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.

Kitagawa, a top salesman with an impressive record, is hiding a dark secret—he borrowed the 9 million yen of his record from loan sharks. One day, while being pursued by the yakuza, he escapes to a rooftop where he unexpectedly meets a mysterious elderly woman and an office worker. Soon, the rooftop transforms into a serene escape, as they find themselves playing nostalgic childhood games like "Kick the Can" and "Red Light, Green Light." But beneath the surface, all three of them are hiding a significant secret...