Vegetarian and Ramen

ANSWER

The broth at a typical ramen shop is built over hours from pork bones (tonkotsu), chicken carcasses, or both, even when the bowl looks like a simple soy-based soup with no visible meat on top. There are dedicated vegetarian and vegan ramen shops in most major cities, but they are a small, deliberately-labeled minority — not something you can assume a random shop offers. Asking staff to substitute the broth rarely works, because it's usually made in a large batch hours before service and isn't something a single order can change. If vegetarian ramen matters to you, look specifically for shops that market themselves that way (often labeled 'vegan ramen' in English, or ヴィーガン/精進 in Japanese) rather than hoping a standard shop can accommodate you on request.