The Economics of Ramen Shops in Japan

Came across this video on BoingBoing and got sucked in. It’s not quite all about food production, and looks a bit more into the economics and business of running a Ramen shop in Japan.
Came across this video on BoingBoing and got sucked in. It’s not quite all about food production, and looks a bit more into the economics and business of running a Ramen shop in Japan.
Back in 2018, there was a fan film made starring Fillion as Nathan Drake (the main character from the Uncharted games). And it was fantastic. And it’s all I can think about now, because Fillion just really embodies Drake’s character to me – it’s hard to not imagine him in this role.
Liz and I talked about going out to see the waves from Lake Michigan during the afternoon, but we were both just too busy. So we ended up hopping in the car around 5PM, to go have a look before things got too dark.
“His mates have ditched him.
He’s missed his train home.
And he wants to talk.
I want to sleep.
It’s gonna be a long night.”
One of his props has definitely made the round. Watching this video, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for at first… but when I realized what was going on, I had a good laugh:
I didn’t think it’d happen to me, but I got sucked into Squid Game. I wasn’t a fan of all the violence/gore, but eventually found the entire premise and unfolding story too compelling.
I’ve been a fan of Sandman ever since my friend Dipti introduced me to it, back when I was an undergraduate at Indiana University. I spent many a lovely evening, leaving my shift at the public library… walking over to the neighborhood comic store, buying a collection… and then spending a few hours on the front steps of my house, reading as the light faded to dusk.
At one segment: there were Highland Cows in the road. And I mean literally in the road. At least two of them were actually taking a nap, right on the road.
Our guide drove up to them slowly, and stood up on her ATV as a means to get their attention and to get them to move. A few did (begrudgingly and slowly) move along.
One of many fields we passed by. I say again without hyperbole, if I stopped every time I wanted to take a photo… we would have never gotten very far.
It was actually difficult for us to stop walking, as we were looking for a “lookout” spot… but never quite convinced we passed it. There always seemed to be something more just around the next corner, something worth walking another 100 yards just to see.
We waited so long, in fact, that we were at risk of missing our ferry to Jura (it’s a short distance, but we wanted to get over to the island for as much of the day as possible). I really hauled on the drive from Bruichladdich to Port Askaig – and just floored it on the straightaways (where it was just a single lane, and I could clearly see no one else was around).
This tasting was one of the most enjoyable ones of our whole trip. Many of the casks in this particular warehouse were “experimental,” and the whole tasting process/group was friendly and fun and really enjoyable.
Today: a big travel day for us. We have a series of ferries to catch, and two islands to visit, as we make our way to our next hotel.
It’s fun to listen to his thought process, and to also share in his excitement and glee, as he goes about the course. I’m really curious now how many trails there are like this out in the world, and who exactly sets about creating them for others to enjoy?
I know the YouTube channel is chock full of neat projects. But what I really need to do is track down the “making of” videos for all his storage and tool builds!