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The story
Nagoya-based ramen chain Sugakiya is reportedly opening its first store in Yokohama’s Midori Ward, marking its return to the Kanto region some 20 years after pulling out in 2006. Founded in 1946 and now operating about 250 locations across the Tokai region, the chain first entered Kanto in 1973 in Yokohama’s Kanazawa Ward, expanding to as many as 50 stores before withdrawing due to poor profitability. This time, the comeback takes the form of an outlet inside an Apita-affiliated shopping complex. Commenters on 5ch were split over several points: why the price differs between the ¥430 charged in Tokai and the ¥490 planned for Kanto, the choice of Nagatsuta and Honatsugi as store locations, and how to judge a business that feels less like a proper ramen shop and more like a snack stand.
Sugakiya was founded in 1946 in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, and is a ramen chain operating around 250 stores mainly across the Tokai region.
After opening its first Kanto store in Yokohama’s Kanazawa Ward in 1973, it expanded to roughly 50 locations at its peak, but withdrew from the region in 2006 due to weak profitability.
Shino Miyaji, Product Development & Marketing Department, Sugakico Systems
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
that's straight-up a ripoff.
Wait, what's going on?
Sugakiya's menu lists ramen at ¥430.
But the video on their site clearly shows ¥490.
So the same ramen costs different amounts in Kanto vs. Tokai?
And since this is being pitched as a "one-coin" deal, does that mean Kanto's ramen is actually priced above ¥500?
Probably just shipping costs, since it ships out from the Tokai factory.
Gyoza-no-Ohsho's dumplings are priced differently between east and west Japan too.
The toppings are skimpy too.
Still, I'm from Nagoya, so I eat it now and then.
But marking it up even further for Kanto? I don't see that flying.
Cheap or not, it's not a flavor that can stand on its own as a dish.
Sugakiya survived because it came up in an era when ramen broth in general was weak.
No way that works now — they won't turn a profit until today's kids grow up and it becomes a nostalgic flavor for them.
Two hours one way?! (゜o゜)
You'd be better off spending that time at a good local place instead.
Jealous that Nagaoka's close by for you.
That ¥290 price held steady for years, from the introduction of the consumption tax in 1989 all the way through the mid-2010s.
You can tell someone's age by what they paid for a single bowl of ramen.
Mine was ¥200.
Nagatsuta and Honatsugi, huh… they really picked some out-of-the-way spots. Why not go head-to-head right at Yokohama Station?
Rent's probably too high there.
Same reason chains like Joyfull or WEST end up in kind of awkward locations around Kanto.
The taste was less "ramen shop ramen" and more "supermarket food court ramen."
Even in Tokai, most locations were originally inside Uny or Jusco stores.
The one in Yokohama's Kanazawa Ward 20 years ago was also inside a Uny.
Wouldn't be surprised if PPIH (the holding company behind Don Quijote and Apita) ends up buying them eventually.
Umaya's a fried-rice joint, not ramen.
It's ramen for women and kids. Or really more of a snack.
If a guy walks in hyped up thinking "so THIS is Nagoya's famous ramen!" expecting to fill up, he usually walks out disappointed.
It was basically off-limits to men to begin with.
No no — the kayaku gohan (seasoned mixed rice) is tasty too, and so is the soft-serve.
There's a Ferris wheel behind the Red Brick Warehouse, so is this around the TV tower area?
Calling this "Nagatsuta/Atsugi" is pretty much false advertising.
Actually, where exactly in Nagatsuta is this?
The area in front of the station was being redeveloped, last I knew.
Can't count on that — the Apita in Nagatsuta is ridiculously far from the station.
They're not even targeting transfer passengers.
It's at Kaede Walk, 1.7km from Nagatsuta Station.
https://walk-uny.com/kaede-walk/access/
In Saitama, most of them were inside Chujitsuya stores.
There was one inside a Nichii too.
There was a standalone store in Kawagoe, which was pretty unusual in itself. Around 1999, I think.
Pulled out of Kanto in '99.
Then in '05 a standalone store reopened in Nishi-Waseda, right in the middle of a ramen battleground, only to pull out again about a year later.
No idea what that random, isolated store was even trying to accomplish.
Not something you sit down and eat in a restaurant.
I don't really get that reaction.
It's not a high-end restaurant, so putting one in Minato Mirai would be the weird choice.
Sugakiya is meant to be a quick snack to grab while you're out shopping.
That's the niche it's always filled in the Tokai region.
Now you've gone and made an enemy not just of Sugakiya, but of Poppo too (another Tokai regional snack chain).
Old neighborhoods have long had Japanese-sweets shops and dango stalls that also served light meals like ramen or yakisoba, and a few still hang on quietly even in Tokyo (there's even one in the upscale neighborhood of Takanawa).
This is just that same tradition — the traditional sweets just got swapped out for soft-serve.
Wasn't good.
I was shocked to see a line forming only at the Sugakiya counter in a Nagoya food court.
What's going on with their taste buds?
Hakata's ¥290 ramen looks way more appetizing.
Hakata, Nakasu-Kawabata
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Sugakiya is a long-running chain founded in Nagoya in 1946 that now runs about 250 stores across the Tokai region. It entered Kanto in 1973 with a store in Yokohama’s Kanazawa Ward and grew to roughly 50 locations at its peak, but pulled out in 2006 after failing to turn a profit — making this launch its first attempt back into the region in about 20 years. Discussion in the thread split mainly along two lines. The first is pricing: the ramen costs ¥430 in Tokai but is set at ¥490 in Kanto, with some commenters pointing to shipping costs as the cause, while others noted that regional price gaps exist at other chains too, such as Gyoza-no-Ohsho’s dumplings. The second is how to categorize the store itself: some saw the choice of Apita-affiliated shopping complexes in Nagatsuta and Honatsugi as “out in the sticks,” while others argued that a soft-serve-and-penny-candy-style snack business is actually better suited to a shopping-center location than a standalone storefront. What’s easy for readers to miss is that Sugakiya was never meant to be a serious, stand-alone ramen restaurant — in Tokai it has long occupied the niche of a quick snack you grab while out shopping. Without that context, it’s hard to see where either reaction — “the flavor’s weak” or “that’s exactly the point” — is actually coming from.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “First Store to Open in Yokohama’s Midori Ward — Ramen Chain Sugakiya Returns to Kanto After 20 Years.”
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