Ramen's rise to global prominence has taken many forms: Japanese noodle shops debuting to great acclaim overseas, from Sydney to Honolulu to London; the proliferation of English-language ramen blogs; international chefs incorporating elements of the dish into their cuisine.
Now, the worldwide interest in ramen has been captured in an official study. Yahoo Japan, in collaboration with the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum and The Japan Times, has conducted a survey of fans known as The World Ramen White Paper Project.
Featuring responses from 676 ramen fans in 44 countries, the white paper represents the first systematic attempt to gauge the global love affair with Japanese noodles. Responses arrived from such far-flung places as Singapore and Brazil, Indonesia and Italy. Although many of the participants live in Japan, the vast majority reside abroad.