Ichiran Ramen in Ikebukuro
Activity > Tokyo > Eating > Ikebukuro
I had to pick something up at Tokyuu Hands in Ikebukuro today so I decided to grab some Ramen for lunch on the way. Ikebukuro is packed with many different Ramen shops but today I decided to try Ichiran Ramen ( 一蘭|いちらん: https://ichiran.com/ ), the shop in Ikebukuro. Ichiran Ramen has many stores throughout Japan and overseas included a shop in New York. It is famous for it's Tonkotsu Ramen (豚骨ラーメン|とんこつらーめん), a pork-bone based soup which is skimmed to perfection so that the ultimate flavor of pork is drawn out.
When I arrived at the shop there were already about 15 people in line... so, I had to wait. It's hard to wait for food when you are really hungry but in Tokyo, at popular places, sometimes you have to que up and wait. Time passes by fast if you have a friend to talk to, a SmartPhone or book to read while you wait. I had to wait about 30 min. and then finally it was my turn to enter the shop. There were a couple foreigners (tourists) in front of me who needed some help in ordering but one of the shop workers spoke good English and was able to help them out quite quickly. When you order Ramen at an Ichiran Ramen shop you fill out a little sheet of paper circling the stuff you want in the soup. Yes, they have an English and Chinese language paper too! Today I ordered the basic / standard Ichiran Ramen because sometimes I just like the "real" base taste instead of filling it with all kinds of unnecessary stuff.
Ichiran Ramen is also well known for it's method of seating arrangements. You sit at a counter and there is a partition on the left and right of you so you cannot see or talk to the person seating next to you. They do this so you can focus on the flavor of the Ramen you are eating! It's an interesting concept and I guess a good idea if you are a single person but, usually a meal is more enjoyable when you can share it with somebody and have some fun conversation. Maybe they do it so you can't talk and spend extra time sitting down so you leave quicker and they are able to get more people in! Well, it doesn't matter:), it's their shop and their Ramen is good so I guess it's fun once in a while.
The Ramen was really good... I give it 4 stars out of 5. The food comes quickly, the staff was polite and the shop spotless clean. I highly recommend this shop if you are in Ikebukuro. However... the only "bad" thing about this shop (this location only) is that it is in a slightly seedy part of Ikebukuro. There are lots of "adult" shops here and there close to this store.
Ichiran Ramen, Ikebukuro Shop
Address:
1 Chome-39-11 Higashiikebukuro
Toshima-ku, Tōkyō-to 170-0013, Japan
Tel:
03-3989-0871
