🍜 THE RAMEN WE STOOD IN LINE FOR IN TOKYO 🇯🇵
If you're ever in Tokyo, I highly recommend stopping by ICHIRAN, a famous Japanese tonkotsu ramen chain. It's not just a fun place to eat, but also a truly unique restaurant experience. 😍
We went to ICHIRAN Harajuku, in the heart of Harajuku. When we arrived, there was a line out front—we waited about 30 minutes. But the wait was quite comfortable and went by quickly.
🍜 What's so special about it?
ICHIRAN doesn't have the usual large communal tables. Here, each guest has a private seat with partitions on either side—a kind of "taste booth." Before ordering, you're given a special sheet where you can customize your ramen:
▫️ Broth richness
▫️ Fat content
▫️ Amount of garlic
▫️ Green onions
▫️ Amount of meat
▫️ Spicyness of the signature sauce
▫️ Thickness of the noodles
So, you can literally tailor your ramen to your taste—make it lighter or, conversely, as rich as possible.
🥢 WHAT DID WE TAKE?
We chose Classic Tonkotsu Ramen—thin noodles in a rich pork broth.
We added meat, green onions, egg, nori, and the signature hot sauce.
And I'll be honest: it was delicious! 🤤
The broth is thick, creamy, and flavorful, and the thin noodles absorb the flavor perfectly. The egg and meat make the portion quite filling. By the way, a small detail: ICHIRAN specializes in Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen, which is a Kyushu culinary tradition, not specifically Tokyo ramen. But trying it in Tokyo is a great option.
😄 AND HOW DO YOU GET FOOD HERE?
This is probably the most interesting part.
When you sit down in your booth, you barely have to talk to the staff. You press a button, and the staff member takes your request sheet and your order.
Then a small window opens in front of you, and a bowl of ramen appears. 🍜
You take it, the curtain closes, and that's it. 😂
You can sit quietly in your booth and eat, undisturbed.
If you like the ramen so much that you want more noodles, you can order kaedama—an extra serving of noodles.
💴 HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Current prices at ICHIRAN Harajuku are as follows:
🍜 Classic Tonkotsu Ramen — ¥1,180
🥚 Egg — ¥160
🥢 Extra noodles — ¥210
🥩 Extra meat — ¥290
🌿 Extra green onions — ¥160
🧄 Extra garlic — ¥160
🍚 Rice — ¥300
🍵 Matcha almond dessert — ¥450
So, just ramen is ¥1,180, and with a few toppings, you can expect to pay around ¥1,500–2,000 per person. Prices are based on the branch's official menu and are subject to change.
❤️ MY IMPRESSION
I liked that you come here for more than just food. You choose your own ramen flavor, sit in your own little booth, receive your bowl through the window—and it all becomes a unique Japanese experience.
Yes, there might be a line. Ours was about 30 minutes, but I wouldn't leave right away because of that.
If you're wandering around Harajuku and love ramen, ICHIRAN is definitely worth trying at least once. 🇯🇵🍜
📍 ICHIRAN Harajuku
2F, 6-5-6 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
🚇 1 minute from Meiji-Jingumae Station
🚶♀️ About 3 minutes from Harajuku Station
⏰ The branch is currently open from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM, with the last order at 9:45 PM.
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