Ichiran is a chain ramen restaurant that has almost 90 branches. They even have international branches in the US, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It has been beloved by many people because of its taste, unique tables and an ordering system.

The origin of Ichiran was back in 1960, one man "Sadayuki Nakahara" opened a ramen stall called "Futaba Ramen" in Fukuoka. In 1966, they moved it into a new location and changed the restaurant name to "Ichiran". At that time, they started a membership system taking only regular customers. In 1993, the 1st branch was opened in Nanokawa district, Fukuoka. This is thought to be the 1st branch in stead of the one opened in 1966, because the Nanokawa branch started systems that other current branches inherit. Since then, Ichiran started growing the number of branches domestically and internationally.

Ichiran is a little bit different from ordinary ramen restaurants. Not to mention the taste of the ramen itself, there are some unique systems for customers to enjoy the taste even better.

・Separated counter tables

So-called "Aji-Shuchu counter" which means "a counter table that you can concentrate on the taste" in a direct translation. Was this invented since the pandemic? No, this system has been kept for almost 30 years.

The main purpose of separating each table individually is, because once you take the seat, you can be in your own world without any disturbances. When people are fully relaxed, they feel more deliciousness.

・Ordering by a paper

At most of ordinary ramen restaurants, you order a ramen which is written on a menu. However, at Ichiran, you have more customizing options.

Once you take the seat, you will see a paper which is used for ordering. On the paper, there are options to choose; how thick the taste you want, if you want certain toppings, how spicy you want and how hard the noodle you want.

These are ones of the reasons why Ichiran has been beloved and repeated by many customers.

The main characteristic of Ichiran is its secret sauce. Putting this red sauce in the middle was originated from Ichiran since 1960. The sauce is made by mixing 30 spices and maturing for days. In doing so, you will feel not only spiciness, but also you will feel umami exploding in your mouth. Only 4 people in Ichiran know how to make the sauce.

Also Ichiran is famous for serving tonkotsu soup without a strong smell. Tonkotsu is one of the typical ramen flavors in Japan, which is made by boiling pork bones for long hours. Ichiran takes extra cares boiling the bones and skimming the scum so that it does not have the strong smell!