Ichiran Roppongiten

This was one of the best ramen places I had! This particular location is a lot less crowded.
Make sure to buy your food items outside first at the vending machine (get a ticket).The seating system is really strange — when you first go in you’ll see this board with lots of lights. It’s showing which booths are free. Press the number based on how many guests are with you, and if seats together open up it’ll ring you. The booths are divided up so you can’t really speak anyways, so there’s no point to be seated together.
You can ask for an English «menu» — it’s a survey that asks what your preferences are (noodle texture, soup strength, spice, etc.). Once you’ve circled your choices, put them at the edge of the table and hit the button. Food arrives pretty swiftly. You’ll almost never see the server as the pull blinds on you… strange but fantastically fun. :-p

I visited Tokyo for the first time this winter during the holiday season. My sister and I are both huge foodies, so after hearing about Ichiran’s unique concept, we had to try it out. Ichiran was actually our New Year’s Eve dinner, and I have to say that I couldn’t have ended the year with a better meal.
The Ichiran branch in Roppongi is on the second floor of a narrow building, accessible both by stairs and elevator. It utilizes the vending/​ordering machine, with which you use to order and pay for your meal. Because there was a line out the door that night, the waitress came out and handed us sheets of paper (available in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean from what I know). Props to the waitress who was pretty proficient in many languages! Then you’re seated in individual booths, and you’re provided a pen to fill out the sheet with your preferences (type of ramen noodle, quantities of garlic, green onion, spice), so as to cater to your tastes as best possible.
You never really see the waiters/​waitresses because everything is self-​serve. There is a water faucet in each booth, and the small window in each booth is covered once your ramen is served.
Food: I find the concept of «the preferences sheet» to be very clever. Because they cater to your tastes and preferences, you are more likely to enjoy your meal (implying that yes, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal). It seems like a simple bowl of ramen, but there is so much depth of flavor and the noodles are perfectly chewy. The portion is perfect, and even if you have a bigger appetite or stomach, you are given the option to get a refill of noodles at additional cost. My sister couldn’t stop raving about this place after we left, and we were so satisfied that we knocked out at our hotel and ended up missing the countdown to the new year (oops).
Price: The standard bowl of ramen without any add-​ons was 790 yen, which amounts to less than $ 7 which is AMAZING for the quality and experience, in my opinion.
I can see this being a great place for workingpeople who want a quick and filling meal without having to feel awkward eating alone. At the same time, it’s also a great experience for anyone so feel free to come in groups as well!

Had a friend suggest this place. She lived in Los Angeles and knows I enjoyed Ramen from Daikokuya and said I would love this place. She was right. Got the extra noodles, full flavored and could not have been more happy. What a great place to enjoy some local Ramen. The small effort figuring how to order and seating was totally worth the food.

This is one of my favorite chain ramen restaurants.
Taste: Great. Up to your order actually.
Price: Reasonable.
Customer service: Awesome. Really fast.
You can have a pretty spicy one, if you wanna try something crazy. It’s really rich. I usually take tums afterwards.

Just the best ramen place I’ve tried in Tokyo. Soup, sauce, eggs, meat are absolutely stunning. The place is kinda traditional/​cosy which is really pleasant.

My first ichiran was actually at Fukuoka which in my opinion has the best ramen but since most visitors stop in Tokyo, I shall do my review for Tokyo. I just recall after partying in the clubs of roppongi the night before, I was super hungover. Like «I’m never going to drink ever again» kinda hungover… Anyways it’s just like what you see in the animé cartoons. You pay for your meal at the vending machine and a ticket drops. You give it to the chef and just smile because he will ask you questions in Japanese and if you’re just like me… Your Japanese is very limited. The hearty meal was with songs from the beetles made my hangover go away, so I can drink… For another day.

ichiran… super popular among chinese and thai tourists dubbed as «exam ramen» because you can customize your noodles (firm, soft, oily, scallion added, spicy…)
I personally love ichiran because it is a pretty decent hakata tonkotsu ramen plus I can customize my own bowl of ramen (to be less oily) and i can count on getting super firm noodles (katamen)

One of my favorite Ramen joints in Tokyo. I love the ability to customize the Ramen to my taste. There is an English menu but you will need to ask for it. The private booths are fun, you never feel rushed and if you like taking pictures of your food… shoot away! I recommend saving your broth and ordering an extra bowl of noodles (kaedama) at the end to get more bang for your buck.

Ichiran is shop specializing in Hakata style ramen, and is in walking distance from all the bars and clubs in Roppongi and is open till sunrise. The order is placed on a machine just outside the eating area, in which each bar seat is separated into individual booths where it’s just you and your meal. A woven bamboo curtain rises in which you deal your ticket and receive your goods, with only hands visible in the entire exchange.
The ideal spot for after, presumably, things didn’t go too well over the course a night in Roppongi, a notorious hub of Gaijin, hookups, and the like. Here, you can slurp down the chewy noodles, sip the undeniably thick, pork bone broth (which might be one of the «stinkiest» tonkotsu ramen I’ve ever had, and I mean that in a good, porky way), without any care or grace as no one can see you eat, not even the chef. Because after striking out socially, all you really need is some alone time and there isn’t anything better to do it with than with a bowl of the slickest and stickiest.

This was not my first time at Ichiran, I’d previously been in Osaka and loved it. However this time around I think my visit suffered from the fact that I’d had some amazing ramen from small, private shops in the days prior.
The ram was good as usual, but it felt a bit too «standardised» compared to the unique flavours I’d been experiencing at other places.
You won’t be disappointed by Ichiran, and we were starving when walking by so we chose it, but if you’ve got time to explore its worth looking a bit further and finding more unique places to try.

One of the best ramen I’ve had in Japan! Ichiran is a unique ramen chain. You purchase your tickets beforehand and once you’re seated you will choose how you want your meal to be. You can choose from the thickness of the broth, spiciness and so on. You can order additional toppings and extra noodles once you’re in your booth eating your bowl of ramen! Decent price– great ramen– fast service!

While the way of ordering at the Roppongi 一蘭 is slightly different to the Shinuya one, the customisation are still available and the ramen tastes just as good!
You end up spendjng a bit more than usual for ramen because of the extras and the customisation but it’s completely worth it!

If you like Fukuoka style ramen, this is the place to go. The broth is delicious and the spicy sauce throws in a kick. My favorite is the noodles. It’s chewy and absorbs the flavor of the broth. It is flour-​y. I like this better than Ippudo (一風堂）， which is just around the block. It’s no nonsense, just eat and go. The only thing I wish was different is that they would use chasui pork instead of thinly sliced pork and have soft boiled egg.

It is 24 hour open and located in the middle of Roppongi — perfect for late evening stop after having drinks with friends!
First, you need to buy a ticket from the vending machine — just ramen, or add other stuff like eggs, etc. Bring the ticket and get to your seat — btw, each seat is separated by small dividers. You won’t see server’s face or they won’t see you — except for hands… just leave your ticket, then a few min later, your ramen is delivered!
You get to specify how chewy your ramen is to be cooked, scallion — green or white parts, spicy paste — little/​much, broth — thicker or not, etc… Enjoy your customized ramen!