It is a fusion cuisine of Japanese culture and Chinese noodle cuisine, which came to Japan when many foreigners moved to Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki, and Hakodate when the ports opened in 1959 (at the end of the Edo period). It evolved from Nanjing Soba(南京そば), a Chinese noodle that was served at Chinese restaurants and food stalls in the foreign settlement. It is also called Shina Soba(支那そば) or Chuuka Soba(中華そば　※Soba means “noodles”). It is written in kanji as 拉麺(la-men) or 老麺(laumen), and is generally written as ラーメン(ra-men), らーめん(ra-men), らあめん(raamen), らぁめん(raamen),らー麺(ra-men), etc.

“What is RAMEN?”
Credit from Ramen Japan
https://ramen-japan.jp/en/history/ramen-history/