Ichiran Shinjuku Chuo Higashiguchi

The ramen was pretty good but it was the dining experience that made it memorable. Expect a line though it moves pretty quickly. Only interaction I had with the staff was a pair of hands that took my order sheet and served my food. Surreal.

Ichiran is what every chain ramen place wishes it could be. Although it can feel kind of campy with its huge queue times and display of seasoning for sale, the restaurant itself feels like any other alleyway noodle house. The vending machine /​kaedama system works very well and although there can be a big wait to get in the ramen always comes out really quickly once you get a seat.
The ramen itself is delicious, and they offer a lot more customization than a typical ramen shop. I usually prefer my ramen to be strong and rich, and (if you fill out your card correctly) Ichiran doesn’t disappoint.
Since the shop doesn’t close, you can sometimes get a seat without waiting if you come at the right time, like while the trains are closed or at the start of the workday. Still, I wouldn’t recommend coming here if you are in a hurry.

Came here on our first night in Japan, and it was so amazing that we went back for lunch the day we left Tokyo. We had to queue about 30 minutes after 10 pm on a Friday night, but a much smaller queue at 11 am on a Tuesday morning (though it started growing after that, due to the lunch rush). This is a relatively English-​friendly place — you order at the vending machine which I think has pictures if not English, then you give your tickets to a member of staff who gives you a form to fill in with your preferences — how much garlic, hot sauce, onions, etc… noodle firmness, broth richness… we tend to go straight medium down the road except for the noodles which I like firm. You sit in your little cubicle (you can pull the sides in, so you can talk to your dining companion though) and soon the bowl of noodles appears in the window. I always get with soft boiled egg and seaweed.
One sip of the broth, and it was like we died and went to heaven. Where has this been all our lives? (Japan, obvs.) It was like all the ramen we’d ever eaten was some pale imitation of this dish. We knew immediately we’d now had ramen spoiled for us forever. The broth is absolutely second-​to-​none, and the chewy noodles were fantastic too. It is a simple, inexpensive, and excellent bowl of ramen. Worth a wait, but try and go at off-​times if you don’t want to be waiting quite as long.

Literally the best ramen I’ve ever had! My girlfriend and I were in Japan for 4 days, and we came here 3 times. We tried other ramen places, but nothing came close to Ichiran.
The line can definitely be very lengthy if you come during peak hours so be prepared to wait. We came one day for dinner around 7:30pm, and we had to wait an hour to eat. The ramen was definitely worth it though. We came 2 other times in the morning, and there was no line at all.
I love that you get to choose how you want your ramen and what you want in it. It’s also great that you can order more noodles if you’re still hungry after you finish your ramen. The employees are very nice, and they have order forms in different languages, which is great. I can’t wait to come back to Tokyo and eat Ichiran again!

