EU Ramen Odyssey
From Nagano to Mongolia (Ulaanbaatar), and then to France (Paris)
“Takesan,” the Paris ramen shop that remains incredibly popular even a year after opening
I visited “Takesan” in Paris, which opened in May 2024, for the first time in a year, accompanied by the owner of the franchise headquarters.
Paris is the second country where we’ve opened a location, following Ulaanbaatar.
Although we can track sales figures from Japan, the main purposes of this visit were to assess the on-site situation, check ramen quality, create marketing content, and scout locations for a second store.
Ramen bowls priced at 18 euros (3,100 yen) are flying off the shelves. Although it is a small shop with about 40 seats, it attracts over 400 customers on weekends.
I cannot go into the specific details of the factors behind its success, but I believe it is largely due not only to the location and pricing but also to the uniqueness of this ramen and its cultural narrative.
These are the very points that the Paris franchise owner kept emphasizing during his inspection visit to Japan.
