Title：Buy or Rent? Which Is Better for In-House Noodles — Start from ¥62,000/Month

For anyone running a ramen shop, the biggest headaches are your monthly costs and the money that actually stays in the business (your profit).

Maybe you think, “I know switching from purchased noodles to in-house noodles is cheaper — but paying a few million yen for a machine is scary.”

The truth is, you no longer have to force yourself to buy a noodle machine outright.

With the option of “rental from ¥62,000 a month,” you can grow your shop’s profit from the very first month without draining your savings.

In this article, we explain clearly which is the best deal: purchased noodles, buying a machine, or renting one.

1. About ¥30 cheaper per serving: the money in-house noodles create

First, let’s use a familiar example to calculate how much you can save by making your own noodles.

The cost difference between purchased and in-house noodles

• Noodles bought from a noodle maker (purchased noodles): about ¥60 per serving
• Noodles you make yourself (in-house noodle ingredient cost): about ¥30 per serving (flour, water, kansui, etc.)

When you make your own noodles, about ¥30 more stays in your hands every time you sell a serving.

For example, let’s consider a shop that serves 200 bowls of ramen a day.

• Daily profit increase: ¥30 × 200 servings = ¥6,000
• Monthly increase (25 business days): ¥6,000 × 25 days = ¥150,000

In other words, simply switching to in-house noodles works out to ¥150,000 more kept in the business each month — about ¥1.8 million a year.

2. Buy or rent? A thorough comparison of three ways to get started

Now that the benefits of in-house noodles are clear, let’s compare the three ways to obtain a noodle machine.

① Buying a new or used machine

You pay a lump sum (roughly ¥1.5–2.5 million) up front to own the machine.

• Upside: it becomes your property, so there are no monthly payments.
• Watch out: it takes a large amount of cash up front, so the risk is higher right after opening or when you don’t want to deplete your savings.

② Renting a machine (from ¥62,000 a month)

You pay a fixed amount each month and keep the machine in your shop to use (see the machine rental details here).

• Upside: no big up-front payment. Even after paying the rental fee (about ¥62,000) out of the money you save each month (the ¥150,000 above), you’re still left with about ¥88,000 in the black.
• Watch out: a fixed monthly rental fee applies.

③ Buying a refurbished used machine for quick delivery

You buy a professionally inspected used machine at a lower price, delivered “in as little as one week” from your order.

• Upside: cheaper than new, and you can start making noodles right away without delaying your opening.
• Watch out: because they’re popular, the exact model you want isn’t always in stock.

3. Conclusion: which option fits your shop best?

The best choice changes depending on your shop’s finances and your management philosophy.

Shops we recommend “rental (from ¥62,000/month)” for

• Shops that have just opened and want to keep as much cash on hand as possible.
• Owners who want to avoid risk and think, “First I want to try in-house noodles for a year and see if it really turns a profit.”

Shops we recommend “buying new or used” for

• Shops that already have financial room and want zero monthly payments while using the machine for the long term.
• Shops in a hurry that want to install a machine right now — “in as little as one week” — and start cutting costs from tomorrow (a used machine is ideal).

Summary: start by calculating “how much you’ll save”

Introducing in-house noodles is not a matter of difficult technique.

It’s a simple piece of management sense: “reduce your monthly supply costs and increase the money that stays in the business.”

Feel free to talk to us about anything on your mind — “how much would my shop save each month?” or “which quote is cheaper, rental or purchase?”

At our “one-day free ramen school” held in Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo, you can also touch the machines in person and ask our specialists directly.