I’m a ramen addict and honestly one of reasons I was most excited about my trip to Tokyo was to be able to eat ramen all day everyday. Now I’ve pretty much scoped out all the ramen spots in Chicago, and I was convinced we had some pretty solid ramen. Ichiran would be my first sip of truly authentic ramen from Japan, and it would surely be the first of many bowls of ramen I consume while here.
Here’s a run-​down of the process:
1. Order at the vending machine
Insert cash (cash only) and make your selections. There’s only one type of ramen here: tonkotsu. A basic bowl starts off at 790Y (pork is included) and you can add whatever extras you want to it. An egg is 120 and extra meat is 180. You can add up to a clove of garlic for free, but for garlic lovers like me, you can double down on the garlic for 120 more.
Each item comes out as a separate ticket, so don’t worry if you forgot something. You can simply just order that additional item separately and include the extra ticket once you’re seated.
2. Wait to be seated
You get your own private stall to eat at. Most people just slurp down a bowl of ramen in solitude, but if you really want to, you can fold in the divider wall to join with the person in the
stall next to you. Each booth has a stack of cups and its own water dispenser. The booth has an open window to the kitchen and you give your vending machine tickets to the person behind the counter.
3. Select your preferences
Literally everything is customizable. You can choose flavor strength, broth richness, the amount of garlic/​green onions/​pork/​hot sauce, and finally noodle firmness. Just simply circle your preferences and your bowl will be perfectly how you want it. Amazing! I switched up my preferences each time I went and I didn’t notice a significant difference between medium and strong flavor strength and medium and rich richness.
4. Eat up
They bring out your bowl and then lower the curtain so you can have some privacy with your ramen. Don’t be afraid to slurp that shit as fast as you can. Everyone does it.
5. Extras
If you ordered kae dama (extra noodles for 190Y) they give you a little metal tray. When you’re ready for the noodles, place this tray on top of the sensor and a server will know to bring it out. They also give you a sheet with a bunch of extra options in case you want more of anything.
Now for the ramen run down… how did this stack up to what we have in the US.
Noodles: Noodles were definitely on the thinner side. I’m not sure if these are homemade but they didn’t have as much chew as some of the thicker, springier noodles I’ve had before. I liked how you can customize the firmness though, so I really enjoyed what I ate here.
Broth: The broth was heavenly. For me, it had the perfect amount of porkiness and saltiness. It wasn’t too rich or oily and just had so much flavor. Mixed with a double shot of garlic, and I was speechless. I tried both with and without the red sauce. The red sauce just gives a slightly different flavor profile and obviously brings some heat too. I loved both styles.
Toppings:
The beauty is that you’re in complete control of what comes in the ramen. Do you want the works and want it loaded with green onions, bamboo shoots, sprouts, seaweed, and mushrooms? Then go for it and dress it up as much as you like. Are you a minimalist that only wants meat, broth, and noodles? Perfect. No more embarassing special requests to the waiter or having to pick stuff out when you get it.
As for the quality of these toppings, I thought everything was delicious. In the US, a lot of these ramen joints get fancy with the meat. Sometimes they’re smoked, sometimes they’re fire charred, and most of the time they have some sort of special seasoning. Then, at places that just served just regular chashu pork it was sort of hit or miss. It would either be too fatty, too tough, or just straight up bland.
At Ichiran though, I loved the pork. It was ulta juicy and tender, without too much fat. And it actually soaked in the great flavor of the broth. They only give one piece by default, so definitely get the extra if you’re really hungry.
The egg wasn’t so much on the soft side that the yolk was liquidy, but it still had that nice molten orange colored yolk. One thing that I hated though was that they just gave you an egg separately that you had to peel yourself instead of just being served in the hot broth. My egg peelin skills could def use some work!
Overall, Ichiran just slayed the ramen game in my book. Are you telling me that I can get ramen at any time of the day or night, wait merely minutes for a seat, never have to ask for water, and pay less than $ 10 for consistently one of the best bowls of ramen I’ve ever had? Come on! That’s just not fair. Only in my dreams I thought this was possible.

Got here at 1am after a long flight to Haneda airport and luckily there was no line. The Hakata-​style ramen here is pretty top notch. The broth was flavorful, noodles had good texture, and the spicy sauce was awesome and packed with flavor. Although they pack you in tiny little cubicles, it’s actually quite an interesting experience. I liked how they had individual water stations at each cube.
5 stars.

I spent a week in Tokyo and ate this dish three times while I was here. It’s my favorite ramen place so far! (And my fiancé’s!)
There will be a line, but it goes by fast. Of course lunch and dinner will be the busiest. The turnover in customers is very quick. After waiting in line for a little, you will start at a vending machine. Insert your CASH (no cards), and pick out what you want. Tickets for each item will come out and you hand it to them when you sit. They will also give you a form to fill out for how you want your ramen. If you don’t know how you like it, just use the recommendations that they give you on the form. Whatever you decide is gonna be delicious anyway!
This is an eat and go type of place. People don’t chit chat and talk after they’re finished eating. When you’re done, you leave. Seating arrangements are different too. You’re basically sitting side by side in an individual booth with dividers that can open up. Another thing that I love about this place is that it’s open 24 hours. It is a chain restaurant, but don’t underestimate this ramen place!
This is a must try place when you’re in Japan… you’ll fall in love with it!

This ramen place is open 24 hours and was made for single dinners as all the tables are single booths. There will be long lines during prime lunch and dinner hours. However, seats open up relatively quickly as service is fast, people eat fast like their food is going to run away from them and leave right when they’re finished.
You place your order through a vending machine, you get a ticket and your present it to the waiter/​waitress at the table booth. There is a piece of paper where you choose the richness of the soup, how spicy you like it and the firmness of your noodles. After you circle your choices you present it to the server and they will begin making your ramen.
Portion is kind of small but the noodles, broth, soft boiled egg and pork belly came together very well. I slurped the noodles as loud as I could so that I wouldn’t lose to my neighbors. The broth was so good I drank it all.
I definitely recommend the ramen here.

