CoCo Ichibanya in Japan: How to Order Japanese Curry

Neither Cream nor I had ever eaten Japanese curry before Tokyo. By the end of our month there, a chain with a bright yellow sign had made our top three meals of the whole trip, and we'd become regulars.

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In this guide 10 sections

We'd heard CoCo Ichibanya was a favorite for a lot of people, so one day we sat down at the branch an easy walk from our Shinjuku apartment, with the camera rolling, to see whether Japan's most famous curry chain deserved a meal in one of the best food cities on earth.

It did. Below is how to order in English, which spice level to pick, the plate to get, and what we paid.

Watch Our CoCo Ichibanya Taste Test

Here's our first visit, pork versus chicken:

Is CoCo Ichibanya in Japan Worth It? My Quick Answer

Yes. CoCo Ichibanya is the easiest great meal in Japan, and it earns a perfect 10/10 from us. Go for the pork cutlet curry with regular spice: the cutlet is crispy, the sauce is thick, rich, and mildly spiced, and the whole plate costs about 1,050 yen (about $7). You can order in English, eat alone without anyone blinking, and find a branch almost anywhere in the country.

What Is CoCo Ichibanya?

Curry House CoCo Ichibanya, or "CoCoICHI" to Japanese fans, is a chain that does one thing: Japanese-style curry rice. It opened in 1978,¹ and the company counted more than 1,200 restaurants in Japan in February 2026.⁴

Japanese curry is its own thing. It's thick, glossy, and brown, served next to the rice instead of mixed through it, and it tastes nothing like an Indian or Thai curry. It's rich and creamy, with a mild heat and notes of cumin and clove.

How to Order at CoCo Ichibanya in Japan

Every curry starts from the same base, curry sauce and rice, and you build your own plate from there.² Here's the order, in four choices:

1. Pick your curry. The menu book is full of photos, with the English name under each dish. Each curry on the menu is named for its topping, like the pork cutlet curry. Under the topping, there are a few sauces to choose from: pork (the default), a mild pork sauce made for kids, beef, and a plant-based vegetarian sauce at some branches.
2. Pick your rice. It's a heavy meal, so if you aren't that hungry, ask for a smaller portion: the rice starts at 150 grams. If you're hungry, the rice goes up in 50-gram steps to 400 grams, then in 100-gram steps. Going to 350 grams adds 65 yen, and every 100 grams past 400 adds 130 yen.³
3. Pick your spice level. Regular costs nothing extra (see the table below).
4. Add toppings if you like. There are nearly 40 to choose from,¹ from cheese to vegetables, and you can stack them on any curry.

We ordered at the table without a word of Japanese. The menu board outside our branch listed every dish in English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese, and the chain prints menu books in English too.

CoCo Ichibanya Spice Levels, Explained

The spice scale is the part that confuses people. We didn't really get the spice options while we were there, so we just ordered regular every time, and it was good. Regular is roughly a standard medium-hot curry,³ and we found it mild and even. If you want more, each step up costs a little extra. The menu board at our branch showed the same 25-yen steps as the table below.

Level	Extra charge	What to know
Mild	None	Made with the kids' curry sauce; not available with beef or vegetarian sauce
Regular	None	About a standard medium-hot; what we ordered
Levels 1 to 5	25 yen per level (125 yen at level 5)	Anyone can order these
Levels 6 to 10	Extra	Only if you've finished a level 5 before
Levels 15 and 20	Extra	Only if you've finished the level below

Levels go all the way up to 20, but you have to earn the top ones: level 6 and above are only for people who've finished a level 5 curry.⁵ There's also a sweetness scale from 1 to 5, made with a honey and fruit sauce, if you want your curry milder still.

For a first visit, order regular. You can always add heat on your next one.

What We Ordered at CoCo Ichibanya

We always share, so we order two different dishes and go half and half. That way we get to try more. Cream got the pork cutlet curry and I got the chicken cutlet curry, both at regular spice. Here's the one to get, and what came with them.

1. Pork Cutlet Curry // Order This First

This is the classic: a fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu), sliced and laid over the rice, with the curry poured alongside. It arrived looking perfect, golden and steaming next to the sauce.

It lived up to the look. The fry was crispy, the pork was soft and tender, and the curry pulled the whole plate together. The rice surprised us too: soft, fluffy, and a little sticky.

