Ramen is made in a completely different way. The soup sometimes takes days and weeks of boiling to make it properly. A cook uses a huge pot and puts in different ingredients at different times to get a specific flavor. Ingredients include ginger, fish, pig heads, bone, seaweed and mushrooms. When a customer orders ramen, the cook first boils the noodles. He or she then pours multiple soups made ahead of time into a bowl to make the perfect broth. Then he or she puts in the noodles and begins laying out toppings. Common ramen toppings include pork, spring onion and egg, but pretty much anything can go on top. After arranging the toppings nicely, the chef gives it to you. In Japan, you say itadakimasu (thank you for the meal) when you receive food, and gochisousamadeshita (I ate well) afterward. It is also considered polite to slurp ramen noodles, since that means you are enjoying the food!
Sushi is closely connected to Japan's environment. Since Japan is an island, it has easy access to a lot of different types of seafood. In fact, in the Edo period of Japanese history (1603-1868 AD), nobles only used to eat seafood because they thought eating land animals would make you turn into one! Therefore, almost all Japanese foods incorporate some form of seafood. In fact, I know someone who is vegetarian and came to Japan and had a lot of trouble finding food, because even dishes like boiled vegetables are boiled in fish broth.
Ramen is closely associated with the history of Japan. It was first brought to Japan from China in the early 1900s. At that time, it was considered food for working people, because it was cheap and they could eat it fast.