This was my second time in Japan, and I made it a point to make Ichiran my first stop after already having been here years ago. I was practically sprinting from the airport directly to here! Trust me, this place will change your life.
There is always a long queue, no matter what time I go, but that’s to be expected when the ramen is clearly made by the gods themselves. You have to first pay for your ramen at the ticket machine, and then you fill out a form with your ramen preference. I highly recommend getting the «strong» flavor as it really brings out the porky goodness in the broth. Also, definitely get it with all the fixin’s — green onions, pork, garlic, and spicy powder. Their spicy powder is what really makes this ramen unique and special, I think.
Overall, this is an ABSOLUTE must. No other ramen place compares to Ichiran. They have several locations in most major cities in Japan, so be sure to visit one of its many locations. I even bought their ramen box set to make at home, and will update my review once I try it out!

Emegeeerrrdddddd I friggin LOOOOOVVVVEEEDDDD this place. Thank God there was no queue there when we stumbled upon it, as I never would have gone in (Emily doesn’t queue for food!).
1. Why don’t we have vending machine food places in the rest of the world? Select what you want & pay for it before you sit down, so simples. And fun. The novelty I don’t think would ever wear off
2. Sitting around a bar watching food being prepped is the best. I never want to sit at a boring lameoid table again.
3. The food is SO. GOOD. Seriously. I wish I lived closer.
4. Cheap beer. Boom.
5. Friendly staff. Even with dumbass tourists who stroll on in and sit down without tending to the needs of the vending machine first. Stupid tourists.

If you had told me more or less at any time in my past that I would someday wait an hour and forty-​five minutes for ramen I would have called you mad, but low and behold that’s exactly what I did on a Saturday evening where the line for globally acclaimed Ichiran wrapped around the block. Was it worth it? I’ll let you decide, but it’s certainly some excellent ramen.
Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere?
So here’s how it works:
1. You wait in a line outside to get in the building
2. You wait in a second line to go down the stairs
3. You wait in a third line to get a seat at a ‘stall’
The staff know their stuff, and there are strict rules regarding cutting and placeholding. If they tell you the wait is going to be an hour? The wait is going to be an hour, but they’re certainly friendly about it.
Once you’re inside here’s how it works:
1. Pay at the machine and then order
2. If you’ve ordered ramen (you have), you then give your ticket to the staff who give you a preference sheet to fill out
3. Once you’re seated, your meal will come out to you in roughly five to ten minutes, and you can order more if you like
It’s pretty straight-​forward, but not always English-​friendly, and don’t hesitate to ask the servers for help. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
You’ll pay under 1000 JPY for a hefty dose of ramen even if you get extra pork (which you absolutely should do), and that’s both a good deal and par for the course in Tokyo. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
From the very first bite I knew this ramen was special, and while I’m sure it’s because there was a solid 5000+ mg of sodium in the bowl of broth this was some of the best ramen broth I’ve ever had (only to be matched the next day on Ramen Street in the Tokyo Train Station). I’ve decided the broth is so good because the pork is absolutely divine, and everything from the spicy powder to the slightly chewy noodles brings everything together. You can bother with an egg or seaweed if you like, but know that you could serve this broth on anything and it’d be one of the better meals you’ve probably had in some time. Excellent. Dual Stars Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
So here’s the thing — the ramen at Ichiran is excellent, but I should let it be known that the next day I had another bowl of ramen on Ramen Street in the Tokyo Train Station and it was right on par without the line, making it such that I can’t really give out the fifth star here in good conscious. Having said that, know that this will absolutely blow out of the water anything you can get stateside. No Star Granted.

This was definitely our favorite ramen place when visiting Japan. Our first rainy night, we tried looking for this place through the streets of Golden Gai and gave up and ate at Nagi. Nagi is popular among the locals but not necessarily for the Western taste, sardine based. We made it our mission to try this place another day in the morning. Luckily the place was practically empty as our group of 4 were able to be seated next to each other. The broth is tonkatsu based and just simply divine, rich and full of flavor. Definitely try to eat if in Japan. We were trying to eat again in Osaka and the lines were crazy.

