Ramen Expo 2026 – Suita, Japan

Overview

Ramen EXPO in Osaka is the biggest ramen festival in Japan. Ramen is known as one of the national food of Japan, favoured by people from all over the world.

The first Ramen expo started in 2013, and each time was a success, attracting more than 110,000 people. Make sure to come on an empty stomach and the delicious smell of the ramen will sure entice you.

The event is spread across multiple sessions in November and December. Starting in 2013, festival organizers have brought the Ramen Expo to life each December in Bampakukoen, aka the Expo ’70 Commemorative Park. Now held four times in December, each weekend plus an extended time around Christmas holidays, the expo offers visitors a chance to try ramen from world-famous shops all over the country.

Each weekend has a different set of 10 vendors, so you could theoretically try 40 different bowls of ramen. Organizers offer prizes if you collect enough stamps from vendors. Pokemon, ramen style, gotta try them all. Other attractions aside from ramen also take place, including wadaiko drum and other acoustic music performances, as well as comedy shows by the local Yoshimoto comedy.

The highly popular Ramen Expo will be held at the Expo Commemoration Park. Approximately 10 popular ramen shops will gather at the park each day. With just one visit, you can savor a variety of ramen dishes. Additionally, the Expo Commemoration Park is also hosting an illumination event called Illuminate Expo. Enjoy the warmth of ramen while admiring the winter illumination of the Tower of the Sun.

What Makes This Food Event Special

What makes Ramen Expo special is its scale, format, and location in one of Japan’s largest parks.

Biggest Ramen Festival in Japan: Ramen Expo in Osaka is the biggest ramen festival in Japan, attracting more than 110,000 people each time, with some editions reaching over 150,000 visitors. The first Ramen expo started in 2013 and each time was a success, getting better and better every year.

Multiple Sessions with Different Shops: The event is spread across multiple sessions in November and December. Each weekend has a different set of 10 vendors, so you could theoretically try 40 different bowls of ramen across the entire expo period. This means you can visit multiple weekends and never eat the same bowl twice. The format allows you to check off different bowls on your ramen bucket list.

World-Famous Shops from All Over Country: The expo offers visitors a chance to try ramen from world-famous shops all over the country, from Hokkaido to Oita, Okinawa to Aomori. You get chance to try ramen from parts of Japan you probably won’t be able to visit, including remote regional champions and Tokyo cult favorites.

Expo ’70 Commemorative Park Location: One of the best parts of this delicious festival is location. Bampakukoen is absolutely massive, over 260 hectares. The 1970 World Expo was held here so site is enormous. During World Expo park was covered in presentation sites and country pavilions. After Expo everything was dismantled, but you can still see plaques on ground where pavilions once stood. Now they have Lalaport EXPOCITY which is Japan’s largest complex with movie theater, shopping center with over 300 stores, and tallest Ferris wheel in Japan, Redhorse Osaka Wheel towers over park at 123m tall.

Illumination and Full-Day Experience: The festival is cleverly timed to coincide with Illuminate Expo illumination and light-mapping display on Tower of the Sun. The highly popular Ramen Expo will be held at Expo Commemoration Park, and you can enjoy warmth of ramen while admiring winter illumination. Many visitors make it full-day event: show up mid-morning, get bowl of ramen, explore park, get another bowl, ride Ferris wheel, walk around marketplace, get fries or karaage, get another bowl.

Food, Cuisine & Specialties

The cuisine is ramen in all its regional diversity, plus festival sides.

Regional Ramen Styles: Each vendor represents different prefecture and style:

Hokkaido Ramen: Miso-based ramen with rich pork and chicken broth, thick wavy noodles, topped with corn, butter, and chashu. From Sapporo and Asahikawa champions.

Oita and Kyushu Tonkotsu: Creamy white pork bone broth, thin straight noodles, with black garlic oil, chashu, and green onions. From Oita, Fukuoka, and Kumamoto.

Osaka and Kansai Shoyu: Soy sauce based ramen with chicken and pork broth, medium noodles, featuring special Nagoya chicken broth and local soy.

Tokyo Tsukemen and Mazesoba: Dipping noodles and dry mixed noodles with thick concentrated soup.

Specialty Ramen: Cutlet ramen which comes with crispy pork cutlets and miso-based soup like Menya Nakahira’s famous bowl, cheese-covered ramen, and limited collaboration bowls created just for expo.

