It's not an uncommon thing for restaurants to use clever pictography or themed-phrasing to designated their "Men's" and "Women's" restrooms. Japanese Twitter user Katsumi Nobuto (@dembumpaku) recently stumbled upon a pun they felt compelled to share recently, however, posting a photo the two restrooms they found in a ramen shop with the caption "This is the first time I've gone to a ramen shop and been impressed by something other than the taste."

Source: @dembumpaku

The division of both restrooms hinges on a Japanese pun. In Japanese, the word for "noodles" is "men" (麺), and so the kanji is placed above the word "Men" on the Men's Room signboard. The Women's Room also has a pun to display it's name, combining the "men" of "noodles" (麺) with the kanji for "delicious", which is "uma" (旨). When placed together, these kanji can be read out phonetically as "ウーメン", or "women."

Even among native Japanese speakers, many on Twitter originally did a double take but were amused and impressed by humorous restroom signage (found at ramen shop Odawara Tanmen in Kanagawa prefecture), as well as the playful demeanor of those who run ramen stores.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.