Wow - such delicious ramen- light soy based broth with exceptional chashu. I waited over an hour after getting in line at 1140am. Well worth it.

First visit Saturday May 24th to the famous “Ichiban Ichiban" [ 一番いちばん ] near Machida station on the Odakyu line, which made it onto Tablelog's top 100 Ramen shops for the past several years. Took the train to Machida station, exited from the NORTH exit, then walked like 10 minutes, arriving at the shop at 10:43am. I was first on line. They open at 12:00pm noontime, so 1 hour and change of waiting is a small price to pay to be seated and served first! At 11:54am, the worker opened the shade, opened the door, and hung the Noren above the door. Then he thanked everyone for waiting and bowed. I was then asked to enter the store. There is a sign asking to spray your hand with alcohol and I did so, and then entered the store. Went to the ticket vending machine, but I had a question, so I asked the worker quickly what the difference between the 1400 yen and the 1800 yen selection was. He explained the 1400 yen version had less items and the 1800 yen version had 4 wontons and "lots" of chashu. Guess which one I picked? 😋 I got the "Handmade roasted pork and wonton ginger soba" [ 手打 燒豚 雲呑生姜そば ] for 1800 yen and... had to try the Roasted pork rice bowl [ 焼豚ごはん ] for 380 yen. I was then directed to the first seat at the visually stunning and really nice counter. What was also really nice is the space between the seats. Most other ramen joints would squeeze an additional seat in between everyone. But not here...it was really spacious and a very comfortable seating arrangement! Was taking in the very homey atmosphere, watching the preparation of my ramen, and less than 10 minutes later, my ramen was served. There is nothing that I can complain about at all. Everything was superb and absolutely delicious! Oh how I am loving all these ramen shops making these handmade squigly chewy noodles recently. They are so wonderful! I also do have to make a mention about the Roast pork bowl. Most places serve a pork bowl with uniform size pieces of meat. Not here! And it really worked out great that all the pieces were different sizes. Normally you'll finish the pork before the rice, and you'll be left with half a bowl of rice. But since there were also so many small bits and chunks, the pork "lasted" all the way to the last bite of rice. And it was super yummy as well, so you MUST get their roast pork bowl when you come here! When I left the shop all full and satisfied at 12:25pm, there were 17 hungry people waiting in line. So be prepared to wait, but it will be well worth it. Thank you for such a wonderful and memorable meal!

+3

Wonderful bowl of ramen! The noodles and wonton are made on the spot. Every detail of this ramen is really thought after, highly recommended

+2

No english menu, so it was a deepdive. And sooooo worth it. It was so amazing. Everyhing had so much flavour and the stock was out of this world. Will deffinetely come back

We came slightly late in the afternoon so most of the items were finished, but overall the taste wasn't worth the trip —it was a bit too salty for me—it's a good place to go if you live nearby.