Sides: This year ramen expo introduced gyoza tickets along with ramen ticket system. They were $3.30 per ticket based on 500 yen and gyoza vendors lined one side of festival grounds. Other snack vendors include karaage fried chicken, long potato mashed potatoes formed into super long fries and deep-fried with toppings like chocolate sauce plus sprinkles, baked sweet potatoes, crepes, cakes, strawberry daifuku mochi with sweet bean paste and strawberry inside, and fries.

Toppings: Most stalls offer additional toppings for extra cost such as extra chashu, seasoned egg, extra noodles, cheese, and spicy miso.

Beer: Inside tented area you will also find beer vendor, serving draft beer and chu-hai to pair with ramen.

Chefs, Restaurants & Food Vendors

The vendors are top ramen shops from across Japan, rotating each session.

Approximately 10 Shops Per Session: Approximately 10 popular ramen shops will gather at park each day, with total of 40 different shops across all sessions. Shops are selected from famous ramen magazines, Tabelog rankings, and regional champions.

Past Participants Include: Menya Nakahira with cutlet ramen, shops from Hokkaido, Oita, Osaka, Tokyo, and other regions. Each shop brings its master chef and team, cooking in large temporary kitchens with gas burners and massive stockpots.

Famous Chains and Independents: Both famous chains with multiple locations and tiny independent shops with one location participate, giving chance to try cult favorites.

Gyoza and Side Vendors: Alongside ramen shops, gyoza vendors line one side of festival grounds, offering pan-fried gyoza, cheese-covered gyoza, and creative gyoza with toppings.

Stage and Market: Handmade market stalls inside venue selling crafts, ramen goods, and souvenirs, plus small stage by eating area where you might see anything from comedian duos to pop princesses performing, including wadaiko drum performances and comedy shows by local Yoshimoto comedy.

Food Experience

The food experience is slurping, social, and festive.

Ticket System: Inside ramen expo you can enter venue for free, you buy tickets for however many bowls of ramen you want. Tickets were significantly cheaper than past years, used to be $5.30 based on 800 yen a bowl, but now $4.30 based on 650 yen a bowl, with discounts for purchasing multiple tickets. For example, 4 tickets for $16.00 based on 2400 yen. Once you have tickets, you line up at whichever stall strikes your fancy.

Seating: There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating to slurp your noodles. Inside tented area you will also find beer vendor. Outside, there is small stage by eating area and you might see performances.

Full-Day Slurp: Many visitors make it full-day event: show up mid-morning, get bowl of ramen, explore park, get another bowl, ride Ferris wheel and walk around park more, get another bowl, walk around marketplace, get some fries or karaage, get another bowl, then leave. The delicious smell of ramen will sure entice you.

Stamp Collection: Organizers offer prizes if you collect enough stamps from vendors, encouraging trying many bowls.

Illumination Pairing: Held annually and timed to coincide with Ramen expo, huge LED illumination and light-mapping display on Tower of the Sun makes for great night out. You can enjoy warmth of ramen while admiring winter illumination.

Eco Stations: Eco-stations trash recycling spots are bigger and better than ever, with places to recycle just about everything, as festivals like this generate lot of waste due to people trying many different foods.

Date & Schedule

Location: Suita, Japan

Official Period: Late Nov – Late December 2026 (Dates TBD)

Ramen EXPO in Osaka is held across multiple sessions in November and December, with event spread across multiple weekends plus extended time around Christmas holidays.

Typical Schedule Based on Previous Editions:

Duration: Event typically runs for 5 to 6 weekends from late November to late December, such as December 12 to 15 and December 20 to 25 as in 2013 edition, or four weekends in December plus Christmas week. Each session lasts 3 to 4 days, usually Thursday to Sunday.

Daily Hours: Ramen is served from 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM each day, with ticket sales until 8:00 PM. For more details, official site www.ramen-expo.com posts exact times.

Sessions: Each weekend has different set of 10 vendors, so Session 1 late November has different shops than Session 2 early December, Session 3 mid-December, Session 4 late December around Christmas. You could theoretically try 40 different bowls across all sessions.

Stage Schedule: Wadaiko drum and other acoustic music performances and comedy shows by local Yoshimoto comedy typically run from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM with breaks.

Illumination: Illuminate Expo illumination runs after sunset, typically 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM, coinciding with ramen expo evening hours.

Last Day: Final day usually ends earlier, around 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Visiting this event? Don’t miss out on these amazing activities and local experiences while you’re here.

Location & Venue

The venue is Japan’s most famous expo park in Suita City, Osaka.

