The Ultimate Guide To Ichiran Ramen: A Delicious and Unique Dining Experience

Introduction

If you are new to Japan, Ichiran Ramen will be a good choice for you.

Ichiran Ramen is very particular. For example, they require freshly cooked Ramen to be brought to the guests within 15 seconds. Their secret spicy sauce is said to be a mixture of more than 30 ingredients, so I generally recommend twice the spicy degree when ordering.

And according to the general rules, they will ask you whether you want garlic or onions or not. 

The most important thing they will ask is the hardness of the noodles.

There are about five kinds of surface hardness:

Extra firm, firm, medium, soft, very soft.

I recommend firm Ramen, even though they recommend medium.

The color represents the softness and hardness of the Ramen. The waiter will give you a small plate, and its color is what I show now.

The Kae-Dama metal plate

So, let's go for steps. 

Steps of eating Ramen in Ichiran

Step1

Like other Japanese restaurants, Ichran uses vending machines to sell food vouchers.

So as long as you can use the vending machine, there is no problem.

Ichiran's vending machine

Put the money in and press the button. But note that you must order Ramen because all the side dishes are prepared for Ramen.

I recommend you add "Extra Sliced Pork (4 pieces)," "Dried Seaweed (2 pieces)," and "Kikurage Mushroom."

Step2

Since you have chosen the food you want to eat, now you should take your food vouchers to your seat. (Don't forget your change.)

Table showing available seats

You will see a display with numbers and Kanjis on it. When you see a Kanji "空" next to the number, it means that the seat with this number is empty. You can sit there and enjoy Ramen.

As shown in the photo, seat 3 is empty. You can go to seat 3.

Step3

Now is your final decision.

Order Sheet

Such a piece of paper will appear in front of you. You need to circle what you want with a red pen.

Ichiran has recommended to you in advance what you should choose as a beginner, but I recommend this:

My favorite choices

Only in this way can you eat the best Ramen. And it's better to add more mashed garlic.

I know you will say this is my favorite, but it will become unpleasant if you choose the lightest taste. I have eaten Ichiran's instant noodles. The taste is fragile, and the most important thing is that there is no garlic.

Once done, press the button at the left-bottom corner of "CALL US" and submit the food voucher and form to the waiter/waitress.

(Note that you don't need to tip. There is no tradition of receiving tips face to face in Japan. Tips are actually included in the vouchers.)

Step4

I know it may take 2 or 3 minutes for the Ramen to reach you. You can take the cup at the top right to drink some cold water during this period.

Chopsticks, cups, and wet tissues

Chopsticks and wet tissue are also placed with cups.

Faucet

Don't worry, cold water is free. You can drink as much as you like until you don't want to. And this is the best way to kill time, and eating Ramen after drinking cold water will be more delicious.

Soon, your Ramen will be served. 

Ichiran Ramen

You don't need to say a word during the whole process.

Step5

Then, start enjoying your Ramen!

The Ramen I recommend will look like this:

My favorite flavor

You will see a thick layer of oil on it, but it can cover the aroma of the whole porpoise soup. When you move the spoon, the fragrance spreads.

Of course, you can choose freely according to your own preferences.

I recommend you taste the soup before eating Ramen,  then consider mixing the spicy powder. Chili powder is a little sweet. It goes well with Ramen.

Please note that the secret chili powder is probably only available when you order Ramen at the beginning. When you order chili powder, it may not be the same. This is the 11 times spicy Ramen I ordered:

11 times spicy Ichiran Ramen

It looks spicy, but it's not spicy at all. The Japanese are very sensitive to the spicy feeling, so the spicy degree in the eyes of people in other countries is unacceptable in Japan.

So don't be afraid. Even if it's 20 times spicy, it's just like that. It's not as spicy as Indian curry at all.

How can I get Extra Ramen?

If you first bought "Kae-Dama" in the vending machine and chose Ramen with medium hardness, you will be given this small metal plate like this:

1/2 of Medium Noodle Refill 

Look, it's yellow. And you just need to put this small plate on "call us."

Put it on like this

Ichiran's special prompt music will ring. The waiter comes and takes your metal plate, then brings you Ramen.

The waiter usually knows the hardness of the Ramen you want just by looking at the color, so you don't need to care about the placement.

How can I order Extra side dishes?

There are many Extra Item Order Sheets on your right.

Extra Item Order Sheets

And here are four wooden signs for you to use to inform the waiter. 

wooden boards

Don't worry, you can't read Japanese. There is English on the back of the wooden board.

Now let's get to the point - "how to reorder additional dishes?"

My choices

Just like this, check the food you want, set the cash(preferably coins) on the paper, push these things to the front of the table, then press the button to call the waiter.

The waiter will check the amount of money you give and then help you drop the curtain. Wait a little time, and your order will be served. You can repeat this process indefinitely until you no longer want to eat.

