Ichiran Ramen Shibuya, Tokyo - Taking The Usual Route

I am not a Ramen fan neither is my husband (please don't judge us) but when we were planning out our Tokyo travel few weeks ago, we made it a point to really try their authentic Japanese Ramen and the internet's best recommendation for an affordable one is of course the famous Ichiran Ramen.

James and I were on our third day in Tokyo when the heavens rained and we knew it was a perfect time to have our hot noodle soup up. So, we headed to Shibuya's Ichiran Ramen.

As per research, there are two branches of Ichiran Ramen in Shibuya but the other one is a few minutes walk and it has less customers.

But we still went to the nearest from Shibuya 109 and found the entrance empty, aha! No customers but we were a fool as soon as we started walking into the dungeon, most restaurants here in Tokyo are located underground.

There was already a long line! We still had time to observe though so it was okay!

When we reached the order machine, we felt like seasoned Ramen-eating people because we have seen how others had ordered theirs multiple times.

It pays to observe!

I missed to take a photo of the machine 'coz I was excited to order. So the outdated image above is courtesy of newdenizen.com!

Anyway, we just opt the basic Ramen worth 850yen or around Php 425, I understand the image above shows an older pricing. Today, their complete set is already worth 1250 yen.

Ordering was easy, just feed the money into the machine, press the desired option and a ticket will dispense out together with some change if applicable.

Obviously, this is a cash only restaurant, most eateries there accepts cash only. We met one tourist after dining and was asking if Ichiran accepts card, she looked like she has ran out of cash.

Now, it was time to wait for our turn to be called but first, selfie!

It took around 15 minutes of waiting before some two spaces got available. While on line, we saw the diners from this portion:

The diners are just separated by a few inches away from the person seated next to him or her. One thing I noticed about the Japanese establishments is that they make use of every space.

Ichiran Ramen also sells instant Ramen noodles in boxes and sachets! I was tempted to buy some boxes but I decided not to because its quite expensive and if I have to buy some as souvenirs for friends and families, I may need to buy not just one but perhaps ten boxes! That thought discouraged the pocket out of me!

This board here displays the available seats. A crew wearing this red Japanese yukata showed up and was talking Japanese, of course we didn't understand him but when he showed us the way, we understood that they got some space good for two at the end partition.

The restaurant indeed is very tiny but they managed to partition it into four or five sections, I am not quite sure. James and I were at the last partition with four other tourists sipping their hot soup, it got me hungry seeing them eating.

Here's my space:

There's a separator in between each table which you can also take down especially if you are sitting together with friends.

The space was equipped with tissues at the back all available for everyone in this partition. There were hangers too for those who have coats or jackets.

The table even got a hook for hanging umbrellas or bags. Note that at the entrance, they also provide umbrella plastics so they won't be flooding the floor, we don't have this in the Philippines but I was also concerned with the number of plastics.

Anyway, an order form was provided, this was to be filled up with how you'd like to customize your ramen. I didn't really think too much, I selected all medium and handed it over to the crew.

Instructions are also provided in front of this tiny space most especially for additional orders. Also, don't worry about drinks, they provide free water!

Now its time for the waiting game! We can't wait for our bowls to arrive! It took around ten minutes though for it to reach out tables. The crew also has been saying some Japanese chants prior to closing this foldable window separating us from their space behind this table.

Finally!

Itadakimasu!

I had tried a few Japanese restaurants offering Ramen within Cebu City and all of them didn't have the same consistency as this ramen. It's oily but also good! I wished I selected a different type of noodle though and added more spiciness because the medium one is just negligible.

However, I really like the meat, it was tender! Overall, we both love the meal, even finished all the way to the bottom of the soup!

According to some vlogs I watched on YouTube, it is okay to make some sipping sound when eating the noodles but not for the soup. It means the Ramen is pretty good!

Now that we are back in Cebu City, James and I are looking forward to another set of Ramen noodles soon. Let' see the difference!

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Restaurant Information

Ichiran Ramen Shibuya

Japan, 〒150-0042 Tōkyō-to, Shibuya-ku, Udagawachō, 13−７ コヤスワンB1F

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Ichiran Ramen Shibuya, Tokyo - Taking The Usual Route
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