hacker culture and ramen
patio11: You can get ramen at all price ranges and levels of quality, even in the grocery store.  The cheapest stuff in America goes for about 25 cents per person per meal, so it is well-known among college students and the like as an inexpensive way to stave off hunger.My limited experience with it in Japan is that I prefer store-bought udon (which is generally sold fresh) to store-bought ramen (which is generally sold dried), but I'm sure if I looked at my noodle aisle more closely I could find a million permutations.  Be that as it may, I can't eat ramen anymore without feeling like I'm cheating on the sweet old guy who runs the ramen shop by my old apartment.