Ichiran is one of the most famous tonkotsu ramen (which means the pork broth) restaurant chain in Japan. Ichiran is famous for its original tonkotsu soup, original red spicy sauce and its solo dining booth.
It’d be a great choice to try eating ramen at Ichiran in Japan!
Where is Ichiran located?
Ichiran was founded in 1993, Fukuoka Prefecture. According to the official website, it has 81 restaurants as of March 2019 and this number includes the restaurants located overseas, in New York, Hong Kong and Taiwan. (All 81 restaurants are managed directly, not franchised)
If you’re traveling in Fukuoka, it is where Ichiran was founded and you can find them everywhere. Also there are lots in Tokyo and Kanto region, as well as Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya. But in Hiroshima, there is only one apparently, (as of August 2019) so please be careful and check where the closest Ichiran restaurant is, before you visit.
Solo Dining Booth
When you visit Ichiran, you usually pay first at the ticket machine. Choose what you want to eat and put the money in, get a ticket. Once you’re seated, you can give it to the staff.
This is the famous “solo dining booth“, I think this is so interesting; what they say is you can “concentrate on the taste” by eating at the solo dining booth, shutting out all the unnecessary information to taste the ramen!
This is also nice for the ones who are traveling alone in Japan, you just have to come and sit and eat, feeling relaxed, you can enjoy your ramen without any bothersome conversations.
At the solo dining booth, there’s even a tap for the water. You don’t have to call someone for the water, you just have to get it from the tap, fill your cup by yourself! Also there’s an order form, if you felt like ordering more, then you can fill the order form and press the button on the table and then the staff will come so you can pass the form to the staff. (Kaedama, which means the “additional noodles” are famous at Ichiran! You can try if you feel like eating more.)
Ichiran’s Ramen
This is the ramen at Ichiran! Its famous tonkotsu (pork broth) soup with the original red spicy sauce on top.
Depends on which Ichiran restaurant you visit, but usually they are opened until the late at night (some of them are opened for 24 hours!) so if you’re looking for a place to eat late at night, Ichiran could be a great choice.
Japanese people sometimes eat ramen really late at night, after drinking alcohol. We call it “shime”,
which means “the end” or so.
We drink alcohol first at some izakaya restaurant,
move to the ramen restaurant, eat ramen in the end, then going home.
Ichiran ramen is so nice! If you like ramen, then you definitely have to try. I hope you enjoy ramen here in Japan!