Expo ’70 Commemorative Park – Bampakukoen – Senri Banpaku Koen: Address is 2-1 Senribanpakukoen, Suita City, Osaka 565-0826, Japan, also listed as 10-1 Senri Expo Park, Suita, Osaka. Venue is Senri Banpaku Koen, Suita City, Osaka, at Expo Commemoration Park. Osaka Banpaku Park is extremely famous for its specially built Sun Tower, Tower of the Sun, designed by artist Taro Okamoto.

Facilities: Park is absolutely massive, over 260 hectares, with wide open lawns, paved event plazas, museums, koi ponds, art installations, cafe, Ferris wheel Redhorse Osaka Wheel tallest in Japan at 123m, Lalaport EXPOCITY shopping complex with over 300 stores, movie theater, and treetop boardwalk taking 20 to 30 minutes to top lookout with 360 degree view of Osaka.

Ramen Expo Area: Ramen expo venue is in open plaza area near Tower of the Sun, with tented eating areas, stage, ticket booths, and market stalls. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating.

Atmosphere: Park was made in late 60s, so Tower of the Sun looks like someone on acid decided to make biggest sculpture ever. During winter, projection mapping on Tower of the Sun after dark looks trippy and is popular. Park has Christmas lights everywhere in December.

Accessibility: Park is flat and accessible with paved paths, accessible toilets, and elevators to Ferris wheel.

Getting to the Event

Getting to Expo ’70 Commemorative Park is easy via monorail.

By Train: Once you arrive at Bampakukoen by transit, take Osaka Monorail to Bampaku-kinen-koen Station, 2 minutes walk to park gates. From Osaka Umeda, take Osaka Metro Midosuji Line to Senri-Chuo then monorail, or JR to Ibaraki then monorail. From Kyoto, take Hankyu to Minami-Ibaraki then monorail.

From Kansai Airport: Take Nankai to Namba then Metro and monorail, about 90 minutes total.

Park Entry: It costs $1.70 based on 250 yen for adult to enter park gates. From there, you have access to park grounds including ramen expo venue. Inside ramen expo you can enter venue for free.

By Car: Parking spots available at Expo Park parking lots, costing $6.00 to $8.00 per day based on 1000 to 1200 yen, but spaces fill quickly on weekends, so train is advised. From Suita IC on Meishin Expressway, 5 minutes to park.

Bus: Direct buses from Osaka Station and Shin-Osaka Station to Expo Park during festival season.

Where to Stay Nearby

Suita and Osaka offer many hotels near expo park.

Near Expo Park: Hotels such as Hotel Hankyu Expo Park, located at park entrance, is most convenient. Prices $80.00 to $140.00 per night. Also nearby are hotels in Senri-Chuo area.

In Osaka City: Staying in Umeda, Osaka Station area provides easy monorail access. Hotels like Hotel Hankyu International, APA Hotel Osaka Umeda, and many business hotels range $60.00 to $150.00 per night.

In Suita and Ibaraki: Business hotels near Minami-Ibaraki and Ibaraki Stations, such as Toyoko Inn and Route Inn, $50.00 to $80.00 per night.

Booking Tips: December is busy due to illumination and ramen expo, so booking 2 to 3 weeks ahead for weekends is recommended. Weekdays are less crowded.

Things to Do Before or After the Event

Combine ramen expo with Osaka winter attractions.

Illuminate Expo Illumination: Held annually and timed to coincide with Ramen expo, huge LED illumination and light-mapping display on Tower of the Sun makes for great night out just short train ride away from Osaka. Projection mapping after dark is must-see.

Lalaport EXPOCITY and Ferris Wheel: Next to park, Lalaport EXPOCITY is Japan’s largest complex with shopping center with over 300 stores, movie theater, and tallest Ferris wheel in Japan. Redhorse Osaka Wheel towers over park at 123m tall, with glass-bottomed carriage.

Expo ’70 Commemorative Park Exploration: Park itself has museums, koi ponds, art installations, cafe, and treetop boardwalk. Walk around park and look for plaques on ground where pavilions once stood during 1970 World Expo.

Osaka City: Visit Umeda Sky Building, Dotonbori for more ramen, Osaka Castle, and Kuromon Market for street food.

Minoh Falls: Nearby Minoh Park has waterfall and hiking trails, beautiful in late autumn.

Restaurants & Local Food to Try

Beyond ramen expo, Suita and Osaka offer more ramen and local foods.

Osaka Ramen Shops: Try Osaka’s famous ramen shops outside expo: Jinsei JET, Moeyo Mensuke, and other Tabelog top shops.

Expo Park Food: Inside park, try baked sweet potatoes, crepes, cakes, and other festival snacks.

