[Resident Interview] “Let’s make ramen.” We took a closer look at how a hobby that started with just those words has grown into a popular event that now draws more than 50 people!

Social apartments are community-oriented rental buildings that feature not only traditional living spaces but also well-equipped public areas such as lounges. They offer a new lifestyle that “broadens your horizons,” allowing you to enjoy a sense of community with fellow residents while maintaining your privacy.

Among these spaces, the island kitchen is one of the areas most frequently used by residents on a daily basis. Whether chatting while cooking or gathering around a meal together, natural interactions take place here.

Today, we’d like to introduce the “Ramen Gatherings” held regularly at Terminals Takatsuki, a 6-minute walk from JR Takatsuki Station.

“We want to eat ramen, so let’s make it ourselves!”

What began as a casual idea has now grown into a popular event that draws more than 50 people.

Fukushima from the Kansai Sales Department visited the site and spoke with the three organizers about how the Ramen Party began, why they continue to hold it, and the unique appeal of an event that could only be born in a social apartment.

The Three Organizers Behind the Ramen Gatherings

Taki, George, and Misaki, thank you for your time today.
First, could you please briefly introduce yourselves and tell us what roles you play in the Ramen Club?

Taki | In charge of cooking

Taki: I’ve been living at Terminals Takatsuki for about two years.
In high school and college, I attended schools specializing in nutrition and studied all aspects of cooking, with a focus on Japanese cuisine. I’m currently working in a different field, but I’m considering a career in the culinary industry in the future.On my days off, I’ve used the communal kitchen to make authentic tempura (matsugasa-age) and even filleted a whole fish to treat the residents to sashimi.

My role at the Ramen Gatherings is in charge of cooking. Together with George, I’m very particular about the ingredients—from deciding where to source the meat and fish to every other detail. Even if other members taste it and say, “This is so delicious,” I don’t consider it finished unless I’m fully satisfied with the flavor. “It’s still not good enough!” I’ll say that and keep making test runs and fine-tuning the recipe until the middle of the night (laughs).

George | Planning & Ingredient Procurement

George: I’ve been living at Terminals Takatsuki for about two years.
I originally moved in for work reasons. When I retired, I considered moving back to my parents’ house, but I enjoyed living here so much that I decided to stay. On my days off, I take photos, play the ukulele and guitar (which I recently started), and draw illustrations. I spend a lot of time in the lounge and kitchen.

At the Ramen Gatherings, I’m in charge of planning and sourcing ingredients. At first, I used to cook myself, but as the events grew in scale, I handed the cooking duties over to Taki. Now I handle the planning side of things, coming up with menu ideas and creating the illustrations for the day’s menu.

Misaki | Marketing & Design

Misaki: I’ve been living at Terminals Takatsuki for about four and a half years.
Currently, I’m juggling two jobs: youth welfare and graphic design. Since I’ve lived here for so long, I’ve actively interacted with residents from other buildings and expanded my network to include many people. I’m still in touch with former residents, so sometimes I invite them to the lounge for a meal.

I’m in charge of marketing for the Ramen Gatherings. I’ve reached out not only to residents of Terminals Takatsuki but also to residents of other properties and friends, creating a “friends-inviting-friends” dynamic. The event has now grown to attract about 50 people, and I use my graphic design experience to create promotional flyers.

How the Ramen Gatherings Began

It all started when George, drawing on his experience working on a ramen project with a community revitalization club during college, thought, “I want to make my own ramen.”

George: “I was hanging out in the lounge when it suddenly occurred to me, ‘I want to make ramen.’ So I made some a few days later. At the time, I really only made a few bowls and had Misaki-chan and Taki try them. To be honest, I invited them mainly to help wash the dishes!”

Here’s the duck ramen I made back then!
I’m still writing this article, but I’m starting to get hungry (lol).

