Ramen Jiro regrets giving the impression that it’s an intimidating place to eat at.

No ramen chain can boast a more passionate fan base than Ramen Jiro. So beloved is the brand’s high-calorie, heavy-flavor take on the noddle dish that regular customers have their own nickname, the Jirolians.

That doesn’t mean the chain is infallible, though, and earlier this week one branch issued an official apology for one of its policies that rubbed many the wrong way.

On July 4, the official Twitter account of the Ramen Jiro Fuchu branch in Tokyo posted the following:

“This is the manager of the Fuchu Ramen Jiro. Recently, there’s been an increase in the number of customers who eat extremely slowly, which is causing problems for us as a restaurant by disrupting the seating flow. We ask that customers finish their meal in -at most- 20 minutes.”

The post was accompanied by a photo of the restaurant’s meal ticket machine, where customers pay for their food, which also now had a written notice “We ask that customers finish their meals within 20 minutes.”

There’s an argument to be made that ramen should be eaten as quickly as possible, before the broth gets cold and the noodles soggy. However, ramen is generally served piping hot in Japan, so it’s not something most people can just start shoveling into their mouths without risking some very painful burns. It’s also important to take into account Ramen Jiro’s portion sizes. They’re gigantic, with fatty pork and vegetables piled high like a mountain rising from the bowl.

As a result, Ramen Jiro Fuchu’s declaration of a 20-minute time limit didn’t go over too well, with many commenters reacting to the tweet by saying that they’d prefer their ramen without the side order of pressure to speed-gorge themselves. In response, the restaurant has deleted the original tweet and posted an apology and clarification on July 7.

“Our in-store written notice, social media posting, and stern choice of language in regard to replies resulted in giving the mistaken impression that we are a high-pressure restaurant with an intimidating atmosphere,” begins the statement. “We apologize for and deeply regret the many ways this has caused distress and discomfort for our customers and others connected to our restaurant.”

The tweet goes on to explain that the in-store written notice has been taken down as well.

In Ramen Jiro’s defense, most ramen restaurants in Japan operate on low margins, and so rely on a high rate of customer turnover in order to be profitable. The desire to clear out seats for new diners to come in is especially high at Ramen Jiro, with many branches having long lines of waiting customers during peak lunch and dinner hours, meaning that leisurely diners have a detrimental effect on the restaurant’s bottom line. So it’s understandable that Ramen Jiro wants to discourage people from eating “extremely slowly,” but cutting seat time down to 20 minutes looks to have been going too far in the other direction.

Source: Twitter/@jiro_fuchu (1, 2) via Nikkan Sports via Itai News (1, 2)
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