Definitely worth the hour long wait! Ask me how ramen is in Japan? I’ll be basing it off Ichiran. For a «chain», this place is amazing– efficient, attentive of details, great service and delicious meal all for a very low budget.
As you may have read from other reviews, it’s one of those places that you pay first with a ticketing machine. If you change your mind halfway (i.e.: you want more!), you’ll get a half slip that you fill out which allows you to pay on the spot in your personal booth.
The machine itself is simple– either ramen with egg or not; only 120 yen difference. You then choose the broth strength, oiliness, meat options, add Ons etcetera via the form you’ll get when you are the first 12 in queue. Distract yourself by looking at the blinking seating chart– it’s genius!
Once you sit in your assigned booth, you give the faceless person your ticket stubs. Wait was only 5 minutes before my piping hot ramen came out!
I ordered:
–Ramen with egg /​/​medium strength, regular oiliness, ½ hot sauce, 1 whole garlic clove, green onions.
–Add Ons include: ½ more order of ramen (leave some soup if you want more of their noodles!), 1 order of meat (180 yen) and green onions (120 yen for 4x the amount).
+1 Soup base was PERFECT. Usually after ramen places, I have to chug gallons of water. With Ichiran, I left with a perfectly clean palette.
+1 Their hot sauce is delicious and gives it an amazing kick! Definitely so regular or half.
+1 perfect noodles. Not the thick ones you expect, but the thin ones that definitely taste hand made. UGH. AMAZING.
+1 meat was the perfect balance of fatty and lean.
Pros:
–Amazing service!
–Amazing food. seriously, no questions asked.
Cons:
–why must I get 4x of green onion instead of 2? Oh wells…
–I don’t like to crack my own egg…(it’s already cooked, by the way).
Tips/​Observations:
–gift sets sold downstairs! Treat yourself with homemade ramen!
–when in line, they have pretty strict rules. No saving sits for others and if you plan to leave and come back, you have to notify the staff member.
Overall, this place is a must try. I would like it if I had more options, but I’m assuming Mr. Ichiran (not sure if that’s his name) has his reasons for keeping this delicious meal so simple.

Yum yum noodles in the morning. Reminds me of Malaysia.
Japanese are very regimented and ritualistic. Step in — go straight to the vending machine to make your order — put money into the machine — select option — retrieve change and ticket — go to booth — put down your belongings — hand ticket and fill up customisation form — eat noodles — pick up belongings and leave. Talk about being ruthlessly efficient.
Oh and the noodles are yummy delicious.

The tonkatsu ramen is amazing and the only ramen they actually serve at this location. This was a very special and unique experience, where noodle is served and then a bamboo curtain is drawn and then you eat away.
Make sure you order extra ramen if you’re a big eater, or just feel a bit hungry that day. If you do, make sure you leave enough soup base as there are no refills. Order extra slices of meat, or cloves of garlic are also options too.
The only dessert they serve here is the green tea tofu and it’s really amazing. Japan really knows how to serve tofu.
Also if you are able all of the soup base, there’s a message on the bottom of the ramen bowl, it is in Japanese, so unless you read some Japanese, the message won’t really mean much.
A must try. I’ve gone back to this location more than once.

Absolutely delicious!
Ichiran is rather easy to find, beware that there are several other ramen shops nearby, so make sure you see the big sign and Kanji for Ichiran!
Came on a weekday at 5:30pm and only waited less than 5 minutes. We walked down the narrow staircase where we were greeted and walked through a glass door to two machines where you select your ramen.
I selected the ramen with salted soft boiled egg while my husband ordered the regular ramen. We paid the machine and received two little tickets. We walked in further to be seated in little stalls. We removed the barrier so we could see each other. A staff member came to our stall window and had us fill out a form (comes in Korean, Chinese, Japanese and English) for how we want our ramen. We pressed the little square button when we finished the form along with our food ticket. Before we knew it, we were dining on delicious, hot, fresh ramen! Best I’ve ever had!
Once we finished we stood up and left, bellies happy! If in Tokyo, must try!

Can’t go to Japan without having Ichiran ramen, right? My friend and I stopped by on our second to last day to check this off our list. There was a line out the door, but that was expected.
When you’re waiting in line, there’s a menu that you can check out and a little thing that teaches you how to order! Unfortunately, the paper doesn’t tell you that you have to use a vending machine to order haha So when I got to the machine, I was so confused! But luckily it wasn’t too hard to figure out: P
After you get your little ticket from the machine, you wait to get a cubicle. Even though you sit in a cubicle, you can easy talk to the person next to you if you’re sitting with friends. Once you get seated, someone comes up and talks to you (in Japanese) on the other side of your cubicle and you just slide them your ticket. Before that, you fill out a little «questionnaire» that tells them how you want your ramen and what you want in it – how spicy, how «fatty,» toppings, etc.
I enjoyed the ramen, but it’s probably my second favorite after Ippudo. What’s great is that you can buy an instant package of the Ichiran ramen to take home, which I did! It comes with noodles and the soup base pastes in packets. I was happy to be able to share a little bit of Japan with my family and bf, but it is a bit pricey. You get 3 servings (but it’s probably closer to 5 cause they give you a ton of noodles and there’s more than enough soup) for about $ 22 USD.

