Is Ichiran Worth It? The Solo-Booth Ramen, Explained

It's 8am in Kabukicho, and Cream and I are each tucked into a wooden booth with a steaming bowl of tonkotsu ramen. Every seat in the room is taken. Nobody is talking. The only sounds are slurping, from one end of the counter to the other, and the ramen music playing softly over it all.

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In this guide 12 sections

Breakfast at Ichiran was a plan, not an accident. We were living in Shinjuku for a month, and every time I looked up the best ramen in Tokyo, Ichiran came up, usually next to photos of its famous line. We like to eat when places are quiet, and the Shinjuku Kabukicho branch never closes, so we figured nobody lines up for ramen at 8am. We were half right. We walked straight in without waiting, and then found every booth already full.

So is Ichiran worth it, or is it the tourist trap half the internet says it is? Here's how it works, and what we thought.

Watch Us Eat Ichiran Ramen for Breakfast

Here's our ramen breakfast on video, kiosk, order sheet, booth, and all:

Is Ichiran Worth It? My Quick Answer

Yes. We gave Ichiran an 8 out of 10. The broth is rich and creamy, the kiosk and order sheet do all the talking for you, and eating in your own wooden booth is something we'd never done before. The famous line is the biggest catch, and you can skip it by going at an off hour, like we did at 8am. What kept it from a higher score for us: the extra toppings come on separate plates, and the meal moves so fast you don't get to linger.

What Makes Ichiran Different

Ichiran is a tonkotsu ramen chain from Fukuoka, on Japan's southern island of Kyushu. It was founded in 1960 and had 93 restaurants as of 2026.¹ Tonkotsu is ramen in a creamy, cloudy broth made from pork bones, and it's the only thing Ichiran serves.³

Two things set it apart. The first is the Ichiran solo booths, which the company calls "flavor concentration booths": rows of single seats with dividers on both sides, so you can focus on your bowl without anyone watching you eat.² The second is the Original Spicy Red Sauce, the red spoonful in the middle of every bowl. Ichiran says only four people know the exact recipe.²

How to Order at Ichiran

This was the part we were most curious about, and it's much easier than it looks. Neither of us needed any help.

1. Pay at the Kiosk // Before You Go In

There's a ticket kiosk by the entrance. You can switch the screen to English (Chinese and Korean too), pick your ramen and any extras, and pay. We paid with a credit card. The machine prints a small paper ticket for each item.

We both ordered the ICHIRAN Select 5, a set with the classic tonkotsu ramen plus dried seaweed, four extra slices of chashu (braised pork), kikurage mushroom (a crunchy wood ear mushroom), and a half-boiled salted egg. It was ¥1,850 each. We added two draft beers at ¥650 each.

2. Fill In the Order Sheet // In Your Booth

Take your tickets to a booth. Waiting there is a paper order sheet in Japanese and English (flip it over for Chinese and Korean), where you circle how you want your bowl:

• Dashi (seasoning stock): light, medium, or strong
• Richness: none to extra rich
• Garlic: none up to one clove, free
• Green onion: none, white, or green
• Chashu: with or without
• Original Spicy Red Sauce: none up to 10 times the normal amount, free
• Noodle texture: extra firm to extra soft

The recommended choice in each row has a dotted circle around it. If you're not sure, go with those. The sheet suggests half the normal amount of red sauce as the default, so anyone nervous about spice can start there.

3. Hand It Over // Then Wait for Your Bowl

In front of each booth is a small window into the kitchen. Staff in red reach through and take your tickets and order sheet, and your ramen comes through the same window. You never have to say a word.

We knew roughly what to expect, but you get thrown right in. You're moved through quickly: you sit down, they take your papers, and the food comes fast. It's so funny the way the bowl just shows up through the window. It's a really fun moment, and it happens so fast.

Inside the Ichiran Solo Booths

Cream and I sat side by side with a divider between us, each in our own little space, so you get to eat your ramen in peace even when you came together.

Each booth has its own water tap, so refills never mean waving down the staff, and Cream thought that was the coolest detail of all. There's a cup waiting for you, and chopsticks are right there in the booth.

His verdict on the setup: "I've never had a personalized booth like this just to enjoy ramen."

