Tampopo
“The first Japanese Noodle Western.”
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.
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Cast
32 people
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Goro
Known for
Kagemusha
Departures
Nobuko Miyamoto
Tampopo
Known for
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
House of Ninjas
Ken Watanabe
Gun
Known for
Inception
The Last Samurai
Koji Yakusho
White Suit Man
Known for
Perfect Days
The Boy and the Beast
Rikiya Yasuoka
Pisken
Known for
The Toxic Avenger Part II
Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally
Kinzō Sakura
Shohei
Known for
A Taxing Woman's Return
Madadayo
Hyōe Enoki
Pisken's Henchman
Known for
Shōgun
Gō Awazu
Pisken's Henchman
Known for
Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally
Mario Abe
Restaurant Owner
No other roles listed
Izumi Hara
Old Woman Pressing Camembert Cheese
Known for
Pastoral: To Die in the Country
Profound Desires of the Gods
Isao Hashizume
Waiter
Known for
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Tokyo Family
Hisashi Igawa
Running Man
Known for
Ran
Pitfall
Jūzō Itami Director · Kunihiko Murai Composer Masaki Tamura Cinematographer
Budget $1.5M · United States release May 22, 1987 · Produced in Japan
Box office
Budget
$1,500,000
Production
New Century Producers
Production
Itami Productions
Production
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
タンポポ
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Japanese
Release dates
Japan · November 23, 1985
Theatrical
United States · May 22, 1987
Theatrical
United States
October 21, 2016 · Limited theatrical · New York City, New York
January 9, 2017 · Premiere · Palm Springs International Film Festival
Brazil
January 1, 1986 · Theatrical
Germany
May 25, 1989 · Theatrical
Netherlands
October 6, 1988 · Theatrical
August 16, 2018 · Theatrical · 4K restoration
Portugal
January 2, 1986 · Theatrical
South Korea
December 17, 2025 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
July 4, 1994 · Theatrical · VHS
May 1, 2017 · Physical · BD
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Some details come from TheTVDB.