I had ramen for breakfast at Ichiran. A bit of a wait but the experience was well worth it. You pay via vending machine and you get to customize your order from how firm the noodle is, how much garlic is added, how oily, how spicy you want it. Then you sit at your own little cubicle and the server hands you your ramen through a window but all you see is their hands!

My *favorite* ramen place ever! Makes me miss Japan so bad…
The line was really long when we arrived, but definitely worth it. Ordering was pretty simple: You pick what you want at a machine and it prints you a ticket. They then give you a paper/​clipboard and you circle how you want to customize your ramen (hard/​soft, spicy/​mild, how much garlic you want etc).
The experience was fun! You are seated at a booth seperated by screens that can open and close. There is also a screen in front of you which seperates you from the kitchen. When your food is ready *Tada!* The screen opens up and the food is then handed to you.
You also have everything right in your booth (Chopsticks, a spout for water, spoon etc) There is also an area on your table that you can place your ordering plate on top of to signal that you’d like more noodles.
The ramen itself tasted amazing… I am definitely returning to Japan/​Ichiran in the future!

«Ichiran» may translate to «at a glance,» «list,» or «summary,» but I decided to give it a more appropriate translation. «Ichi» means «one» in Japanese, so «Ichiran» must mean «the only one for me!»
Call it love at first bite or call it whatever you’d like. Ichiran is the real deal!
This location seemed a little bigger than the one in Shibuya, so the wait must be shorter. (I can’t comment on the wait cause there was never a line when we went in the early mornings… a hot bowl or ramen and a pint of beer: breakfast of champions!)
This was another meal where Stephanie S. and I didn’t talk to each other until our bowls were completely cleaned out. Who needs companionship when you have a hot bowl of ramen? Maybe this is the reason there are a lot of single people in Japan right now. It’s not because the guys are too shy to ask girls out… it’s because there’s this thing called Ichiran.

This place was quite interesting. The seating was a little strange but it works. U do order and pay for your food and beer through a vending machine before u enter the «dinning room» lol. Then u fill out a short form to let them know how u want your soup and the items you want.
It’s great because u tell them how spicy you want your broth. You tell them how well you want your noodles cooked. There’s even an option to add on extra noodles for 130yen half order extra noodles or 190yen for full order extra noodles.
We loved it and decently recommend this ramen place and will be back!

LONG WAIT. but SooOOooOo Satisfyingly Delicious!
You order what you want from the machine — Toppings and desserts and special extras like extra noodles. It prints out receipts which you keep in hand for later when you’re seated. Before you are you circle how you would like your noodles made. When you are seated… they will take the tickets and your order sheet and give you a small little dish to do a bit of a place your dish on this sticker when you’re ready to have it and we will get it to you ASAP.
Your stall has the option to close off the sides for privacy from your neighbors. Even the chefs behind the stall /​table give you this courtesy.
When you’re ready for more noodles /​your extras. just place it on the sticker someone will be by quickly to fulfill that order. I thought this method was a sure fire way of giving exactly what the customer what it is they ordered. Small and confined eating space makes me want to say that this is really not a place to eat if you’re cluster phobic — if you are and you go here. remember you’re in a pretty big room, it’s just the space you’re sitting at is small ;)
I would totally suggest ordering the matcha tofu dessert.
Cause it’s pretty unique with its flavors and perfect sweetness.

Order process is so easy and fast. Ramen comes out hot but not burning your mouth.
I will be back but will order next time:
— more garlic
— extra scallion
— extra pork
— extra egg
We absolutely loved this place. Vending machine ordering system is genius!

