t just buying it for the novelty. So not only is it coming back, it’s going to be available in many more places than it was before!

Previously, Ippudo Tonkotsu Ramen Soup (as the canned variety is called) was only available at Acure vending machines, i.e. the vending machines inside JR East train stations. This year, though, it’ll also be offered at New Days, JR’s chain of station attached convenience stores which often has branches located outside the ticket gates, meaning you won’t have to be hopping on a train in order to get your fix. Ippudo Tonkotsu Ramen Soup will also be sold through the Acure and Ippudo online shops (here and here), and JR says they’ll be expanding its availability to areas outside east Japan too.

▼ We’ve spent the past year looking wistfully at this photo of our Ippudo Tonkotsu Ramen Soup can from last year, but soon we’ll be able to hold a new, full one in our hand instead!

It’s worth pointing out that the Ippudo Tonkotsu Ramen Soup isn’t just a straight can of ramen broth. Instead, it’s based on Ippudo’s signature Shiromaru tonkotsu broth, but with a little tinkering to the recipe so that it still delivers the taste fans know and love, but works as a beverage to sip on its own, as opposed to something meant to be paired with noodles.

Ippudo Tonkotsu Ramen Soup is priced at 150 yen (US$1.05) and goes on sale in Acure vending machines and online October 11, and at New Days branches November 1.

Source, top image: PR Times
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