Over Half of Support from North America, 906% Achieved: Yamagata's 3 Century-Old Companies' "Sarachu Dried Noodles" Overseas Crowdfunding Project to Promote Yamagata's Food Culture "Soba-ya no Ramen" Globally and Build Sales Channels with Local Businesses
Saraya Shokudo Co., Ltd., in collaboration with Marujyu Ohya and Tarobei Soba Honpo, successfully concluded their Kickstarter project for "Sarachu" dried noodles, achieving 906% of their goal with over half of the support coming from North America. This marks a significant step in promoting Yamagata's unique "Soba-ya no Ramen" culture globally.
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- 📰 Published: May 2, 2026 at 04:00
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Chuka Soba (Chinese noodles) that inherit Yamagata's beloved food culture.
Saraya Shokudo Co., Ltd. (Sagae City, Yamagata Prefecture, Representative Director Kazumi Saraya) is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of its Kickstarter project for the original dried noodles "Sarachu," a collaborative effort with Marujyu Ohya, a leading soy sauce manufacturer in Yamagata, and Tarobei Soba Honpo, a long-established noodle maker with over 100 years of history. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all who supported us, offered words of encouragement, and helped disseminate information.
Over half of the support for this project came from the United States. Among Kickstarter projects launched in Japan (where the creator's address is in Japan), this ramen project currently boasts the top share.
We believe this success is due to people in the U.S. who are interested in Yamagata ramen seeing videos of Sarachu and being enticed to try it.
The project began as a challenge to deliver the taste of "Soba-ya no Ramen," which Saraya Shokudo has preserved for many years, to both domestic and international markets as a shelf-stable dried noodle product called "Sarachu," by combining it with Marujyu Ohya's soy sauce and Tarobei Soba Honpo's traditional noodle-making techniques. Yamagata has a unique noodle culture where soba restaurants serve ramen, rooted in a local dining culture and a long history of soy sauce, noodle, and dashi (broth) making. We aimed to not just sell this food culture as a mere product, but to pass it on to the next generation as an asset of Yamagata's food culture and disseminate it to the world.
Thank you very much for your generous support.
On Kickstarter, we received a total of 2,719,399 JPY in support from 284 backers. We take this result seriously as a testament to the technology and trust cultivated by the three companies over more than 100 years, and the empathy for Yamagata's food culture itself.
Rather than letting this achievement be a fleeting topic, we aim to make it a catalyst for increasing awareness of "Soba-ya no Ramen" as Yamagata's food culture throughout Japan and spreading it worldwide. Moving forward, we will work to build overseas sales channels, disseminate information both domestically and internationally, and collaborate with various local businesses to enhance Yamagata's brand value.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/saraya-shokudo/taste-100-years-of-yamagata-ramen-tradition-in-your-own-home
Scenes from a parent-child event
Future Activity Plan
1. Short-term Development (within 1 year)
After the Kickstarter project concludes, we will first proceed with building full-scale domestic and international sales channels. Simultaneously, we will strengthen our efforts to raise awareness of Yamagata's brand, leveraging its identity as "Ramen Prefecture, Soba Kingdom" through the unique food culture of "Soba-ya no Ramen." Additionally, we will widely publicize this challenge as an example for local businesses to domestic media and relevant parties, fostering a model for new challenges by regional companies.
2. Medium- to Long-term Development (2-3 years)
In the medium to long term, we aim to deepen collaboration with other food culture businesses within Yamagata Prefecture, not just Saraya Shokudo alone, to enhance and integrate regional brands. Specifically, we are considering holding collaborative events with local producers, employment support providers, and food-related businesses. This will promote the expansion of the related population centered on food, the circulation of the regional economy, and the creation of communities where Yamagata's food culture can be experienced.
3. Basic Policy for Event Hosting
Our basic policy for future events is to host them with a focus on regional involvement, rather than as events completed solely by our company. With "Sarachu," born from the collaboration of Saraya Shokudo, Marujyu Ohya, and Tarobei Soba Honpo, as a core, we will work with diverse local stakeholders to foster venues that comprehensively convey Yamagata's appeal. Our goal is to share the stories of the region through food and transform Yamagata's brand from a "point" to a "surface."
Future Schedule
Period
Content
Late March to April 2026
Project completion report/gratitude message, full-scale preparation for manufacturing and shipping
April to May 2026
Quality confirmation, strengthening domestic and international outreach, planning regional collaboration measures and collaborative events
Mid-June 2026
Scheduled start of reward shipping
Late June 2026
Scheduled start of general sales in Japan (pre-sales on own e-commerce site)
Summer 2026 onwards
Promotion of overseas sales channel construction, measures to popularize "Soba-ya no Ramen," concretization of collaboration projects with regional businesses
Representative's Comment
Tradition woven with passion in every bowl
Kazumi Saraya, Representative Director, Saraya Shokudo Co., Ltd.
