Mid-1900s ramen stalls used a charumera, a small musical horn, to advertise their presence.
The charumera is a double-reed instrument whose name comes from the Portuguese word charamela, related to the shawm family of instruments. Its distinctive, penetrating tone carried through busy streets, making it useful for mobile food vendors announcing that they had arrived. Ramen stalls, known as yatai, became especially prominent in Japan after World War II.
The horn is closely associated with the traditional ramen-vendor melody, but it was not a Japanese drum, flute, or string instrument. Some modern vendors preserve the custom with loudspeakers and looped recordings rather than playing a physical horn. The melody also remains familiar through restaurant branding and popular culture, including ramen chains that use it as an audible signal for service.