The Ramen: How Ichiran Tastes

The Broth

Cream and I ordered exactly the same thing, and it was so good. We tasted the broth on its own first. "That is rich and creamy," Cream said, and I agree: the broth is the star, full of flavor. The red sauce is mixed right in and gives every spoonful the same steady, even heat.

The Toppings

One tip from the video: the half-boiled salted egg comes in its shell, so crack and peel it before your ramen arrives. We stirred in the mushroom and chashu, dropped the egg in, and mixed it all up. The smell alone was incredible, and Cream loved the color of the egg yolk.

The chashu is worth trying on its own first. It's rich and full of flavor without being too much. The seaweed comes wrapped on the side, so you can add it when you like.

My one wish is that all the extra toppings came already in the bowl, the way the regular chashu does, instead of on separate plates. It's not a huge deal, just a little more work.

The Noodles

For me, the noodles were done perfectly: soft, with a great texture. Cream did his best to slurp them properly, like everyone around us. And I love that you can customize everything on the order sheet if you want to. If you're still hungry at the end, Ichiran has a kaedama system, where you order an extra serving of noodles to drop into your leftover broth.²

The Beer

Our Ichiran had just one draft beer on the menu. Cream's take: "Perfect with ramen."

As for the whole bowl, Cream put it simply: "The quality of the ramen is pretty much better than anything I've had in the States."

Is Ichiran Worth the Wait?

Only if you have to wait. The line is the main complaint you'll hear about Ichiran. But the Shinjuku Central East Exit and Shinjuku Kabukicho branches are open 24 hours,⁴ so you can simply avoid peak times. An early breakfast worked for us with zero queue, just don't expect an empty room.

Is Ichiran Worth the Hype?

For us, yes. Some people call Ichiran overpriced or touristy. But the ramen itself is excellent, and for a first trip to Japan, the booth and the order sheet take all the stress out of eating out. You don't need to read Japanese, talk to anyone, or know ramen etiquette.

Ichiran Price: What We Paid

• What we paid: $32.25 for two in May 2026, for a pair of Select 5 sets plus a beer each.
• The set: ICHIRAN Select 5 was ¥1,850, with the ramen, seaweed, extra chashu, mushroom, and a salted egg.
• The beer: ¥650 for a draft.
• A plain bowl: the classic tonkotsu ramen alone is about ¥1,080 at Tokyo branches as of mid-2026.⁵ Some branches add ¥100 between 10pm and 6am.⁵
• Extra noodles: a kaedama refill was ¥210 as of mid-2026.⁵
• Payment: the kiosk took our credit card.
• Where we went: Ichiran Shinjuku Kabukicho, 1-17-10 Kabukicho, Shinjuku, open 24 hours.⁶⁴

Order the plain bowl and skip the beer, and it's a cheap meal. The toppings and drinks are what add up.

Ichiran Shinjuku Kabukicho, 1-17-10 Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo

This map comes from Google Maps.

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What We Didn't Love

The toppings come on the side. With the Select 5 set, the extra chashu, mushroom, and egg arrive on separate plates, and the egg is still in its shell. You build the bowl yourself.

It's a quick turnaround. Ichiran moves you through fast, from sitting down to slurping. That's great when you're hungry, but it's not a place to linger.

Who Ichiran Is For, and Who Should Skip It

Honestly, everyone should go. It's a fun experience, and it's seriously good ramen.

It's perfect if it's your first time in Japan, you're traveling solo, or you're nervous about ordering in a language you don't speak. It's also an easy breakfast, since two of the Shinjuku branches never close.

The one real exception: if you don't eat pork, skip it, since the broth is made only from pork bones.² And if you want a long, chatty dinner, save the conversation for afterward. The booths are built for eating, not catching up.

Our Verdict on Ichiran

Ichiran is worth it. Go early, take your time with the order sheet, crack your egg before the bowl arrives, and get the beer. Then sit back, listen to the slurping, and enjoy how fast it all happens.

Next Steps for Your Tokyo Trip

• Matsuya, the $3 beef bowl we kept going back to
• CoCo Ichibanya, Japanese curry your way
• Tendon Tenya, tempura without the price
• Where to stay: there is an Ichiran within reach of most central areas, so pick the neighborhood first and the ramen will follow