Ramen Vending Machine?

In front of Shinagawa train station is a heaven for Ramen lovers. As you walk down the street, you can enter a narrow "Ramen Mall", a collection of different Ramen shops with a wide variety of specialities. The picture above shows a map of the mall.

I chose a ramen and found the shop. Then, I was faced with the vending machine below. These machines are a common way of ordering food at low cost ramen shops. It is not for the faint of heart.

You put in your money and then select the buttons for your specific ramen, additional toppings, and any side dishes. It wouldn't be a difficult task if the buttons were in English. It's a little harder when everything is in Japanese.


I picked out the ramen I wanted from a poster nearby and found the button with the similar Chinese characters. I know how to write gyoza in Japanese, so that wasn't a problem. At the bottom of the vending machine, a couple of small tickets popped out. I took them to the waitress and picked out a table.

A few minutes later, I had my dinner. Got to love those gyoza.