My last official meal in Japan was at Ichiran at Shinjuku. You can’t miss the giant green sign and the line of the people that wraps around the street and goes down the stairs, you know you’re at the right place.
Like majority of the ramen shops here in Japan opened 24/​7, the ordering process is quite simple. You pay a vending machine and make your selections (don’t worry. There’s an English menu while you wait in line, and the buttons all have pictures). Little tickets will pop out so your waiter/​waitress know what you want. This is the place where you add your extras (extra garlic, green onions, spicy option, seaweed, etc) AND most important, this is where you order your beer (with no id’s being checked).
Grab your tickets and end up in another line. You see a wall with flashing lights, that tells you which booth is available. If you’re traveling alone, this is the best place because it’s like taking a test in elementary school where the teacher gives you folders to prevent cheating. They have covers for that here so you can eat in peace, but no worries! They are foldable if you’re eating with somebody else. This location is a lot bigger and handicap accessible! Usually, while you’re in line they have you a piece of paper to customize your ramen to perfection. You get to pick how you want the noodles cooked, amount of garlic, thickness of the both etc here.
If it’s your first time, I would stick with the medium/​normal setting for everything because man, if you don’t have a mint or mouthwash, heavy on the garlic will kill anybody including vampires.
There’s a button once you’re seated to let them know you’re ready. Have your tickets and paper ready so they can prepare your meal. There’s a personal water fountain for you to get water from if you didn’t order a beer. Fear not! If you end up with a lot of broth and only like 2 minutes into your meal, you can order MORE NOODLES added to your ramen. It’s genius, super cheap (2 meals for basically the price of one, and environmentally conscious– not wasting food). Once they have your order ready, they hand it to you discretely through the window (not showing their face), tells you to enjoy your meal and the little blinds go down and you’re alone slurping the life out of noodles.
It’s one of those «hype» but legit authentic ramen, opened all day ²⁴⁄₇. Don’t worry about the tourist, that’s how you know it’s amazing.

I thought I knew all about good ramen having eating at Ippudo many times, but Ichiran ramen was fantastic (and cheaper in price than New York’s Ippudo).
I got here at 930pm and there was line going down the stairs. But don’t be intimidated by the line, it moves fairly quickly as this is not a place to sit down, chat and eat slowly. Its a place where you sit at your own private booth, get your ramen in about 1−2min, eat and get the hell out of there.
The private booths are divided a wooden panel which can be folded if you decide to go with a friend. I do not recommend going here in big groups.
Once we got to the bottom of the stairs, we had to buy our tickets from a machine which was pretty cool. You can pay for your ramen, and a drink such as a beer, or other side dishes.
After that, you have to get a sheet of paper where you circle your preferences for how you would like your ramen cooked. For example, you can choose how hard you want your noodles to be, whether you want pork, you can choose your level of spiciness etc. They do have a suggestion of what to pick, I would definitely suggest not getting your noodles cooked soft, and to include garlic and char siew, and to not pick the spiciest level, unless you are an expert at eating chili peppers. There are 2 versions of this form– Japanese and English.
Once I filled that out, i still had to wait a little bit more for a seat. When I was finally seated, I gave the paper to my waitress through a small window in front of me. Within 2 minutes, a bowl of piping hot ramen, customized to my liking appeared. The ramen was delicious. The noodles were the perfect hardness, the soup had a nice spicy kick to it. Probably due to me being used to eating US portions, I didn’t find the amount of noodles to be too filling. You can actually request for another serving of noodles after eating your ramen, there are instructions provided at the table on how to do that. I was tempted to do that but didn’t wanna feel like a fatty making my friend wait for me because I needed another serving of noodles, so I resisted.
I am impressed that this is a chain that serves such delicious ramen. I am always under the impression that chain restaurants are bad, but ichiran ramen was simply cheap and excellent.

Eine Sorte Ramen, mit oder ohne Ei, mit mehr oder weniger scharfer Soße. Ohne diese scharfe Soße ist die Nudelsuppe fad, mit ihr zu scharf. Man sitzt auf kleinen Hockern vor einer schmalen Theke, seitlich begrenzt, davor eine verschlossene Luke, die für die Ausgabe der Suppe geöffnet wird. Das Alles ist eine einzige Zumutung! Man fühlt sich an Schweine vor dem Trog erinnert. Und die Einheitssuppe ist einfach nur langweilig! Hier verwechseln wohlgesinnte Besucher gut mit billig!

Ichiran has been a place I go to in Japan if it’s nearby my hotel.
The broth is delicious and I get to chose my firmness of the noodles, which I like it extra-​firm.
You get to select the spiciness level up to 10 for free, any higher spiciness level is chargeable.
Of course there’s additional sides of extra slice pork, half-​cooked egg, extra noodles which you can add to your left over soup base (good for the very hungry) that you can order.
Why 4 stars for this place in Shinjuku?
It’s because of their sliced pork, which is just okay only compared to the place in Fukuoka Ichiran (where they serve the noodles in a rectangular box)
Well, overall I’m still happy with my reman fix… oh, and forget to down it with beer.
Cheers.

