Although a chain with over 70 locations spread throughout Japan, Ichiran is famous for their tonkotsu pork-bone broth (Ichiran Ramen — ~$9-10 USD) and their mysterious, semi-private, odd dining experience. You are greeted by pleasant hosts from the time you enter Ichiran to ordering at the vending machine, but once you are seated in your own isolated booth, it becomes a very personal experience. Through a small window in front of your booth, your steaming hot bowl of ramen is pushed out gently by a pair of hands as your server politely bows and shuts the window. During the ordering process, you do get to customize your bowl of ramen to a limited extent. You get to choose the richness of the broth, the addition of onions or garlic, the firmness of the noodles, and the spice level. Since this was my first visit, I opted for their recommendations: Medium for “dashi” (seasoning stock), richness, garlic, and noodle firmness. I also elected for green onions, sliced pork, and mild spice. I was overall impressed by the creamy, pork flavor of the broth and didn’t feel that it was over salted or too fatty, but was disappointed that the thin slices of pork were unremarkable. All in all, I did leave Ichiran feeling full, satisfied, and happy that I decided to make a pit stop here!