Picture yourself savoring a sumptuous bowl of noodles in a restaurant that was once a place where people filled up their automobile tanks.
Japan’s hot and staple ramen found a new home in ageing and abandoned gas stations, and Japanese ramen lovers are deciphering the amusing trend on social networking site Twitter.
One Japanese social media user snapped a photo of Kyoto-based ramen bar Tenkaippin, which used an antiquated gas stop for its branch.
https://twitter.com/go_jerrodmustaf/status/773173287346053122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Drawn to the trending topic in town, another user posted a portrait of another branch of the popular ramen restaurant, set up in a former gas station at Tachibanacho in Hyogo Prefecture, Japanese pop site Rocket News reported.
@HigashinadaKobe 近くの尼崎立花店もGSの居抜きです。 pic.twitter.com/X8ZaooHt6d
— M.Kawakami (@KawakamiRakugo) September 7, 2016
In another user’s tweet, Hokkaido-based ramen chain Sanpachi was sighted serving “full tank” of ramen soup to its customers.
.@go_jerrodmustaf @roku572 こちらが北海道でチェーン展開するラーメンさんぱちの店舗です。こういう店舗は他県でも見かけますし、見た目はともかく荒天に強そうでいいですね pic.twitter.com/woJVhdsinm
— alex (@alex8774b) September 7, 2016
Local ramen stops are not guilty of this money-saving trick: Even foreign franchises also utilize old gas stations for their branches, such as American ice cream giant Baskin-Robbins, popularly known as “31” in Japan.
https://twitter.com/zekamasilvia/status/773466693259685888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Lastly, another user shares photos of former gas stations in “Chibaragi,” or Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures. Today, they are used as business havens for locals.
https://twitter.com/kaketenambo/status/773355899830140928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to Rocket News, recycling and restoring unused areas is a way to conserve space, serve as an umbrella for parked cars, and save money on demolition. Gianna Francesca Catolico/rga
