In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle-soup making". Interspersed are satirical vignettes about the importance of food to different aspects of human life.

Tsutomu Yamazaki
as Goro

Nobuko Miyamoto
as Tampopo

Ken Watanabe
as Gun

Koji Yakusho
as White Suit Man

Rikiya Yasuoka
as Pisken

Kinzō Sakura
as Shohei

Hyōe Enoki
as Pisken's Henchman

Gō Awazu
as Pisken's Henchman

Mario Abe
as Restaurant Owner

Izumi Hara
as Old Woman Pressing Camembert Cheese
CinemaSerf
Nobuko Miyamoto is the eponymous lady who runs her small noodle bar always with the same regulars and... well it's all just a bit routine. That is until "Gorô" (Tsutomu Yamazaki) and his young sidekick "Gun" (Ken Watanabe) arrive and decide they are going to help her realise her dream to improve her...