Restaurants

Japanese subway style automated restaurant serves ramen in California

Image: Adobe Stock.

April 17, 2023

Ramen lovers in a hurry can pick up bowls of tonkotsu from an Automat style machine near Brooklyn Basin in Oakland, California, according to a report in The San Francisco Standard.

JR Ramen Station is designed like a Japanese train station and offers two sets of vending machines offering ramen, soft drinks and snacks.

The customer experience is mostly unattended.

A television screen displays a Japanese subway map with train arrivals announced on a loop to simulate a train ride.

Once an order is placed, an iPad dispenses a receipt with an order number. Within minutes, the number flashes above a pickup window. A human attendant then places the food in a cubby hole, after which a robotic voice states: "Please take the meal."

The shoyu costs $15.50, compared to about $25 at a traditional ramen restaurant.