A smartphone app developed by a ramen lover has proven a hit among fellow noodle enthusiasts, providing them with insight into the most popular bowls being slurped across Japan.
Sapporo-based software developer Toru Domon says he also wants to help foreign visitors who come to Japan in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to find good ramen shops with his app, Mainichi ga Ramen, or Ramen Every Day.
The app serves as a database of ramen shops nationwide, as well as a social network for ramen lovers. Domon, 52, says it "accurately shows the popularity of ramen bowls as they are ranked based on the number of bowls consumed rather than scores given by contributors."