Movie

Tampopo

“The first Japanese Noodle Western.”

★ 7.8(433)19851h 55m

Tampopo is streaming on Criterion Channel in Canada, and available to rent or buy on Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. Availability checked 24 June 2026.

Where to watch Tampopo

🇨🇦 Canada

Criterion ChannelStream

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YouTubeRent

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Good to know

Director: Jūzō Itami
Release date: 1985-11-23
Runtime: 1h 55m
Language: Japanese
Budget: $1,500,000
Status: Released
Country: Japan
Studio: New Century Producers

Tampopo — trailer

About Tampopo

Tampopo is a 1985 movie in the Comedy genre, directed by Jūzō Itami, starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe. It has a runtime of 1 hour 55 minutes. It holds an average rating of 7.8/10 from 433 viewers. Below you can see where to watch Tampopo in Canada — across streaming, rental and purchase options — along with the full cast, trailer and viewer reviews.

Synopsis

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.

Cast

Tsutomu Yamazaki

Goro

Nobuko Miyamoto

Tampopo

Ken Watanabe

Gun

Koji Yakusho

White Suit Man

Rikiya Yasuoka

Pisken

Kinzō Sakura

Shohei

Hyōe Enoki

Pisken's Henchman

Gō Awazu

Pisken's Henchman

Mario Abe

Restaurant Owner

Izumi Hara

Old Woman Pressing Camembert Cheese

Isao Hashizume

Waiter

Hisashi Igawa

Running Man

Themes & keywords

widowrestaurantbusiness womanrestaurant ownerbullyingsenseifoodtruck drivererotic vignetteshoodlumfoodiestealing recipeseastern philosophyramenfood culture