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Ichiran Ramen: A Unique Dining Experience for the Foodies

Global Team

01 Sep 2024 - 4 min read

Who doesn’t love Ramen? Ramen is one of the beloved Japanese noodle dishes. It has captivated taste buds worldwide with its rich, flavorful broth, tender noodles, and diverse toppings. Among the myriad of ramen shops in Japan, Ichiran Ramen stands out as a unique and exceptional experience.

Ichiran Ramen, previously known as "Futaba Ramen," was created in Fukuoka in 1960 and changed its name to Ichiran in 1966. The founder aimed to create ramen that would enhance each customer's pleasure of the flavours. Tonkotsu ramen, produced with pork bone broth, is the sole type of ramen that Ichiran believes has to be mastered. Ichiran's passion for a particular style of cooking has driven him to create a unique perspective on the ramen dining experience.

Ramen comes in a variety of flavours, including shoyu, salt, and miso, but Ichiran's cuisine is mainly focused on tonkotsu ramen. There are also an infinite variety of soup bases, ranging from chicken to seafood, but they specialise in creating the ideal bowl of tonkotsu ramen. Their ramen is produced entirely of natural ingredients, with no artificial flavourings such as fast pig bone extract or other similar components. Other than that, Ichiran's spicy red sauce, which is made from a blend of over 30 different ingredients, also adds a distinctive kick to the ramen.

Interior shot of Ichiran Ramen. Ichiran is a Japanese ramen food-service business specialising in tonkotsu ramen.

How to Order Ichiran's Ramen With Its Unique Dining Concept

One of Ichiran's most notable aspects is its unique dining concept. The restaurant's layout is designed to provide a personalised, immersive ramen experience. Diners eat in "flavour concentration booths," which are secluded locations where they may focus entirely on the flavour of the ramen. To preserve privacy and minimise touch, each booth has a curtain that separates the diner from the kitchen staff. This helps you focus on the ramen itself.

How to Order Ichiran Ramen

Get a Meal Ticket: Select your ramen and toppings from a vending machine.

Customise Your Ramen: You'll be given an order form with options for broth richness, noodle texture, garlic, green onions, chashu pork, red sauce, and other toppings.

Enter a Flavour Concentration Booth: A private booth with compartments enables distraction-free dining. (Ichiran's trademark "flavour concentration booths" provide a private dining experience with fewer distractions, letting diners thoroughly enjoy the ramen.)

Hand over your ticket and order sheet. Pass your ticket and order sheet to the staff, and they will prepare your ramen.

Wait for Your Ramen: The staff will place your ramen through the window and close the curtain so you can enjoy it.

Ichiran Ramen is a Japanese ramen food-service business specialising in tonkotsu ramen.The chain restaurant began in Fukuoka as a humble ramen stall in 1960.

To fully appreciate your Ichiran Ramen experience, now let's get to the interesting part: how to eat Ichiran Ramen. They prepare each bowl of ramen individually and serve it at its best. There's no need to wait for your companions; start digging right away.

First, try the broth and noodles on their own for three or four bites before adding the secret sauce.

They recommend adding the sauce after that. Combining Ichiran's unique noodles with natural pig broth soup results in an excellent taste balance.

Why not try a "noodle refill," a unique feature of Hakata culture? First, combine the noodle refill with the small amount of broth that comes with it; taste before transferring to your dish. With each bite, the noodles' gently sweet flavour and aroma travelled across the palette. The noodles can then be dunked in the remaining broth for more flavour.

Ordering a noodle refill after eating half of your noodles ensures that your new noodles arrive right as you finish your first portion.

Adding additional toppings to taste allows you to create a bowl that is even more tailored to your tastes.

Ichiran Ramen is one of the famous chain restaurants in Japan, you can find them all over Japan making it accessible to both locals and tourists.

How to Get to Ichiran's Ramen Restaurant

Delicious ramen at Ichiran Ramen restaurant in Dotonbori.

The majority of Ichiran locations are conveniently adjacent to popular tourist attractions and major train stations. Here are the directions to some of the more well-known branches:

Tokyo

Ichiran Shibuya.

By Train: Take the JR Yamanote Line to Shibuya Station. It takes 5 minutes to walk from the Hachiko Exit.

By Metro: Shibuya Station is accessible via the Hanzomon Line, Ginza Line, or Fukutoshin Line of the Tokyo Metro. To reach the Hachiko Exit, follow the directions.

Ichiran Shinjuku.

By Train: Take the JR Yamanote Line to Shinjuku Station. Take the East Exit and walk for eight minutes to get out.

By Metro: Take the Tokyo Metro's Marunouchi Line to Shinjuku-Sanchome Station. Exit through Exit B9, which is a 5-minute walk.

Ichiran Asakusa.

By Train: Take the Tobu Skytree Line to Asakusa Station. Exit through the Kaminarimon Exit; it's a 3-minute walk.

By Metro: To reach Asakusa Station, take the Ginza Line of the Tokyo Metro. Exit at Exit 1; it's a 3-minute walk.

Kyoto

Kyoto Ichiran Kyoto Kawaramachi

By Train: Take the Hankyu Kyoto Line to Kawaramachi Station. Exit at Exit 9, and it is a 2-minute walk.

By Metro: Take the Kyoto City Subway Karasuma Line to Shijo Station. Walk for ten minutes from Exit 4.

Osaka

Ichiran Dotonbori.

By Train: Take the JR Osaka Loop Line to JR Namba Station. Exit through Namba Walk, which is a 7-minute walk.

By Metro: Take the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line to Namba Station. Exit at Exit 14, and it is a 5-minute walk.

Fukuoka

By Train: take the Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line and stop at Tenjin Station. Exit at Exit 1; it's a 3-minute walk.

By Metro: Take the Fukuoka City Subway Kuko Line to Tenjin Station. Exit at Exit 6; it's a 5-minute walk.

In summary, for those who adore ramen, Ichiran Ramen offers a unique and enjoyable eating experience. Every aspect of your meal at Ichiran is tailored to your preferences, from the flavour-concentration booths to the rich and versatile Tonkotsu broth. You may make the most of your visit to any of Ichiran's locations in Japan by following the instructions on how to order and enjoy your ramen. Ichiran Ramen serves a bowl of ramen that will leave an impression, whether you are a seasoned ramen enthusiast or a first-time visitor.

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