The Ramen Girl.

I really didn’t want to like this film, watching it off Netflix streaming on a total whim. That being said, I completely do.

The plot concerns Abby (Brittany Murphy) whom gives up her life in the U.S. to chase down her boyfriend Ethan who has relocated to Japan. When she gets there, Ethan is less than receptive and ditches her – alone in Japan. Distraught, Abby does the logical thing and aims to satiate her sadness with a bowl of ramen (a really, really smart effort, I might add). Incidentally, this bowl of ramen is seemingly magical, as Abby and all the other customers cannot help but break into fits of laughter. This prompts Abby to try and become a Ramen cook under master Maezumi. The story is pretty much as you would expect from there: Abby struggles to deal with learning to make good ramen, failing at speaking the language, and dealing with the tough Maezumi-san.

In full disclosure, I completely relate to Abby. I’ve traveled to Japan for the sake of a relationship. Twice. Being lost in translation (thankfully, I don’t have that to worry about anymore) as well as heavy of heart can be brutally tough. However, enough of that rubbish…we’re here to talk about somewhere, not someone(s).

Whenever I watch this film, I can’t help but be reminded of 横浜「YOKOHAMA」where it’s filmed. Just so happens, that is without question my most favourite place on this world of ours. In particular, key scenes of The Ramen Girl are filmed at the 新横浜駅ラーメン博物館「Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum」which I have spent a great amount of time at, sampling ramen, ramune and various awesome crepes. I’ve even got sheepish pictures in front of the replica love hotel. Classy.

Anyway, because I’ve experienced these locations and emotions first hand, I very much love this silly, cute and even endearing romcom.