ICHIRAN Canal City Hakata — Restaurant in Fukuoka

-Visited on a Sunday during lunch time, queued for less than 20mins. -Easy to order with ticket machines outside the shop. While queueing, a paper will be passed to you so that you can circle your ramen preference. Available in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. -Seats are separated so that each person will have their own space to enjoy the ramen. If you visit in a group, the staff will ask if you would like to sit next to each other or separately. There were not a lot of seats in this outlet but the turnover was quite fast. Hangers are available to hang your coat and a hook under the table for your bag. -Signs and extra order forms are available at the table in English and Japanese so that we do not need to speak to the staff. A call button is available on the table and staff will efficiently respond at the window in front. -Serving time was fast. -Soup was fragrant and the ramen was delicious. Portion was adequate but you can order more noodles if required. There is only one dessert on the menu but...

Happy to have a chance to try the Ichiran tonkotsu ramen which originates in this area, and conveniently there is one in the basement of the Hakata Canal City mall. Several blocks away there is a standalone Ichiran Ramen restaurant.

Ordering is not trivial as it's through a vending machine in front of the restaurant despite there are instructions for first time customers. Best to have your phone translation app handy.

After ordering, you'll be shown to a small booth where you wait for your ramen to show up through the little bamboo curtain window. The bowl is rectangular instead of the typical round bowl, with its signature red hot sauce on top.

There are more instructions (in English) on how to request additional items. Otherwise, it's a yummy tonkotsu ramen - thinner than usual, thick tonkotsu broth, green onion garnish, and soft...

Pretty much the same as any other Ichiran Ramen location.

If you've been to any other location before, you will know what to expect. We came for lunch on a Saturday and only had to wait around 10 mins to get seats for two people. They also serve the ramen in rectangular shaped bowls here for some reason.

We also had some heavy backpacks on us as we were inbetween accommodation and the staff offered to take them off us and keep them safely aside for us to collect after our meal which was a nice surprise.

The ramen here is the same as other locations, which is a good thing as it's predictably delicious.

The Ichiran Ramen chain first started in Fukuoka, so you might want to get a bowl while you are here. Would recommend this location based on the short wait time on a weekend and...