«Anti-​Social Ramen Eating» is how I like to describe my experience at Ichiran.
I have never stepped into a restaurant where each person is assigned their own little cubicle, separated by (removable) dividers on either side. On top of that, the chefs and servers work behind a bamboo shade and food is served through the opening, so you never see their faces, nor do they see yours. You order from a vending machine at the door, too. (Don’t worry, there are photos.) It was really quite an experience!
Ichiran’s main focus is their Tonkotsu Ramen. So once seated, we handed in our food tickets and were given a form (in English) to fill out our preferences in terms of flavour, amount of garlic, green onions, etc. I picked medium/​regular for each item, except for the texture of the noodles because I tend to like my noodles a little firmer than usual.
Mmm… The pork-​based broth was creamy and full of flavour. I thought it was a little too oily, but it was richer, creamier, and tastier than any pork-​based broths I have tried in Toronto. The noodles were cooked to perfection. The pork was tender and tasted great with the broth. The soft-​boiled egg was so good that from that day on, I have not thought twice about ordering a soft-​boiled egg whenever we have ramen.
I also ordered the Matcha Almond Tofu dessert. The tofu was sooo soft…
Ichiran is certainly worth a try, especially if it’s your first time in Japan and if you want the option to choose the amount of salt, oil, spiciness, garlic, and green onions that goes into your bowl of ramen. However, I personally enjoyed the smaller, more local ramen shops that we tried during our stay in Japan.

Hands down, the best ramen I have ever eaten in my life. I definitely went overboard when customizing my order, but it did not matter. The ramen left my friends and me in dreamlike euphoria.
Obviously you make your own magic here, but the ambience, private dining experience, the lack of a line (when I went), and cheap cost add up to a meal of a lifetime. I legitimately think about this ramen on a weekly basis.
If you are in Tokyo and love ramen, run to Ichiran. This is what eating is about!

Can’t come to Japan and not eat their famous ramen right?! Ichiran was on my MUST TRY LIST while planning my trip to tokyo~and I finally got to try it!
Its located in a little alleyway near Shinjuku station. easy to find. You head downstairs and wait to be let inside where you go to the vending machine. CASH! This is where we utterly embarressed outselves as we thought we put in 10 000 yen, but really we only gave 1000… so we stood there forever looking confused until someone came and helped us.
Step 1: vending machine where you choose extra toppings, type of noodle. etc
Step 2: wait in the hallway for a booth if there is a line
Step 3: Sit down and mark your spice level, noodle softness/​firmness, oiliness, onions or not,.etc. then press the bell and the window people will take your order.
Step 4: eat your delicious and perfectly cooked soft boiled egg.
Step 5: soft steaming bowl of noodle comes. enjoy and leave when you are done. ;)
The noodles were soft and juicy, broth was just the perfect amount of flavor. Ramen-​wise, this is one of the best I’ve had!

The food: ⁵⁄₅. Unless you understand all the intricate details of ramen broth (Shoyu/​Shio/​Tonkotsu/​Miso), you can’t go wrong with Ichiran. Their ramen is solid and it can be customized to your liking! There are several options to choose the richness of the broth, spice, add-​ons etc.
The service: ⁵⁄₅. Your typical ramen vending machine order kind of system. There is generally a line, but it moves fairly fast. The service is very quick.
Overall: ⁵⁄₅. Highly recommend

I love this place. Yes it’s a chain. Yes you have to wait in a line on the street on most visits, but the ramen is amazing!
U pick your ramen from a vending machine style payment machine. You can pick extras, extra pork, extra onion, an extra egg, extra garlic, etc, etc. These are on top of the extras you get for free with your ramen choice. You can tweak the recipe, richness, spiciness, sauce strength, noodle size, etc etc.
You sit facing a screen that your server talks to you through. Hand them your form and tickets. They then bring you your amazing ramen, give you a bow and the shutter goes down. Easy as that. Forms and vending machine have English on them and it’s a cool experience different from anything in the UK.
My tip is go spicy, get extras, have the amazing boiled egg. Then sit back and munch (slurp) your ramen till you collapse with fullness!

By all accounts, we were lucky as the wait was less than 30min. The menu is really simple: pork soup ramen with some minor choices that we can make. Each person sit in his/​her cubicle, which is a novelty. However, one can actually move the partition, so you can take to your friends.
We order an egg, but we have to peel the shell ourselves. The ramen noodle itself was ok but nothing special. However, the soup base is really good. It was rich, strong and memorable.
Definitely worth a try.

