Ichiran Ramen Shinjuku – Enjoy Delicious Tonkotsu Ramen in Private Booths, A Uniquely Japanese Experience

It was a cold night in Tokyo and I was feeling quite hungry while walking around Shinjuku. Therefore, I decided to go for some tonkotsu ramen at the famous Ichiran Ramen.

Ichiran Ramen (一蘭)

Ichiran Ramen (一蘭) is a famous Japanese ramen chain known for its delicious tonkotsu ramen. This is a creamy pork broth ramen served with chashu (braised pork belly), green onions and Hiden no Tare (spicy red sauce).

The history of Ichiran can be traced back to 1960, when it began as a humble ramen stall in Fukuoka.

Today, this popular ramen chain has over 80 branches in Japan, USA, Hong Kong and Taiwan. I’m hoping they will open a branch in Singapore one day too.

I visited the Shinjuku branch located near the east exit of Shinjuku Station.

Menu (Click to enlarge)

The most popular ramen is the classic Tonkotsu Ramen (JPY 890), which comes with one slice of chashu and green onions. I ordered this dish.

If you want something more sumptuous, go for the Ichiran 5 Ramen (JPY 1490). This tonkotsu ramen comes with four slices of chashu, kikurage mushrooms, dried seaweed, and a half-boiled salted egg. Other than the chashu, these extra toppings are served on a separate plate.

You can also order a la carte toppings like the Half-boiled salted egg (JPY 130), Dried seaweed (JPY 120) and Kikurage mushrooms (JPY 120). I ordered the egg and seaweed.

If you’re a big eater, make sure you order the kae-dama (noodle refill) for JPY 190. You can request for the refill at any time during your meal.

How To Order

Vending Machine

Food tickets

Step 1. Order Through Vending Machine
Like most ramen shops in Tokyo, I had to place my orders through a vending machine. It was very easy to use the machine.

I just inserted my money and pressed the buttons to select my food items. After that, I collected my food tickets and the change. Note that the vending machine only accepts cash (both coins and notes).

Step 2. Customise Ramen
After ordering, the staff told us to wait in a hallway outside the dining rooms. He also handed us an order sheet each to customise our ramens. There were seven preferences available, such as noodle texture, richness of the broth, spiciness, etc. You can check out the full list in the picture above.

3. Go to a Vacant Seat
After waiting in the hallway for about 5 minutes, the wife and I were told to enter one of the dining rooms, where we were allocated adjacent dining booths.

There is actually an electronic board outside the dining room, which has buttons for customers to press and reserve their seats. I really wanted to play with try the buttons but unfortunately I didn’t get the chance.

Mysterious staff taking my orders

Press on this button to call the staff

4. Submit Your Orders
Once I was seated, a kitchen staff behind the booth raised the screen in front of me and stretched out his hand to take my food tickets and customised order sheet.

After that, he lowered the screen and walked away. I didn’t even get to see his (or her?) face.

If no one comes to you, you can just press the rectangular button on the tabletop. Cheesy music will start playing and the staff will come to you shortly.

And that was my entire ordering experience at Ichiran Ramen!

A Unique Dining Experience

Hot water dispenser

I went to Ichiran in Shinjuku at 10pm on Wednesday, and was happy to see that there was no queue at all. Before coming, I had read that the queues can get really long, especially during peak hours.

Therefore, it was great that we managed to skip the queue by visiting during a less popular time. It felt great to just walk through the entrance, go down the steps, and proceed directly to the vending machine.

If you are the type who enjoys eating alone, you will really enjoy Ichiran’s seating arrangement. The wife and I dined in individual booths, separated from each other by a wooden partition.

I found out later that it’s actually possible to open up the partition. I guess this is to cater to couples or groups who want to chat with each other while eating.

Throughout my meal, I never got to see the face of the Ichiran staff serving me. I really wanted to pop my head through the opening in front of me to check out what was behind the booth, but I resisted the urge because I imagined the staff would probably find that pretty rude.

I saw many tourists of various ethnicities in the ramen shop. I was not surprised because I already knew that Ichiran is very popular with tourists.

Tonkotsu Ramen (JPY 890)

This was probably the best tonkotsu ramen I’ve ever had.

The highlight was definitely the tonkotsu broth. It was rich, creamy and fragrant without being overwhelming. I loved every mouthful of it!

The noodles were thin and springy with just the right amount of bite, going together with the luscious broth perfectly.

The chashu had a great meat-to-fat ratio, and was really tender and juicy.

An important ingredient was the hiden no tare (spicy red sauce), which had a smoky and slightly spicy taste. It provided the perfect tinge of heat and added an extra dimension to the ramen dish.

Bring Ichiran Home

Ichiran Instant Ramen

Spicy Red Sauce

Ichiran sells the spicy red sauce powder and an instant noodles version of their ramen. You can buy these to cook at home if you’re interested.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed eating the delicious tonkotsu ramen at Ichiran Ramen in Shinjuku. It was also quite an interesting cultural experience to dine in the small private booth.

As mentioned earlier, I visited the Shinjuku branch on a weekday at around 10pm and there was no queue at all. Therefore, I recommend going during non-peak hours to avoid the crowd. The shop is open 24 hours so you can go as late (or as early) as you want.

Muslim readers will be happy to know that there are now two Muslim-friendly Ichiran outlets in Japan. One is located in Shinjuku while the other is in Osaka. The ramen at these outlets do not contain pork or alcohol.

Ichiran Ramen Shinjuku
What to Order: Tonkotsu Ramen (JPY 890)
Opening Hours: Daily 24 hours
Address: 〒160-0022, B1F, 3-34-11, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 6F
Directions: 3-minute walk from Shinjuku Station East Exit
Other Branches: https://en.ichiran.com/shop/area-tokyo.html
Phone: +813 3225 5518

This article is part of our super awesome Ultimate Tokyo Travel Guide For First Timers. Everything you need to know about Tokyo is just a click away!