And after we finished eating the ramen and were washing the dishes,

Taki: “Let’s make ramen together sometime.”
George: “Alright, let’s do it! What kind of ramen should we make next?”

With those words, the two hit it off. Then Misaki joined in, saying, “I want to eat delicious ramen, so I’ll do whatever I can.”
George’s planning skills, Taki’s culinary talent, and Misaki’s ability to attract customers. Each brought their own strengths to the table, and that’s how the current team was born.

Speaking about Misaki, George said,
“If it weren’t for Misaki-chan, I think we’d be making something other than ramen.”
“Having people who support us and keep us going makes a huge difference,” he adds.

It was precisely because of Misaki’s drive and ability to draw a crowd that the event didn’t end after just one gathering—it grew into an event that attracts many people.

From a handful of people to 50. It’s become more and more established with each event.

Let’s take a quick look back at past ramen gatherings!

1st Clam Ramen Gathering: About 15 people attended.

2nd Tsukemen (Niboshi & Tonkotsu): About 20 people attended.

To make authentic broth, we visited several supermarkets to gather bone-in meat and simmered it for 4–5 hours—the preparation process gradually became more serious.

3rd Event: Duck Ramen—About 30 people attended.

Because they wanted to use “whole-wheat noodles,” they reportedly went out of their way to order them online from a specialty noodle factory that supplies a ramen shop they were obsessed with during their college days.

4th Event: Sea Bream Ramen: About 40 people participated.

And for the fifth event, Abura Soba, a whopping 50 people participated!

――I think 50 participants is an impressive number—how did you attract so many people?
Misaki: At first, we only reached out to residents of Terminals Takatsuki, but word of mouth gradually spread, and more and more people started saying, “I want to try it!” Once we started inviting residents from other properties as well, the number of participants skyrocketed around the time we held the tsukemen and duck ramen events. I think a big factor was that participants spread the word among residents at their respective properties.
I also did my best to get people to try Takino Ramen, like by sending event invitations via LINE to each property! Now it’s become a popular event attended not only by Social Apartment residents but also by their friends.

How the Day Went

I, Fukushima, attended as well, so let me give you a detailed look at how the day went!

At 6:00 PM, residents naturally started gathering in the kitchen.

“Is anyone available to handle check-in?” “I’ll do it!”
“Should I write up the menu?” “Your handwriting is so neat—no surprise there!”
“Should I get the eggs ready?”...

Some wrote the menu, others set up the registration desk, and still others helped Taki-san with the cooking—everyone found something they could do and got to work.

A resident who used to study calligraphy took charge of writing the menu. George added some illustrations, and an original menu was completed. Taki even made the chili oil used in the dish himself; apparently, he wasn’t satisfied with the aroma of his first batch, so he adjusted the amount of garlic and other ingredients and remade it. Toppings are self-serve!

Seeing people with diverse experiences and skills working together to create a single event made me realize once again that this is a sight unique to a social apartment!

7:00 PM: Service of the abura soba begins
Participants who had checked in began entering the lounge one after another.
The venue was instantly filled with a lively atmosphere, thanks not only to residents of Terminals Takatsuki but also to participants from other social apartments in the Kansai region and friends of the residents.

What was particularly memorable was how, when Misaki called out, “Who wants an extra serving of noodles~?”,
“Yes!! We want some, we want some!” with incredible enthusiasm!

Even after finishing their ramen, conversations continued in the lounge,

“The ramen is always so delicious—I really look forward to it!”
“It was fun getting to know new people!”
"I wonder what we’ll make at the next ramen gathering!"
Everyone was already looking forward to the next event.

I also got to try Taki-san’s abura soba for the first time—the noodles were wonderfully chewy, and when mixed with the handmade chashu, pork back fat, egg, and special chili oil, it was absolutely delicious!

It’s not just the shared space itself that fosters connections—it’s the residents’ desire to “try something new” and the friends who enjoy it with them that allow new bonds to form.
What started as a ramen-making session with just a few people has grown with each session, attracting more and more participants and becoming such a popular event that it’s nearly reached the lounge’s capacity limit.