This 24 hour joint is ridiculous. Expect long hours whenever you come. However, peak hours are 9 pm to 2 am.
This is the Ichiran rundown.
–wait in line forever
–order by vending machine
–get your ticket from machine
–get a piece of paper to choose preference for ramen
–get seated in cubicle
–give ticket to chef
–wait and finally enjoy ramen!
My Ichiran ramen experience was above average. The first sip of the broth was rich, but the flavor quickly disappears. They only give two pieces of meat, which isng enough. The noodles are straight and not wavy, but they are cooked a perfect al dente. I ordered my ramen with the recommended amount of garlic, but I couldn’t taste the garlic at all! And towards the end of the meal, the broth becomes really rich and I couldn’t finish all of it.
Also, if you ask for a hard-​boiled egg, they’ll give it to you on the side, but you have to peel it yourself! I don’t want to do work when I’m enjoying my ramen! If they infused the egg inside the ramen already and let it soak up the broth, it would taste so much better!
Overall, it’s pretty good, but the wait definitely knocks the rating down. I don’t believe it’s worth the 1 to 1 ½ hour wait.

Pure ingenuity. Order and pay from vending machine, enter eatery, sit at individual cubbies for privacy, present your slip printouts, specialized ramen delivered, waiter/​tress bows politely & closes the drop down blinds for you to eat in peace. Water refill station to the left. Call button above. Quick, efficient, and super oiishi desu! Yes, 1 type of ramen, and its all you will ever need. Best ramen experience ever. Hit list included Shinjuku and Shibuya, both great service. Can America please get on this? Thanks.
*Tip: Get the hanjuku tamago (soft boiled ramen egg).

We were under the false assumption that in Japan all ramen are created equal. And though the ramen is significantly better than in NYC, our first ramen bowl at Kibou-​ken was above average at best. So we had high expectations when we went to Ichiran. And boy did it not disappoint! Absolutely incredible ramen!
Ichiran is a change. This Shinjuku location was basement level. So the line goes down the steps and wraps around. It moves relatively quickly. They are also open ²⁴⁄₇. If the line is too long, feel free to circle back later on. First sign of good ramen? There’s always a line. (I’d estimate that 50% are tourists — which was slightly worrisome, but we stayed in the line.)
When you get to the front, you see the vending machines. Don’t worry, there is English. When you line up inside, you notice there are three rows of individual cubicles. You can take away the screens if you’re a party of 2+. At this stage, you are given a form to fill in your preferences — again there are English and Chinese forms. At this point, you wait for openings. Obviously, parties of 1 or 2 are more easily accommodated.
I got ramen with egg. They served the egg before the food, which threw me off a little. Wait if you want to put the egg in the noodles. The noodles don’t include an additional egg!
Lastly, slurp loudly and be proud.

I love ramen.
Friends call me Ramen Sheriff.
I ate ramen ⁵⁄₇ days I was there.
And this was my favorite one.
I think that says a lot about how great this place is, how delicious their perfect bowl of ramen is, and how depressed I am that I’m 5,000 miles away :’(
This place is so good that I bought their ramen kit so I could have it one more time at home.
How it works:
1. Order at the machine (there’s pictures). Cheap, around 800yen (JAPAN YOU’RE TOO AWESOME)
2. Grab your own booth
3. Customize how you want your:
–flavor strength (strong, weak) — recommend medium, strong makes it salty
–broth richness (strong, weak) — recommend strong
–garlic (1 clove, none) — recommend buying more to add garlic!
–green onion (thick, thin)
–sliced pork (with, without)
–spiciness (double, half)
–noodles (firm, soft) — recommend firm
4. Give this paper along with what you ordered at the machine to the staff
5. ENJOY!
Oh yeah, did I mention it was ²⁴⁄₇?
OVERALL: DELICIOUS, CHEAP, AVAILABLE 24/​7, PLEASE COME TO SAN FRANCISCO!!!

Dès notre premier jour à tokyo, nous avions essayé d’aller à celui de shibuya mais la file d’attente nous avait vite refroidis…
Nous avons donc décidé d’aller à celui de shinjuku en plein après midi (15h30) pour éviter d’attendre; ce qui nous a permis d’attendre «que» 45 minutes…
Je pense que j’avais trop d’attente sur ce ramen. Il est très bon, au même prix que les autres (compter environ 900 yens) il n’y a rien à redire. On peut choisir comment on le veut et ça c’est très bien surtout pour le gras… Mais je pense que mon numéro 1 reste celui juste à côté de la gare de shibuya, ikkakuya.