Ichiran With a Baby: 4 Visits and Free Kids’ Ramen
We travel to Japan often, and going to Ichiran with a baby hasn’t changed one thing: I always crave at least one meal at… Ichiran! I loved its ramen before becoming a parent, and I wasn’t about to give it up afterward. We’ve been bringing our little one along since babyhood and still enjoying every bowl.
With its study-carrel-style partitions, individual counter seats, and generally tight layouts, I can see why so many parents wonder whether Ichiran is doable with a baby.
Visiting Ichiran With a Baby
We’ve been four times in total, when our baby was 7, 10, and 17 months old. My verdict? It’s absolutely doable—and easier than you might expect!
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Ichiran With a 7-Month-Old |
On our visit at seven months, our baby conveniently fell asleep in the stroller while we were waiting in line. We simply wheeled the stroller inside and ate.
Most Ichiran locations have a line, but we were able to keep our baby in the stroller while we waited.
Inside, we parked the stroller behind our seats while we ate. The gap between us and the row behind was narrow, but people could still squeeze past sideways.
Since ramen is the only main dish, meals don’t tend to take long. You can slurp your noodles and be on your way.
Our baby slept right through the meal, making this our easiest visit of all!
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Ichiran With a 10-Month-Old |
When our baby was 10 months old, we traveled to Okinawa, Japan. Compared with our experiences on mainland Japan, the hotel rooms were bigger—and the Ichiran we visited had more space between the rows, too.
Each individual booth was the same width, but there was much more room between our seats and the row behind us. It made a real difference.
This location also provided a high chair. From other parents’ reviews, it sounds like some mainland Japan locations have high chairs, too—not just those in Okinawa.
We always visit as a family of three—my husband, our baby, and me—and staff have always given our baby a separate spot. That extra seat makes things much more comfortable.
I especially appreciated that they provided a seat even when we weren’t ordering a meal for our baby.
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Ichiran With a 17-Month-Old |
Our most recent visit was when our little one was 17 months old.
This time, we brought a stroller trike. Once again, we could keep it with us in line and wheel it right through to our seats.
I asked whether we needed to fold it, but the staff said we could leave it open. We parked it snugly against the wall behind our seats.
When I asked about a child’s seat, they fitted a child-sized backrest onto a regular stool right then and there!
The standard seats are backless stools like this one, and they’re quite tall—definitely not something I’d put a baby on without extra support.
With the wraparound backrest attached, though, even our not-yet-two-year-old could sit securely.
The backrest also had a waist belt, which helped ease my worries about a fall.
I felt our little one was still a bit young for the kids’ ramen, so we ordered an extra bowl of plain rice and offered some as a snack.
Outside food generally isn’t allowed, but small snacks for babies were okay on our visits.
Children’s utensils are available on request, though we didn’t ask for any.
While we waited, I let our little one scribble with the order form and red pen provided at each seat. Those little “drawings” kept our toddler happily occupied for quite a while.
Across all four visits, not a single staff member acted bothered that we’d brought a baby or seemed put out by having to prepare a child’s seat.
Everyone was so kind about getting us comfortably seated with our little one that the meals were surprisingly easy.
If you’ve hesitated to visit Ichiran with a baby because you’re worried about inconveniencing others or squeezing into a tiny space, our experience should offer some reassurance. We’ll definitely keep bringing our little one along for the occasional bowl!
Free Kids’ Ramen Coupons in the Official Ichiran App
Here’s a perk worth knowing about if you’re bringing a little one to Ichiran!
Ichiran offers free kids’ ramen to members through its official app.
Children through sixth grade of elementary school are eligible, with up to five children covered per adult ordering ramen.
The kids’ ramen is roughly half the size of a regular bowl, and you can customize the flavor to suit your child’s preferences.
The catch is that this is a Japan-only app, so you may not be able to install it through the South Korean Google Play Store or App Store.
Some people say they’ve managed to download it through the official Ichiran link above, but that didn’t work on my phone. It looks like I’ll need a VPN.
I’ll give the installation another try when our daughter is old enough to enjoy her own ramen!