Ramen

Ramen is a pretty popular dish even here in the states. Many Japanese people eat ramen because its quick : I often saw small stores in train stations where there was no place to sit, you just stand and eat the ramen then leave when you're done. Ichiran and Ippudo are two ramen chains that are actually here in the states as well. I saw several Ichiran locations, but I think only one or two Ippudo restaurants.

There is a unique way to order ramen from most places. When you walk in, there's a vending machine at the door where you order. So first you would put money in and select whatever you wanted in your bowl. I thought that this was an interesting way to order food since you don't even need to talk to the wait staff, just hand them your ticket.

ICHIRAN

Ichiran takes this no interaction with anyone to a whole other level. Instead of a typical restaurant style where you sit with your group at tables, you actually sit in your own stall. Now, it's not like its impossible to talk with your friends, you can just pop your head over. So after you get your ticket, there is a little sheet on your table to choose your preferences regarding noodle firmness, how spicy you want the broth, the amount of garlic you want etc. After you circle what you want, you ring the bell and the waiter lifts the bamboo screen (yes there's even a bamboo screen to separate you from the staff for even more privacy), and takes your sheet. The noodles come out pretty quickly but of course the broth is still piping hot. And if you find that you finished all your noodles but still have half the broth left, you can order what's called kaidama, which is basically an order of extra noodles.

The first location I saw of Ichiran was on Dotonburi (aka the tourist part of Osaka). The line was superrrrrr long, granted it was dinner time. The ramen is pretty good, so it is understandable why so many people want to have it. I'm not too sure about this, but I think prices vary based on location. My friend said there was an Ichiran by her lab, and the prices were cheaper than the Dotonburi location.

IPPUDO

I actually had Ippudo once before in Berkeley, and it was good but expensive (I think I might have trouble paying for ramen back here in the states since it was cheaper in Japan). The Ippudo I went to was in Ikeda about 3 minutes from the cup noodle museum (guess this city really loves noodles). The menu looked the same from what I remembered from my Berkeley trip, but the one I got was the "Ikeda Specialty", but I don't remember exactly what was in it. There are usually a couple broths when it comes to ramen including pork, miso, and salt (I think this one might have been salt based). It was pretty good, but I think I preferred the pork broth ones my friends got.

Of course there are so many other ramen places you could go to, there are especially a lot around tourist areas. One thing that was different about ramen for me were the noodles. My favorite type of noodles are thicker, chewer noodles, but the noodles in Japan were thinner than I expected. They were still good nonetheless and I definitely miss the amount of ramen shops (and of course the prices hehe).