Trying the fried pork with the curry and the rice was the whole experience for me. You can mix and match your bites: go for just the pork, add more curry, or have a spoonful of only rice and curry. It's so comforting. Cream's verdict was simple: "The pork tonkatsu is a must-try."

2. Chicken Cutlet Curry // Crispier, but Second Place

This was my order, and it came close. The chicken might even have been a little crispier than the pork, and the white meat stayed tender instead of drying out.

If you don't eat pork, order this and you won't feel like you missed out. But if Cream had to pick one, it was the pork every time.

3. Hojun Sauce // Taste It on Its Own First

Our curries came with a bottle of hojun sauce (the name means "rich" or "mellow"). The label says it lets you enjoy the curry even more. Cream wasn't convinced at first: "I couldn't imagine this being any more delicious."

On the curry, we could barely taste it. So Cream tried a drop on its own, and it made sense right away: it's sweet and sour. Back on the curry, it adds a little brightness to the rich sauce.

So taste it on its own first, then add a little. You'll know what you're looking for.

4. The Pickles on the Table // Free Extras

There are more toppings waiting on the table, including a tub of pickles you can spoon onto your plate. Cream compared them to pickled ginger.

One more thing you'll notice: the curry is so thick that it doesn't spread across the plate. It just stays on its side.

Eating Alone at CoCo Ichibanya (and Why That's the Point)

CoCo Ichibanya is the kind of place we loved most in Japan. It's quiet, it's fast, and it's cheap, and the tables around you are mostly locals quietly enjoying lunch or dinner. Part of what made it one of our favorite meals was simply being there and enjoying the moment.

Nobody blinks at a table for one here. People come in alone, eat in peace, and head back out, and as two introverts, we loved that about it.

What We Didn't Love

It's a really heavy meal. If you aren't that hungry, order a smaller portion of rice, which is easy to do.

Ordering is also a little confusing the first time. There are customization options, like the spice levels, that we didn't really get while we were there, which is why I've laid them out above. And the hojun sauce made no sense until Cream tasted it on its own.

Who Should Go to CoCo Ichibanya, and Who Can Pass

Go if you want an easy, filling meal you can order in English, you're eating alone, or you're nervous about spice, since regular is mild and you choose the heat. It's also a good pick for picky eaters: it's comfort food, through and through. And if you love spicy food, it's a fun challenge to work up the levels.

Skip it if you only have a few days and want every meal to be something you can't get anywhere else, since CoCo Ichibanya has branches outside Japan too. Even then, Cream's advice stands: "you've got to stop in one and try the curry."

Prices, Hours, and Getting There

• What we paid: two cutlet curries, both at regular heat, came to about $15 in May 2026, on a card.
• Menu prices: the pork cutlet curry is 1,055 yen (about $7) on the chain's English menu, tax included,¹ and our branch's board showed 1,052 yen. Prices are higher in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Osaka than in the rest of Japan.³
• Late-night charge: orders between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. cost 7% more.
• Our branch: CoCo Ichibanya Higashi-Shinjuku Ekimae, in the Fujiichi Building at 1-1-2 Okubo, Shinjuku, by Higashi-Shinjuku Station.
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., last order at 1 a.m., as posted on our branch's door in May 2026. Check Google Maps before you go, since hours vary by branch.
• Getting there: it was an easy walk from our apartment. By train, Higashi-Shinjuku Station is on the Toei Oedo line, one stop from Wakamatsu-Kawada. Apple Maps shows the exact fare and the exit to take.
• Vegetarian and halal: some branches serve a vegetarian curry, and a few are halal-friendly shops. Check the chain's English site for which stores.

CoCo Ichibanya Higashi-Shinjuku Ekimae, 1-1-2 Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo

This map comes from Google Maps.

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Our Verdict on CoCo Ichibanya in Japan

A crispy pork cutlet, a thick, gentle curry, and a menu you can order from in English, all for about 1,050 yen. It's not fancy, and it doesn't need to be, which is exactly why it became a habit. Get the pork cutlet with regular heat, taste the hojun sauce on its own, and don't leave a grain behind. As Cream said, "It's so good you'll get to the last bite."

Next Steps for Your Tokyo Trip

• Matsuya, the $3 beef bowl we kept going back to
• Ichiran's solo ramen booths, and how to order
• Tendon Tenya, tempura without the price
• Where to stay: anywhere central puts a CoCo within a short walk. See what Tokyo areas cost