Ramen Japan

    Ichiran in Japan: The Fukuoka Original and Its Shops Abroad

    一蘭 · started in Fukuoka

    Where to start in Japan: Ichiran Honsha Sohonten (headquarters shop, Nakasu), Fukuoka. More Ichiran shops below

    Where it started

    Ichiran dates its roots to 1960 in Fukuoka, the city Hakata tonkotsu comes from. The chain as it runs today began with a shop in Fukuoka's Minami Ward in September 1993. Its headquarters shop, the Honsha Sohonten in Nakasu, opened in 1999, and the first Tokyo branch followed in 2001.

    The style

    Pork bone (tonkotsu) broth and thin noodles, topped with Ichiran's red secret sauce, a chili-based seasoning.

    You eat in a single booth with a divider on each side and fill in a paper form to set the flavor strength, the noodle firmness and how much red sauce you want. Extra noodles (kaedama) are ordered from the booth as well.

    Ichiran outside Japan

    Ichiran's first shop outside Japan opened in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, in July 2013. Brooklyn followed in October 2016 and Taipei in June 2017.

    • United States

      New York: Times Square, New York: Midtown West, New York: Brooklyn

    • Hong Kong

      Mong Kok, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui

    • Taiwan

      Taipei, Taichung

    From the sources below, checked 2026-10-27. Branches open and close, so check the Ichiran official site (English) before you go.

    Eating Ichiran in Japan

    Japan has far more branches, from Fukuoka and Hiroshima to Osaka, Tokyo and Sapporo, so one is rarely far away.

    To eat at the source, go to the Honsha Sohonten (headquarters shop) in Nakasu, Fukuoka. It sits above Nakasu-Kawabata Station, and its old name was the shop above Nakasu-Kawabata Station.

    Since June 2024 the Canal City Hakata branch has also served a wafu (Japanese-style) tonkotsu bowl alongside the classic one.

    Ichiran shops on Japan Ramen Guide

    Read more

    Sources