Gold ramen Tokyo Ikkakuya Shinjuku Yasukuni Street best Japanese food restaurant unusual expensive noodles review photos

A deal too good to pass up, but there are limited meals available.

Back in September, a new ramen complex called Ikkaku Tower opened about a two-minute walk from the east exit of Shinjuku Station. Ikkaku refers to Yokohama Iekei Ramen Ikkakuya, a popular ramen chain with branches throughout Japan, but this new location trumps them all, covering three floors with 41 seats in total, and open for business 24 hours a day.

▼ Located at the entrance to Shinjuku’s Kabukicho, this branch, with its brightly lit exterior, has an overwhelming presence.

It’s not just the look of the store that’s impressive, because, for a limited time, it’s serving a special bowl of noodles called “Ikkaku Senkin Ramen” (“Ikkaku 1,000 Pieces of Gold Ramen”) to commemorate its opening. Limited to just 10 meals a day from 6-27 November, this special menu item is said to bring riches with its golden hues, as it contains golden seaweed and golden leaf in a golden bowl.

▼ The best thing about it is, the price is reduced from 10,000 yen (US$66.08) to 1,980 yen ($13.08) during the campaign period.

As the store only makes 10 of these a day, these noodles aren’t easy to order, so when our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma stopped by the other evening, there were none left for him to try.

▼ “Sold out today”

Concerned that he might not ever be able to try it, Masanuki decided to take action to make his dream of eating golden noodles a reality, so he contacted the store and asked them to phone him when it was available.

▼ When he got the call in the morning, he dropped everything and headed down to the store.

Excited to find out what these unique noodles looked like in person, he took a seat and placed his order, and it didn’t take long for the friendly waiter to bring the sparkling dish to his table.

Masanuki gasped upon first sight of it, as it was far more beautiful than he’d anticipated. The gold glistened in the light, with the power to quieten even crying children.

▼ Wonderful, gorgeous, fantastic, and amazing were just some of the superlatives Masanuki used to describe these noodles.

▼ The gold theme extended beyond the ingredients, to include the chopsticks…

▼ …and the spoon and bowl.

Masanuki almost felt as if he needed to shield his eyes from the gold, which glistened in the light.

The star of the show was definitely the enormous sheet of golden seaweed at the back of everything, which almost looked too good to eat.

▼ Dipping it into the hot broth, the golden sheet shrivelled at the heat.

Topped with a seasoned egg and slices of pork belly, the ramen also contained pieces of seaweed with the words “Ikkakuya” printed on it, so there was no mistaking where it had come from.

The sprinkling of gold leaf gave the dish an extra air of exclusivity, but as for the taste, it was surprisingly…the same as always.

Though the taste might not be dramatically different from a regular bowl of ramen, the look of it was outstanding, and given that gold is a colour that invites luck and riches, it’s the luckiest bowl of ramen you’ll find in Tokyo right now.

The luck aspect is one of the main reasons why the dish is even available, as its golden hues will help to bring luck not only to customers who consume it, but the store itself, which only recently opened its doors to the public.

So if you’d like to get lucky with a golden bowl of ramen, be sure to stop by the new Ikkakuya in Shinjuku, where you can enjoy the golden ramen at the special discounted price until 19 November, after which time the noodles will cost 10,000 yen, but only until 27 November, after which time they’ll disappear off the menu. And if that’s not enough gold for you, you can always follow it up with a visit to Tokyo’s golden toilet and golden escalators!

Restaurant information
Ikkakuya Shinjuku Yasukuni Street Store / 壱角家 新宿靖国通店
Tokyo-to Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 3-22-9
東京都新宿区新宿3-22-9 丸一ビル
Open 24 hours
Website

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