Tenkaippin Day for the ramen lovers

October 1st is "Tenkaippin Day" . Tenkaippin is a popular ramen chain, nationwide, that is headquartered in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. This commemorative day was established by Tenichi Foods Co., Ltd., the company that operates Tenkaippin and the date of the anniversary comes from the play on words for Tenichi; ten for the tenth month to mean 'heaven' 天, which is the first kanji in Tenkaippin 天下一品, and "ichi" (1) for the first of the month, as ichi is the Japanese for one.

Tenkaippin is known for its rich, thick chicken stock-based soup ramen. The day is quite well known among ramen lovers, because since 1999 the company have a "Tenkaippin Festival" every year on the 1st of October to express their gratitude to customers. You can find posts on social media with either the hashtag "#天下一品の日" or "#天一祭り", which mean "Tenkaippin Day" and "Tenkin festival". 

Have you been to a Tenkaippin ramen restaurant before? The one pictured is one of many in Tokyo. Or maybe you have tried the Tenkaippin flavored Baby Star chips or the Tenkaippin flavored Karaage Kun from Lawson?