Former Japanese national team soccer star Keisuke Honda loved a delicious bowl of ramen so much that he complained he was getting much more than his money's worth.

"Ramen shop. 730 yen is too cheap (for a bowl of noodles) that delicious," Honda, 36, tweeted on Jan. 9 after enjoying a bowl. "It should be raised a little. I mean, prices should be raised in various industries. The next time I eat ramen, I'll pay 2,000 yen."

The tweet ignited a heated online debate over ramen, many of which are served for 1,000 yen ($7.60) or less per bowl in Japan--nearly half the price of those offered in New York.

Although there is a tendency for ramen prices to rise, dining-out expenses have remained low in Japan, leading to a widening gap between home and abroad.

With workers also earning low wages, there are voices of concerns that Japan is "too cheap."

DIFFICULT TO RAISE PRICES IN JAPAN

Honda's tweet elicited a wide variety of responses.

One Twitter user wrote, "I can't pay more than 1,000 yen," while anther tweeted: "Ramen should cost 2,000 yen and Japanese people's salaries should be two or three times higher ... In either case, it's too cheap."

That same month, Andes Lee, 23, a corporate worker from New York, ordered a set menu comprising a bowl of ramen, gyoza dumplings and a bowl of rice for 990 yen at the Ginza branch of the Ippudo ramen chain in Tokyo's Chuo Ward. 

Lee said with a smile that the ramen tasted special when it was prepared in Japan.

The Ippudo group operates 142 stores in Japan and 137 outlets outside the country.

In New York, where prices are particularly high, the least-priced ramen is served for $18, excluding tax and tips.

Lee added that he felt he should spend more overall because everything was too cheap in Japan.

However, due to rising prices of raw materials and other factors, ramen prices are also on the increase in Japan.

In July 2022, Ippudo increased the prices of its ramen dishes by 30 to 40 yen each.

Its signature dish, Shiromaru Classic, is now sold for 820 yen, including tax.

But even after the price hikes, all dishes are priced below 1,000 yen.

"It's not easy to raise prices," said Ayumi Oguri, a publicist for Ippudo.

DEMAND FOR HIGH-END RAMEN

Meanwhile, some dining establishments catering to wealthy visitors from abroad have started serving high-end ramen.

At the Peninsula Tokyo, a five-star international luxury hotel in the capital's Chiyoda Ward, a ramen dish created in collaboration with Ippudo has been served as a room service offering since 2019.

It is currently priced at 5,000 yen a bowl, including tax and service charges.

The special dish comes with a wooden box containing 12 original toppings such as seaweed for diners to add their favorite flavors.

"It has been well-received by customers from around the world," Oguri said.

The Ritz-Carlton Nikko, located on the shores of Lake Chuzenjiko in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, started offering a 5,800-yen ramen dish in January.

Jointly developed with the popular Afuri noodle chain, it is served in bowls specially made by Mashiko ware artisans and cooked with locally produced ingredients.

The hotel offers rooms at rates starting at around 100,000 yen per night and accommodates many wealthy visitors from abroad.

"We created the dish without making compromises to cater to customers from home and abroad who prefer real things," a public relations representative said. "It generated a huge response and is selling more than expected."

DISAPPOINTED IN WEAK YEN

Japanese corporate employees working overseas feel most acutely the price disparities of ramen served in Japan and elsewhere around the world.

"I used to eat ramen casually in Japan, but it costs 2,000 yen per bowl in Los Angeles," said a 50-year-old female company employee who was transferred to the U.S. city from Tokyo about a year ago.

Citing rising consumer prices, the Los Angeles city government raised the minimum wage to $16.04 last year.

"But not only my salary remains the same but also it continues to decrease in value because of the weak yen," she sighed.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average wage of Japanese workers in 2021 grew only by 6.3 percent since 1990, significantly lagging behind the United States and Britain, which saw an increase of 53 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

"Every time I go back to Japan, I am surprised to see how cheap dining out is," said a 35-year-old Japanese woman who works in the United States. "While I feel happy about it, I also become anxious when I think about the future of Japan."