UTSUNOMIYA, TOCHIGI PREF: The city government of Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, has launched a project to help potential settlers open ramen noodle shops there.

The municipality has already received inquiries from over 30 people wishing to move to Sano, whose key local specialty is ramen. It will solicit candidates by around summer.

In the city, about 150 restaurants serve Sano ramen, known for its chewy, wrinkled noodles made with a traditional method using a thick green bamboo to press the dough.

On weekends, long lines of customers, including those from outside Tochigi, are formed in front of popular Sano ramen shops.

The Sano government will help potential settlers find ramen shops for their training, introduce vacant stores, give lectures on business know-how and offer other support needed to open a ramen restaurant in the city.

It expects that recipients of the assistance will settle down in Sano as ramen shop managers.

The city also hopes that the project will make it easier for Sano ramen shop managers to find successors and help decrease the number of vacant stores in downtown areas.

Currently, Sano is collecting opinions from local ramen shop workers to choose the shops where potential settlers will be trained.

A local ramen shop employee welcomed the project, saying, "Raising the whole level of Sano ramen will lead to the revitalization of the industry."

"It's good to have someone take over the traditional taste," said a worker of a ramen shop seeking its successor.

The project is commissioned to a private company. It will establish an organization to support migration to Sano and new business launches, make a video featuring a local ramen shop owner and hold an event to make noodles using green bamboos.

JIJI Press