Tsuchiura Curry Festival
This blog post is a two for one deal. First, I will be talking about an event that is happening this weekend, October 1st and 2nd.
After a two year hiatus, the Tsuchiura Curry Festival is back! It is a really fun festival that takes place at JCOM stadium in Tsuchiura. The stadium is really close to Tsuchiura station. Just a 10 minute walk.
The festival features a bunch of different curry shops from all around Ibaraki and some from different prefectures. I highly recommend trying Tsuchiura's lotus root curry bread, if it is not sold out. Another place you might want to try is Dam Curry. The place makes a small mound of rice which is the dam, and has the curry up against the "dam." It's delicious and cute.
If you are all filled up with curry and want to listen to music, Mall 505 next to Tsuchiura station will have live music and a market place going on.
So if you are looking for something to do this weekend and want to try some amazing curry, come on down to the Tsuchiura Curry Festival!
Now, let's talk about ramen!
Ever heard of Ichiran ramen? You might have seen the instant Ichiran ramen packs at Donki Hotte. It is an interesting tonkotsu ramen and an experience you will not forget.
My wife was looking through LINE news one night and told me that Ichiran Ramen has come to Ibaraki. I was excited to go to the new Ichiran ramen establishment, and a few weeks later the Ibaraki Eats Duo was slurping some Ichiran noodles in Mito.
Ichiran Mito
The new Ichiran ramen place is located in the Motoyoshidacho area of Mito. I recommend coming by car since there are no train stations near by.
Ichiran ramen is a Fukuoka ramen chain, and it is pretty famous. There are Ichiran ramen places around Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and a lot of other cities in Japan.
When you walk into Ichiran Ramen, the staff interaction is very limited. You are greeted by a digital menu/ticket machine. From there, you choose your tonkotsu ramen and whatever extra toppings you want with your ramen. The digital menu does have an English option which is always nice.
One person one booth
Once you have your ramen ticket, a staff member will tell you your booth number. When you arrive at your booth, you immediately realize that it is a one person booth. All the booths are one person. There are no tables or group seating at Ichiran Ramen. My wife was in the booth next to mine so I was still close to her but I couldn't see her face.
Once you sit down, you slide your ticket to the open window of your booth. Then, you get an options paper and select if you want the spicy red paste, if you want negi, if you want any extra noodles, and other options in your ramen. Don't worry, that paper is in English as well.
Once you are done with that, you slide it to the open window and wait for your ramen. You will never meet your server face to face, just their torso.
Ramen Time!
After waiting a few minutes, the server will slide your ramen into your booth from the open window, bow, and close the window with a bamboo curtain.
I ordered the tonkotsu ramen with extra sides, and I couldn't wait to start slurping.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Ichiran being from Fukuoka will of course, serve tonkotsu ramen. I began slurping the thin small noodles, which usually come with tonkotsu ramen, and was very happy with my bowl of ramen. The red spicy paste mixed with the noodles was a joyful kick to my taste buds. The tonkotsu soup is fantastic. I almost drank the entire bowl of ramen.
Extra Sides
I wasn't finished yet. I had a plate of extra sides to add into my ramen. The extra sides were nori, chashu, and kikurage (it is a type of mushroom).
I enjoyed all my extra sides but I wished my chashu was a bit thicker. This was probably the thinnest chashu I had ever had.
If you want even more sides, you can call over the one staff remember walking around the booths and ask for something extra.
The Ibaraki Eats Duo had a great time at Ichiran Ramen and our ramen was delicious. This place is quite an experience that you may not get from any other ramen place. It is a bit pricey, but I think it is a delicious unique ramen experience everyone should try at least once. Ichiran is also open from 10:00 am to 6:00 am. You can have ramen for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
So if you want to check out Fukuoka's famous ramen chain, you should definitely come to Mito and try Ichiran Ramen. Who knows, you might see me there. Wait. No, you won't see me because of the one person booths. But I will be enjoying tonkotsu ramen there again for sure.
Enjoy!
For more information on Ichiran Ramen, check out their website:
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