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> But for the price that it is usually sold at in western cities

What are those prices specifically? In Barcelona (one of those western cities, imo) at a good ramen place, you get Gyozas for ~5 EUR, and a nice ramen for ~12-14 EUR, add a drink and you end up with ~20 EUR per person, which strikes me as relatively affordable for eating out, but maybe the metropolitan prices have biased me over time. Is this expensive/cheap compared to the other cities you've tried ramen in?

> BTW, you can also replicate the form factor using western cooking ingredients/traditions and it still works pretty well.

Isn't that just a stew at that point? How is it still ramen if you switch out all the ingredients and the broth that makes ramen ramen?

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> But for the price that it is usually sold at in western cities What are those prices specifically?

In Barcelona (one of those western cities, imo) at a good ramen place, you get Gyozas for ~5 EUR, and a nice ramen for ~12-14 EUR, add a drink and you end up with ~20 EUR per person, which strikes me as relatively affordable for eating out, but maybe the metropolitan prices have biased me over time. Is this expensive/cheap compared to the other cities you've tried ramen in?

About $20 for a medium bowl in my not very fancy area of Miami.

A large delicious Tonkutsu in North Hollywood pre-covid was $15.

The online restaurant listings, at least in the States, have been usurped by arbitragers. Expect a 30% or higher surcharge for online orders, if you yourself pick up.

Nice Ramen sold at 14 EUR are those prices. In Japan, you can have a nice hinge quality bowl of Ramen for around 7-8 EUR.

Besides fast food, isn't it always like that though? Of course Japanese food is cheaper in Japan, but I bet Spanish food is more expensive there than in Spain? Or Peruvian food being a lot more expensive in Europe compared to in Peru itself, it kind of makes sense.

yes, that is the case.

But I think the point is that paying 7€ makes it a pretty good deal, at 14€ for "a bowl of soup" it becomes a meh experience.

Similarly, as an Italian abroad, I can get a decent pizza margherita in Budapest, but it costs 12 euros and I get upset every time, you shouldn't spend that much for a bit of dough and mozzarella :)

Cries in London

Comparing price tags across Japan and the west is kind of meaningless now considering how much the yen devalued. I don't think the prices would look that good for a Japanese person paid in yen.

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