"We are deeply grateful for the support received for this initiative."
Saraya Shokudo Co., Ltd. (Sagae City, Yamagata Prefecture, Representative Director Kazumi Saraya) is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of its Kickstarter project for the original dried noodles "Sarachu," a collaborative effort with Marujyu Ohya, a leading soy sauce manufacturer in Yamagata, and Tarobei Soba Honpo, a long-established noodle maker with over 100 years of history. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all who supported us, offered words of encouragement, and helped disseminate information.
Over half of the support for this project came from the United States. Among Kickstarter projects launched in Japan (where the creator's address is in Japan), this ramen project currently boasts the top share.
We believe this success is due to people in the U.S. who are interested in Yamagata ramen seeing videos of Sarachu and being enticed to try it.
The project began as a challenge to deliver the taste of "Soba-ya no Ramen," which Saraya Shokudo has preserved for many years, to both domestic and international markets as a shelf-stable dried noodle product called "Sarachu," by combining it with Marujyu Ohya's soy sauce and Tarobei Soba Honpo's traditional noodle-making techniques. Yamagata has a unique noodle culture where soba restaurants serve ramen, rooted in a local dining culture and a long history of soy sauce, noodle, and dashi (broth) making. We aimed to not just sell this food culture as a mere product, but to pass it on to the next generation as an asset of Yamagata's food culture and disseminate it to the world.
Thank you very much for your generous support.
On Kickstarter, we received a total of 2,719,399 JPY in support from 284 backers. We take this result seriously as a testament to the technology and trust cultivated by the three companies over more than 100 years, and the empathy for Yamagata's food culture itself.
Rather than letting this achievement be a fleeting topic, we aim to make it a catalyst for increasing awareness of "Soba-ya no Ramen" as Yamagata's food culture throughout Japan and spreading it worldwide. Moving forward, we will work to build overseas sales channels, disseminate information both domestically and internationally, and collaborate with various local businesses to enhance Yamagata's brand value.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/saraya-shokudo/taste-100-years-of-yamagata-ramen-tradition-in-your-own-home
Scenes from a parent-child event
Future Activity Plan
1. Short-term Development (within 1 year)
After the Kickstarter project concludes, we will first proceed with building full-scale domestic and international sales channels. Simultaneously, we will strengthen our efforts to raise awareness of Yamagata's brand, leveraging its identity as "Ramen Prefecture, Soba Kingdom" through the unique food culture of "Soba-ya no Ramen." Additionally, we will widely publicize this challenge as an example for local businesses to domestic media and relevant parties, fostering a model for new challenges by regional companies.
2. Medium- to Long-term Development (2-3 years)
In the medium to long term, we aim to deepen collaboration with other food culture businesses within Yamagata Prefecture, not just Saraya Shokudo alone, to enhance and integrate regional brands. Specifically, we are considering holding collaborative events with local producers, employment support providers, and food-related businesses. This will promote the expansion of the related population centered on food, the circulation of the regional economy, and the creation of communities where Yamagata's food culture can be experienced.
3. Basic Policy for Event Hosting
Our basic policy for future events is to host them with a focus on regional involvement, rather than as events completed solely by our company. With "Sarachu," born from the collaboration of Saraya Shokudo, Marujyu Ohya, and Tarobei Soba Honpo, as a core, we will work with diverse local stakeholders to foster venues that comprehensively convey Yamagata's appeal. Our goal is to share the stories of the region through food and transform Yamagata's brand from a "point" to a "surface."
Future Schedule
Period
Content
Late March to April 2026
Project completion report/gratitude message, full-scale preparation for manufacturing and shipping
April to May 2026
Quality confirmation, strengthening domestic and international outreach, planning regional collaboration measures and collaborative events
Mid-June 2026
Scheduled start of reward shipping
Late June 2026
Scheduled start of general sales in Japan (pre-sales on own e-commerce site)
Summer 2026 onwards
Promotion of overseas sales channel construction, measures to popularize "Soba-ya no Ramen," concretization of collaboration projects with regional businesses
Representative's Comment
Tradition woven with passion in every bowl
Kazumi Saraya, Representative Director, Saraya Shokudo Co., Ltd.
"We are deeply grateful for the support received for this initiative."