Ichiran Ramen in Kyoto

2017 Apr 5

• Visited: Wednesday 8:30 AM
• Ordered: Ramen and half-boiled egg
• Price: JPY 1010 (~ USD 9)
• Tip: Cash only
• Link: Tripadvisor

 

Ichiran ramen is a 24-hour ramen shop and it is known for its unique setup. They have multiple stores throughout Japan and I heard they opened one in Brooklyn, New York.

 

When I entered the restaurant I didn’t see any staff, just a vending machine and lots of instructions. Thankfully they had a lot of English translation.

 

I ordered ramen (JPY 890) and half boiled egg (JPY 120), and the vending machine gave me tiny tickets. I also picked up an English order sheet nearby.

 

Then I entered the seating area. The arrangement looked more like library cubicles. If you’re coming as a group you could move the divider as well, but there was no full size tables inside the restaurant. There was a tiny tab in the top left corner for green tea.

 

There were English instructions everywhere so it wasn’t too confusing. I filled in the preference sheet and pressed a button to call a staff, who collected my tickets and the sheet through the window in front of the table. It was interesting being unable to see the face of the staff.

 

After about 10 minutes my ramen appeared through the tiny window, and the staff put down a small curtain. It felt very private.

The ramen broth was thick, rich and oily. I liked it but it was a slightly on the salty side. I think I should have gotten the medium noodles because the firm noodles tasted a bit of uncooked flour. I wonder what extra firm tastes like.

The egg was perfectly cooked. The meat was thin and not the typic chashu pork I had in North American ramen restaurants. The red powder added spice to the broth and helped ease the greasiness, but it wasn’t that spicy.

 

Oh, they take toilet paper inside the restrooms very seriously here.

 

 

Thoughts

It was a very unique experience, and I loved the privacy. I’m sure there are other restaurants with better ramen but for a solo traveller who wanted some privacy it was perfect. I think it’s one of those restaurants that you are not eager to go back to but don’t mind going to if you are in the vicinity. If you’re interested in different types of restaurants I would highly recommend Ichiran ramen.

 

 

Side Note

There was a river 5 minute walk to the East from Ichiran ramen. It looked absolutely beautiful with cherry blossoms finally opening.