Suita and Osaka Local Foods: Try takoyaki octopus balls, okonomiyaki savory pancakes, and kushikatsu fried skewers, Osaka’s famous foods.

Ramen Ticket with Fireworks: Special event Ramen Ticket with Fireworks Viewing Pass: Night of Art in Expo Sky offers luxurious experience where you can savor delicious ramen while enjoying beautiful fireworks blooming in night sky. At special venue in Expo Commemoration Park, enjoy collaboration of exquisite gourmet dishes from popular ramen restaurants gathered from all over country and artistic fireworks show launched in sync with music.

EXPOCITY Restaurants: Lalaport EXPOCITY has over 300 stores including many restaurants offering everything from sushi to Italian.

Dietary & Food Allergy Information

Ramen contains common allergens.

Allergen Information: Ramen broth typically contains pork, chicken, fish including dried sardines, kelp, and may contain shellfish. Noodles contain wheat and may contain egg. Toppings include pork chashu, seasoned egg, and may contain shellfish. Soy sauce contains soy and wheat. Some ramen contains sesame and dairy.

Gluten: Ramen noodles contain wheat, so gluten-free ramen is not standard. Some visitors with gluten sensitivity toss noodles and eat rest, choosing ramen that doesn’t use much soy sauce. Gluten-free options are very limited.

Vegetarian and Vegan: Most ramen contains pork and chicken stock, so vegetarian options are limited. Some shops may offer vegetable-based ramen but rare at expo.

Halal: Halal-certified ramen is not typically available as most contain pork and sake. Some vegetable-based ramen may be closer but certification unlikely.

Language Support: Menus primarily in Japanese with pictures and English names. Staff speak basic English. Translation apps help. Ticket booth staff can explain.

Ticket Information

The Ramen Expo uses ticket system for ramen plus park entry.

Admission: Inside ramen expo you can enter venue for free, but you need to enter park gates first. It costs $1.70 based on 250 yen for adult to enter Expo ’70 Commemorative Park. From there, you have access to park grounds including ramen expo venue. Park entry ticket sold at park gates.

Ramen Pricing Based on Previous Editions:

Ramen Tickets: Inside ramen expo, you buy tickets for however many bowls of ramen you want. Tickets were significantly cheaper than past years, used to be $5.30 based on 800 yen a bowl, but now $4.30 based on 650 yen a bowl, with discounts for purchasing multiple tickets. For example, 4 tickets for $16.00 based on 2400 yen. Each ticket covers one bowl of ramen.

Gyoza Tickets: Gyoza tickets $3.30 per ticket based on 500 yen per ticket.

Additional Toppings: Most stalls offer additional toppings for extra cost $0.70 to $2.00 based on 100 to 300 yen.

Side Foods: Karaage fried chicken $3.00 to $5.00, long potato $3.00 to $4.00, strawberry daifuku $2.00 to $3.00, beer $3.00 to $5.00.

Payment: Ramen tickets purchased with cash at ticket booths inside expo venue. Some booths accept electronic payment like IC cards. Bring cash in small bills.

Discounts: Discounts for purchasing multiple ramen tickets, such as 4 tickets for 2400 yen instead of 2600 yen.

No Reservation Needed: No reservation needed for general entry and ramen. Simply arrive, pay park entry, buy ramen tickets, and queue at stalls.

Official Event Information

Event Name: Ramen Expo, also known as Ramen EXPO in Osaka and Osaka Ramen Expo

Location: Suita, Japan, specifically Expo ’70 Commemorative Park, Bampakukoen, Senri Banpaku Koen, 2-1 Senribanpakukoen, Suita City, Osaka 565-0826, Japan, and 10-1 Senri Expo Park, Suita, Osaka

Access: By Osaka Monorail to Bampaku-kinen-koen Station, 2 minutes walk to park gates, park entry $1.70

Format: Biggest ramen festival in Japan with approximately 10 popular ramen shops gathering at park each day, spread across multiple sessions in November and December, each weekend different set of 10 vendors, total up to 40 different bowls, plus wadaiko drum performances, comedy shows, illumination event Illuminate Expo

Organizer: Ramen Expo Executive Committee, Expo ’70 Commemorative Park Management, and local sponsors

Official Website URL as Text: en.japantravel.com/osaka/ramen-expo/33713 and www.ramen-expo.com

Additional Official Information as Text: expo70-park.jp/event/72435/ for park events and japancheapo.com for Illuminight at Banpaku Park

Contact: Expo ’70 Commemorative Park via official site expo70-park.jp and Ramen Expo official site ramen-expo.com

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