November 8, 2012 04:23 PM
Sole winner, Shrimp Ramen of "Ichigen" at Chitose airport Ramen town, Hokkaido. Middle-aged women are charmed.
[Japan]
By Masaaki Yasuda Reported on November 8
"Ichigen" has begun to attack Tokyo metropolitan area for the Ramen "Ebisoba" of shrimp flavor to a noted food menu. Its first outlet opened in Sapporo in June, 2010, and the second one at the Ramen town in the Chitose airport in July, 11, and the third one at Tobu Dept. Store in Ikebukuro, Tokyo in September, 2012. A plan to establish another 3 outlets over two years in Tokyo is underway.
"Ebisoba" of shrimp Ramen
Ten sort of Ramen outlets are located at the Ramen town in the Chitose airport. When I went into the town, the tout battle of each store is intense. "Ichigen" is conspicuous and prosperous among the other 9 outlets. The head outlet is located in the outskirt of Susukino, 15 minutes' walk from the nearest station, Nakajima Park. Although it is a small apace of 11 seats, the adjoining parking lot is secured by six sets. As soon as soup is lost, of course, it is the end of operating.
"Ichigen" on closed time.
6 cars parking lot, even though 11 seats inside
"Ebisoba", shrimp ramen uses the soup made of small shrimp from Hokkaido. You can choose one out of two type soup, just shrimp soup with plain taste and mixed soup with Tonkotsu with rich taste. Furthermore, there are 3 types of seasoning, miso, salt and soy source and 2 types of noodle, fat and thin.
Seeing the visitors in the outlet, most of them choose mix with Tonkotsu, miso and fat noodle. Either of men and women preferred it. Japanese seems to require Ramen with rich taste. What made the shrimp the shape of powder is sprinkled, and a shrimp is fragrant up. Deep-fried batter has also floated, and it guards so that hot soup may not be cooled down.
The next outlet was almost empty.
By using shrimp, it collects many women customers. The female ratio was no less than 30 to 40 percent and it is different from Tonkotsu Ramen. Moreover, they opened even to Tokyo three outles in only two years.
Although "Ichigen" was miso-flavored ramen, since it was differentiated with a prestige outlets from 2009, it begins to use shrimp and makes a smashing success by word of mouth at the beginning. It is said that 500 bowls were sold at one outlet of only 11 seats, and the yearly sales was 150 million yen in the 2010 fiscal year (the Tokyo Shoko Research investigation). And it reached to 310 million yen in the 2012 fiscal year when only 1.5 stores worked substantially.
New star of the Hokkaido Ramen has come up in the chilled dining-out market in Hokkaido. It is pleasure about of what kind of differentiated ingredients next ramen come out.
