The YouTube channel 『しまこさんの家〜暮らしと手仕事〜』("Shimako-san's House - Life and Handicrafts") shows the relaxed lifestyle of Shimako-san, a Japanese woman who lives in what she describes as "a house like Ghibli" on top of a mountain, surrounded by nature.

Some of the comments on the channel, such as "This is the life of my dreams" and "So wonderful and relaxing" attest to its allure.

In this video, Shimako-san is enjoying a beautiful autumn day. Under the curious gaze of her cat, a tanuki stops by to visit. After feeding the 山雀 yamagara (known in English as the varied tit - Sittiparus varius) that have come to eat at her bird feeder, she begins cooking.

Today's meal is a nice hot steaming bowl of ramen just like the one in the Studio Ghibli film Ponyo!

She starts by soft-boiling two eggs. Then, she chops a bunch of negi (Welsh onions). Next, she pours a bit of cooking oil into a frying pan and cooks some ham. It's better to use whole ham slices here instead of square ones to make it look like the ramen in Ponyo. Then she peels the eggs and prepares them for the ramen.

Of course, you can't eat ramen without noodles. Shimako-san uses one of Japan's most famous and longest-selling instant ramen brands, Nissin's Chicken Ramen. It's convenient because it's pre-seasoned and only needs to be boiled in water to make.

Once the noodles are cooked, it's just a matter of placing the chopped negi, ham slices and soft-boiled egg into the bowl, and it's done!

Doesn't it look just like the ramen in the film?

Shimako-san then makes baked sweet potatoes using the flames of her wooden stove, or as she calls it, her own "personal Calcifer," a name Studio Ghibli fans will surely remember from Howl's Moving Castle.

If you're feeling hungry and want to try making some Ghibli food, this ramen is sure to hit the spot. Why not give it a try?


By - grape Japan editorial staff.