Everybody knows that Japan loves ramen. There are a whole host of ramen joints to be found from backstreet alleyways and department stores to glitzy shopping areas and rundown suburbs. Ramen, in some ways, is a way of life and an obsession for many. It’s genuinely an iconic Japanese dish. Every person has their own taste and style of ramen. For some, it’s miso or shio (salt) and for others it’s shoyu (soy sauce) or tonkotsu (a pungent broth made from pork bones). However, Pizza Hut Japan has introduced a new and potentially controversial way to enjoy your ramen: on pizza.
Get Your Ramen Pizza While You Can
If you have ever spent any time in Japan, you will also be aware that pizza is very popular too. There are so many pizza chains calling Japan home, including the big boys like Domino’s, Pizza-La and, of course, Pizza Hut. In a country that loves a collaboration, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that for a few weeks Pizza Hut will be collaborating with famed ramen restaurant Tenkaippin on a ramen pizza.
Tenkaippin currently ranks number one in the popularity rankings of ramen chains in Japan and has been in operation for roughly half a century. Its kotteri ramen has become its signature dish and involves soup with a rich texture and refreshing aftertaste. Apparently, the recipe is a closely guarded secret.
The Pizza Hut and Tenkaippin limited edition kotteri-fuu collaboration, which is available until February 12, comes in medium size only and can be picked up for a fairly reasonable price point of ¥1,980 yen or ¥2,230 for delivery. The toppings on this particular pizza include noodles, green onions and chashu pork and a sauce version of the ramen chain’s signature broth and Pizza Hut cheese with an extra sachet of sauce also available for consumers to add more soup to the pizza.
Japan’s Bizarre Pizza Toppings
To be honest, it sounds ever so slightly eccentric (that’s a nice way of saying awful), but if you take into consideration that pizza toppings tend to be odd for many foreign tastes, then it makes total sense. Previous limited-edition Pizza Hut toppings have included coriander (lots of it), with rival company Domino’s offering a fish and chips pizza in 2021.
Even regular pizza toppings sound weird to many foreign residents and visitors. Crab pizza anyone? Steak and shrimp? Mochi mentaiko? It often baffles me that anyone would actually eat these, but they seem popular enough, and it ultimately proves that the Japanese put absolutely anything on a pizza. I’m just waiting for a natto ice cream pizza or famichiki pizza (actually that one sounds quite good).
So, keep your eyes peeled for the next wacky collaboration, and who knows what the pizza chains will think of next in their never-ending quest to outdo each other.
