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Tampopo (Tanpopo)

A pair of truck drivers, Gorō and his younger colleague Gun, stop at a nondescript roadside ramen noodle shop. Outside, Gorō rescues a boy who is being beaten by three schoolmates. The boy, Tabo, is the son of Tampopo, the widowed owner of the struggling ramen shop, Lai Lai. Inside, a customer called Pisuken harasses Tampopo, demanding that she sell the shop. Gorō suggests Pisuken be quiet so he can enjoy his meal, then provokes a physical confrontation. Gorō puts up a good fight but, outnumbered by Pisuken and his men, he is knocked out and awakens the next morning in Tampopo's home.

The next morning, she cooks breakfast for Gorō and Gun in her home kitchen and sends Tabo off to school. While eating breakfast, Tampopo asks for their opinion of her ramen, Gorō and Gun tell her it is "sincere, but lacks character." After Gorō gives her some advice, she asks him to become her teacher. They decide to turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle soup making". She and Gorō visit her competitors and he points out their strengths and weaknesses. Still struggling to perfect the broth, Gorō takes her to a homeless encampment to enlist the "old master". When they rescue a wealthy elderly man from choking on his food, the man lends her the services of his chauffeur Shohei, who has a masterly way with noodles. Gun and his friends give Tampopo a makeover as a modern proprietress. During the transition, the group agrees to change the restaurant's name from "Lai Lai" to "Tampopo".

Unrelated vignettes of other characters are also intercut within the main storyline: