Onomichi Ramen Review | Ichibankan Main Store in Onomichi

Hello! I visited Onomichi Ramen Ichibankan Main Store in Onomichi, Japan. Here’s my review of the Onomichi ramen I had there, along with prices, waiting times and other useful info.

Name	尾道ラーメン 壱番館本店
Address	2 Chome-9-26 Tsuchido, Onomichi, Hiroshima 722-0035
Main Dish	Ramen
Price Range	¥850~1,290
Hours	11:00–18:00 / Closed Fridays
Takeout	No (meal kits sold separately)
Restroom	Yes (1 shared, all-gender)
Parking	Yes (only 2 spaces, so it fills up fast; I recommend the nearby city hall parking lot instead)
Pets	No
Credit Cards	No

Japan loves ramen so much that people say every region has its own. Onomichi, where I went this time, has its own style too, and a well-established one at that. You can even spot Onomichi ramen shops in Tokyo, where ramen from all over the country competes, so it’s clearly quite popular.

Hiroshima’s official tourism site sums up the features of Onomichi ramen in roughly these three points:

• A soup based on pork and chicken bones, with seafood ‘dashi’ (broth) added as the secret ingredient for deep umami.
• A soy sauce (shoyu) base with chunks of ‘seabura’ (背脂, pork back fat), so it isn’t overly salty and tastes rich and savory.
• Flat noodles (hirauchi-men, 平打ち麺) that are thin and flat, so they soak up the broth well, don’t get soggy easily and stay chewy.

Since Onomichi is where this style comes from, most ramen shops in town serve Onomichi ramen, and many people say the overall level is high everywhere. Still, in terms of name recognition, the most famous one is Ichibankan. It’s well known enough to have branches across Japan.

From what I found, Ichibankan is actually a relative latecomer in the history of Onomichi ramen, which goes back to the 1940s. It started in 1996 as a mail-order brand, and after becoming popular on TV, it opened a shop at its current location in 1999. It was later featured in the Michelin Guide, and despite being a latecomer, it grew on its own into a well-established brand.

Japanese restaurant menus are often laid out like catalogs and can be hard to read. I made the tables below with AI translation from the menu I photographed, so feel free to use them when you order. Romanized pronunciations are included too.

Ramen (ラーメン)

Japanese (pronunciation)	Meaning	Price
ラーメン (ramen)	Ramen (basic)	¥850
味玉ラーメン (ajitama ramen)	Ramen with seasoned egg	¥960
ネギピリカララーメン (negi pirikara ramen)	Spicy green onion ramen ※ Can be made non-spicy	¥960
とろろラーメン (tororo ramen)	Tororo kelp ramen	¥960
キムチラーメン (kimuchi ramen)	Kimchi ramen	¥1,020
チャーシューラーメン (chashu ramen)	Chashu ramen ※ Seared chashu (あぶり, aburi)	¥1,120
角煮ラーメン (kakuni ramen)	Braised pork belly ramen 【Manager’s pick · No.1】 ※ Kakuni, seasoned egg, bean sprouts, menma, shredded white leek, green onion, plenty of veggies	¥1,290

Set Meals (お得なセット · otoku na setto)

Ramen (pronunciation)	Rice + gyoza set (rice + 4 gyoza)	Gyoza set (5 gyoza)
ラーメン (ramen) Basic	¥1,250	¥1,170
味玉 (ajitama) Seasoned egg	¥1,360	¥1,280
ネギ・ピリカラ (negi pirikara) Spicy green onion	¥1,360	¥1,280
とろろ昆布 (tororo konbu) Tororo kelp	¥1,360	¥1,280
キムチ (kimuchi) Kimchi	¥1,420	¥1,340
チャーシュー (chashu) Chashu	¥1,520	¥1,440
角煮 (kakuni) Braised pork belly	¥1,690	¥1,610

Sides · Drinks

Japanese (pronunciation)	Meaning	Price
チャーシュー丼 (chashu-don)	Chashu rice bowl (seared)	¥500
ぎょうざ 6ヶ (gyoza rokko)	6 gyoza ※ Takeout (お持帰り, omochikaeri) ¥480	¥450
おつまみチャーシュー (otsumami chashu)	Chashu as a drinking snack	¥700
ライス / 大 (raisu / dai)	Rice / large	¥150 / ¥250
おにぎり 角煮入 (onigiri kakuni-iri)	Rice ball with kakuni (1 pc)	¥180
枝豆 (edamame)	Edamame	¥150
生ビール 小 / 中 (nama biru sho / chu)	Draft beer small / medium ※ Medium comes with edamame	¥450 / ¥650
ビール 中びん (biru chubin)	Bottled beer, medium bottle	¥600
ノンアルコールビール (non-arukoru biru)	Non-alcoholic beer	¥400
お酒 一合 (osake ichigo)	Sake, 1 gō	¥500
チューハイ レモン (chuhai remon)	Lemon chuhai	¥490
ウーロン茶 (uron-cha)	Oolong tea	¥200
オレンジジュース (orenji jusu)	Orange juice	¥200

Toppings (トッピング · toppingu)

Japanese (pronunciation)	Meaning	Price
青ねぎ · メンマ · 玉子 · もやし (aonegi · menma · tamago · moyashi)	Green onion · menma · egg · bean sprouts	¥100 each
チャーシュー · とろろ · 白ねぎ (chashu · tororo · shironegi)	Chashu · tororo kelp · white leek	¥180 each
キムチ (kimuchi)	Kimchi	¥220
角煮 (kakuni)	Braised pork belly	¥270

We ordered the kakuni ramen, listed as the signature dish and the manager’s pick. If you want ramen with the pork back fat Onomichi is known for, this is the one to get.

The flagship kakuni ramen is ¥1,290… With rising prices, more ramen shops in Japan now charge over ¥1,000, but considering ramen is supposed to be an affordable meal, it’s hard to call this cheap. That said, with the yen extremely weak as of October 2026, it felt like an amazing deal to me coming from Korea; a bowl like this would probably cost more back home in Seoul. I decided to see it as good timing and enjoy my meal.

We got there around 1 p.m. and were seated right away. There were two of us, and when we walked in, there was just one table left for us; every other table was full. Depending on the time, you might have to wait. Once you’re inside, a staff member hands you a menu and you order from it.

There are 4–5 tables plus counter seats, and since ramen shops turn tables quickly, I don’t think the wait would get long. It felt like people were coming and going about every 15 minutes. Like most ramen shops, it’s not a pretty or elegant place, but it’s reasonably clean and lively.

As mentioned above, they don’t do takeout, but since the brand started in mail order, they sell meal kits. Keep that in mind if you’d like to enjoy it at home. Oh, and cards aren’t accepted. You pay on the way out, and I had no cash, so I had to rush to an ATM.

It’s a hard taste to describe… but first of all… it’s delicious. Overall, the base is shoyu ramen. It’s clear and clean-tasting, and the salty soy sauce flavor comes through more as you keep eating.

But from the very first sip, the umami of the back fat is impossible to ignore. I’d almost call it shoyu and tonkotsu combined… It could easily have ended up as neither one nor the other, but this bowl strikes the balance really well.

Quite a few Koreans say tonkotsu ramen is too greasy for them, but this one has that tonkotsu-like richness with a clean finish, so I think even they would enjoy it. The pork back fat in particular has a real presence. It floats right on top as if saying “look at me,” yet surprisingly it doesn’t smell greasy and is really appealing. The kakuni (braised pork) stands out too. It’s a bit like Chinese dongpo pork, salty and tender, and I liked it.

Then again, you gain some and you lose some: saying it strikes a balance also means it’s a bit of neither. In particular, the distinctive rich fat flavor of Japanese tonkotsu ramen is much less present. So if you want a heavy punch, it may feel like something is missing. Choose according to your taste.