Ichiran Ramen is a popular and iconic ramen chain in Japan as it's known for its focus on a unique and personalized dining experience. The restaurant is known for its rich tonkotsu or pork bone broth and thin, straight noodles, creating a memorable and flavorsome ramen experience for both locals and tourists alike.
One of the standout features is the individual dining booths where you can enjoy your ramen in solitude. Because of its popularity, there are usually long queues outside of any Ichiran Ramen branch.
Some people would wait up to three hours just to get a seat. When I was in Osaka with my family, I was looking for a place to eat on Google Maps and I saw that there was a branch near Dotonbori, which is where we were at the moment. When we went there, there was a very short queue.
 |
| machine for placing orders |
Upon entering, customers place their order and pay through a machine. While in the queue, you get an order form that you have to fill out so you can customize your ramen, from the richness of the broth to the level of spiciness and the noodle texture.
Once you're seated in your individual booth, you hand out the form and you get your order just the way you want it. Everything you need, such as chopsticks, water, drinking glasses, and napkins, are available at your booth. You can also place additional orders there without saying a word - just press the call button and hand out a wooden tile or fill out an order form.
 |
| wooden tiles for special requests, English translations on the other side |
Overall, the ramen was really delicious. I customized my order to not have the spicy red bits which is why it looks a bit lacking. The noodles were cooked perfectly and I like how the broth is very flavorful yet not too salty. I can understand the hype around it. The price was good too as you can get the basic ramen for only JPY1,180 or less than PHP500. For the price, I thought it was really worth it.
Is it worth a two or three-hour wait? No, not really. While it's one of the best bowls of ramen I've had by far, I still don't think it's worth a really long wait. We were lucky that we queued for only less than 30 minutes but we wouldn't have gone there if we had to wait for even just an hour. And unfortunately, they don't do reservations.
So if you happen to see a not-so-crowded Ichiran Ramen branch, I'd recommend that you grab that chance and go there.
0 Comments