Extra Item Order Sheet (updated)

But now, there seems to be no draft beer option from August 3, 2022.

Note: please don't throw coins into the metal plate because it's not the place for you to set coins.

About Extra Item Order Sheets

The side dishes are delicious.

Smoke-Flavored Stewed Pork

"Smoke-Flavored Stewed Pork"

I highly recommend this "Smoke-Flavored Stewed Pork," which has a strong meat flavor, and the waiter/waitress will give you a small pot of pepper powder.

Special pepper powder

If you order this, you'd better choose green onion (white) at first, because in this way, you can finally pour the meat into the Ramen soup, and it becomes like this:

Mix the "Smoke-Flavored Stewed Pork" with noodles and soup

OK, I've eaten the white onions, but doing so can make you simultaneously enjoy two kinds of delicious food.

Mashed Garlic

Mashed garlic is a good match for Ramen. 

Mashed garlic

Eating Ramen without mashed garlic will be a loss to you because it can make your Ramen and soup more delicious. Of course, I know that ladies should not want to eat this, because they will have bad breath, but they will also miss this delightful food.

If you don't mind mashed garlic, you'd better order one of these.

Osukaran Vinegar - ICHIRAN 's Original Premium Vinegar

Ichiran's unique vinegar is best to taste, which can make the taste of ramen soup more diverse.

Osukaran Vinegar - ICHIRAN's Original Premium Vinegar

Moreover, it really matches Ramen soup very well.

Kae-Dama(Noodle Refill)

Noodle Refill is like this:

Kae-Dama

They use a special bowlRRamenld ramen.

Rice-Koshihikari Special Selection

And please don't forget to order rice. The "Rice-Koshihikari Special Selection."

Rice-Koshihikari Special Selection

Pour rice into the soup.

 

Pour rice into the soup 2

 

Let the soup thoroughly soak the rice.

Eating rice and soup with a spoon simultaneously is an ultimate enjoyment, and it is also one of the things that eating Ichiran Ramen must do. It's really delicious.

Finish rice and all the soup

I like its taste very much and eat it thoroughly every time.

There may be a more delicious way to enjoy it. Usually, I like to do this:

My favorite way to eat

I prefer to fill a bowl with "Extra Sliced Pork (8 pieces)" and then put eggs and rice in the middle.

In this way, you can enjoy the mixture of egg yolk, rice, pork, and soup, which can simply bring you to heaven.

Dessert

Yes, it also belongs to the "Extra Item Order Sheet," or you can just order it at vending machines the first time.

It has nothing to do with Ramen, but as Ichiran's unique flavor, I want to introduce it.

I want to pick out and write about it because it's delicious!

Its name is "Matcha Almond Pudding with Green Tea Sauce."

Matcha Almond Pudding with Green Tea Sauce

Believe it or not, although it is called pudding, it is made of tofu and tastes precisely like pudding, which is impressive. Click here to see more.

Drink

Draft beer

Ichiran's draft beer is like this:

Asahi Iced draft beer 1

Asahi Iced draft beer 2

 

Asahi Iced draft beer 3

 

Asahi Iced draft beer 4

It can be said to be the second most expensive thing you can order in Ichiran.

I don't know much about wine, but it tastes slightly sweet, especially its foam.

Shikaibicha ICHIRAN's Original Blended Tea

Shikaibicha ICHIRAN's Original Blended Tea

And actually, there is a tea to order, but that bottle is not much different from the tea sold in other places, so I won't introduce it. If you are interested, you can try that bottle of tea. It is said that it can help you lose weight.

Toilet

No matter which Ichiran you go to, there must be 12 toilet papers in its toilet, just like this.

12 toilet papers

 It is said that these toilet papers represent 12 constellations. The toilet is made of Panasonic brand and will open automatically as soon as you open the door.

Ichiran's Toilet

The flush button is on your right.

Flush

Although it will automatically open the toilet lid, it can't flush automatically, which is a little strange. (Even the light was turned on when you came in.)

But Ichiran in other places is not like this. Each Ichiran is different. If you have a chance to come to Ichiran, it's good to go to its toilet because it's interesting.

Ichiran official mobile app

You may have noticed a piece of paper in almost each of my photos that tell about how to use Ichiran Ramen's official app. If you eat Ichiran Ramen now, you can still see these papers on every table.

Next Blog, I will introduce How to use the Ichiran App in detail, which can help you save money.

Have a nice day!

Secret Menu

You have two hidden selections for the order sheet:

1. Circle two types of green onion at the same time.
2. Write Kanji "別皿" on the Garlic row.

Like this:

Secret Menu

In this way, you will get maximum enjoyment.

"別皿" means that you ask the staff not to put the garlic directly into the Ramen but to put it on a small plate separately.

2022.12.18:

I suggest that "こってり度" would be better off choosing "基本."