I went to the birthplace of Ramen Ichiran, which uses a 'flavor-focused counter'
Tonkotsu ramen specialty shop Ichiran has adopted the 'Taste Concentration Counter' where you can concentrate on eating your ramen without worrying about other people's gazes. Originating in Hakata, they have stores not only in Kyushu but also in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Osaka, Kyoto, and other places, but since the original store is in Minami-ku, Fukuoka City, I decided to try eating ramen at the original store's 'Taste Concentration Counter'.
Ichiran Natural Tonkotsu Ramen
Nanokawa store | Store information | Ichiran Natural Tonkotsu Ramen
https://ichiran.com/shop/kyushu/nanokawa/
The address is 2-2-10 Nanokawa, Minami-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, about a 7-minute walk from Nishitetsu Hirao Station and about a 3-minute walk from the Nishitetsu Bus 'Nanokawa' bus stop.
So, first, take a bus from Hakata Station. To get to the Nanokawa bus stop, walk to the left of the photo and take the 65 bus bound for Hibara Eigyosho from Hakata Station B bus stop, or take the 64, 66, 67, 69, or 69-1 buses from the C or D bus stops next to it.
If you get on from Hakata Station, there are three Nanokawa bus stops: 'Kyudenko-mae,' 'Hirao-cho,' and 'Shimizu-cho.' This time, I got off at Kyudenko-mae, which is the farthest stop, but it was still less than a five-minute walk away.
The shop looks like this, with some parts designed a bit like a food stall.
The store is located along Red Cross Street, and the car and bicycle parking area is about a 1-minute walk north of the store.
First, purchase a meal ticket from the ticket vending machine in front of the store.
The standard is ramen + extra noodles (980 yen), and ramen alone is 790 yen. Since it is a tonkotsu ramen specialty store, you don't have to worry about whether to have it with salt or soy sauce, you just have to think about whether to have rice or what toppings to get.
Ichiran's biggest feature is the 'Taste Concentration Counter,' which is a seating arrangement with partitions between the seats next to and in front of the customer. This was created based on the idea that 'when humans want to discern the taste, they focus only on the sense of taste,' and is a sign of the confidence that they are serving food that customers will find delicious even if they are concentrating on eating. They have even obtained a patent for this.
So when I sat down, the view was like this.
Although you have already purchased your meal ticket, you can fill in the details such as how strong you want the ramen flavor, how rich you want it, etc., and they will make the ramen for you. This time, I stuck to the basics and ordered the ramen.
At eye level is a panel displaying Ichiran's commitment to ramen and delicious ways to eat it.
While I was reading the display, my ramen arrived in no time. Once the ramen was placed on the table, the blinds in front of me were lowered, blocking the view from the staff and giving me the space all to myself.
Of course, cold water is also self-service.
So, when everything is set up it looks like this.
This is the tonkotsu ramen with thin noodles and a milky white soup. The faint red thing you can see in the center is Ichiran's proud 'secret red sauce.'
The soup is packed with flavor, just as the fat content of the soup suggests, but it doesn't weigh heavily on your stomach, and is so delicious that you'll find yourself gulping it down if you're not careful.
Needless to say, the compatibility of the noodles and soup is excellent. This time, I chose the 'basic' noodle hardness, but I would like to try different hardnesses.
The char siu doesn't interfere with the flavor of the ramen, but it's still a nice addition.
The 'secret sauce' is a mixture of over 30 ingredients, mainly chili peppers, and the hot, spicy flavor of chili peppers floats around the roof of your mouth. It's not 'spicy' at all, but rather adds flavor to your mouth to make the ramen taste even better.
By the way, the back of the chopsticks bag has a form for ordering additional noodles, so if you weren't planning on eating extra noodles but would like to have more, you can use this.
Souvenirs are also available for purchase.
The aisles inside the restaurant are one-way, so when you're done eating, just follow the arrows to go outside. The exits are reserved for you, so you won't run into anyone. This may also be a popular point for women.
The shop is open 24 hours a day, and you can see the cooking from outside. In the case of the Nanokawa store, it seems to be a bit crowded every day around 12 o'clock and in the evening and late at night.
The bus stop for the Tenjin and Hakata stations is very close to the restaurant, so you can have a quick meal before heading home. Ichiran has stores in the underground malls of Tenjin and Hakata, as well as all over Japan and even overseas, so unless you have a special reason to 'absolutely want to eat at the store where it originated,' there's no need to stick to the Nanokawa store.
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in Tasting, Posted by logc_nt