Challenges Faced While Running the Event

――Please tell us about the challenges you’ve faced with the ramen gatherings so far.
Misaki: As the events got bigger, managing the participants became more challenging. For the fifth event—the abura soba session—we received way more requests from residents across the properties than we’d imagined, so we had to quickly limit it to 40 servings, taking into account the amount of ingredients and the lounge’s capacity! But everyone helps out every time, which is a huge help.

George: Come to think of it, during the duck ramen event, a mistake while cooking rendered the duck meat we’d prepared unusable, so we had to rush to the butcher’s to buy additional ingredients at the last minute!
Since it happened right before the event, we ended up keeping everyone waiting, and the cost went up compared to what we’d planned, so I was really worried whether participants would still show up as scheduled.
At another event, to keep costs down—since delivery would’ve been expensive—Misaki-chan even rode her motorcycle all the way to the wholesale market to pick up the ingredients herself.

Taki: The hardest part, I’d say, is getting as close as possible to my own “ideal flavor.” Making authentic ramen requires a long preparation time, so that was probably the toughest part.For the tsukemen event, I went to various supermarkets to gather large pieces of meat on the bone and simmered them for four to five hours. Also, when making 40 to 50 servings, the pot we had in the lounge just wasn’t enough, so I finally bought a large stockpot! Honestly, I’d love to have another one.
Maybe I’ll buy another one for the next event.

Hearing “It’s delicious” from participants makes all the hard work worth it

――Finally, as you continue hosting these ramen gatherings, are there moments when you feel it’s all been worth it?
Misaki and George: The thing that makes us happiest is when people eat the ramen we’ve worked so hard to make and tell us, “This is delicious.” We also feel a sense of togetherness unique to this way of life when participants don’t just eat, but naturally pitch in with everything from preparation and check-in to cleanup.
It’s also great when they say, “I’ll help out next time, too.”

Taki: Being able to serve the food I’ve made to so many people is a huge joy in itself. While there are challenging parts, like prep work and fine-tuning the flavors, the participants’ smiles and hearing them say “It’s delicious” motivate me to make the next batch of ramen.

――Thank you so much for sharing such wonderful stories about the behind-the-scenes of the “Ramen Party”—which is loved by everyone—and the passion that goes into it. I’m looking forward to seeing these ramen parties, packed with your dedication, continue in the future!

From a Hobby to a Ramen Gathering: Next Stop, a Local Festival

Believe it or not, the three of them are currently preparing to set up a food stall at the “Takatsuki Festival,” a local festival held in Takatsuki City!
The menu item they’ll be serving is abura soba, which was a big hit at the Ramen Club events! Please take this opportunity to savor the abura soba made with love by the Takatsuki members!

Event URL: https://www.takatsuki-matsuri.org/

In this article, we introduced the thoughts of the three organizers behind the regular ramen gatherings held at Terminals Takatsuki, as well as what these gatherings are like and their future plans. What did you think?

What began as a hobby sparked by the simple desire to “eat ramen” has grown into an event that draws over 50 people within the complex and has even led to setting up a booth at a local festival.
Furthermore, they’re planning to serve tonkotsu ramen in October and tomato cream ramen inspired by Christmas colors in December.

A single person’s passion brings people together, expands their circle of friends, and leads to new challenges. Through this interview, I was reminded once again that this is one of the unique charms of this way of life.

People with hobbies find friends to enjoy them with.
Even if you’re thinking, “I want to start something new,” you might discover unexpected joys simply by joining in on someone else’s hobby.
Social Apartments are home to people of all ages, professions, and hobbies. Here, your “I’d like to try that” might just lead to a new connection with someone.

Why not start a new life at Kansai Social Apartment?

(Reporting and text: Fukushima; Photos: Fukushima and provided by residents)