[Japanese Side] Must-Try Food in Japan Travel 'Ichiran Ramen' Founder, Yoshitomi Manabu

Taking Over Elderly Couple's Shop to Found Ichiran Ramen
Emphasizing Management Philosophy That Values People

Editor's NoteJapan, a country both close and distant. Many have heard the name but wonder who these people are. An international news reporter covering Japan introduces notable Japanese figures and related stories that have been trending over the past week.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Have you ever visited Ichiran Ramen, a must-visit spot for Koreans traveling to Japan? It’s a place very popular among Korean tourists because you can adjust the spiciness to your liking.

Since it is tonkotsu ramen made with pork broth, after mixing in rice and drinking the savory soup, you feel as satisfied as having a bowl of gukbap (soup with rice), which seems to suit Korean tastes well. You can eat alone in cubicle-like seats, and there’s no need to face the staff, so I used to visit often as well.

Ichiran generally has large stores, and there are always lines of people, making it very popular. Haven’t you ever wondered just how much money the owner of this place makes? Today, I want to share the story of Ichiran’s founder, Yoshitomi Manabu.

Mr. Yoshitomi was born in 1964 and is from Fukuoka. In Japan, ramen varies slightly by region, and Fukuoka, where Yoshitomi grew up, is known as the home of tonkotsu ramen. When he turned 19, his father was diagnosed with cancer and began battling the illness. To pay for his tuition, he worked part-time at a restaurant.

Manabu Yoshitomi, CEO of Ichiran. (Photo by Ichiran Official Website)

The owner of the restaurant where he worked part-time was skilled, but the problem was that whenever he went to play pachinko, he was away for a long time. So, since someone had to serve customers, Yoshitomi learned all the recipes for the dishes sold at the restaurant.

At that time, he became able to make most dishes such as tempura, ramen, and champon, and above all, since he had worked there from the restaurant’s opening, he was able to learn how to run a restaurant by observing the management firsthand.

Later, the restaurant where he worked and learned the basics of cooking closed down shortly because it had no signature menu. At that time, he deeply realized that “you can’t just do any kind of business” and “you need to have expertise.” When his father, who was battling illness, passed away after saying, “You are a businessman. You must do business,” he started his own business right after graduating from university with nothing but determination.

He didn’t open a ramen shop from the start. He first ran a computer sales store and then a staffing agency. For six years after starting his business, he was so poor that he couldn’t even afford a bottle of beer.

Occasionally, when he saved money, he would buy ramen as a monthly treat at a small ramen shop run by an elderly couple. This place sold ramen with the red sauce that is now the original style of Ichiran ramen. Once, while eating there, another regular customer saw Yoshitomi struggling financially and said, “I got my bonus today, so I’ll buy you a beer.” He refused, but the owner said, “Accept it happily. When you become a big person someday, you can repay someone.” This moment inspired him to want to give back to society as a business owner.

The appearance of Ichiran's first store, Fukuoka Nanokawa branch. (Photo by Ichiran official website)

As a regular customer, the elderly couple proposed to Yoshitomi, “Even if not our shop, we want to leave the shop name behind. We don’t need money, but would you take over?” Believing that the “taste” he had imagined during his part-time days was in this shop, Yoshitomi handed over the staffing company to his subordinates and boldly took over this ramen shop. This was the beginning of Ichiran.

Right after founding the business, he created a shop atmosphere focused on taste by installing seats like study cubicles. This also reflected female customers’ opinions that they felt uncomfortable showing the slurping of ramen.

He also developed the current system allowing customers to customize their ramen combinations. This was almost the first attempt in the industry. Customer responses were positive, and after opening the first store in 1993, he was able to open several stores in downtown Fukuoka.

However, the joy was short-lived. The day after paying bonuses, the executive director he had hired resigned with 30 employees. Feeling betrayed, Yoshitomi left a suicide note and headed to Kyoto without a plan. There, he overheard an elderly couple drinking beer saying, “Let’s go back to the starting point.”

He regained his composure and returned to Fukuoka, determined to “start from the days of being a penniless student” and began studying with a death wish. What he studied was none other than “the human heart.” He pondered why people who called him “boss” yesterday would quit overnight.

Ichiran Ramen with spiciness level 8.

At that time, Ichiran lacked a company management philosophy, so he created the principle of “cherishing employees’ hearts and enhancing humanity.” Currently, it consists of 7 chapters and 108 principles, and new employees are taught etiquette, humanity, and how to live as a person. Because of this, Ichiran has a rule that neither new employees nor part-time staff should be addressed with informal terms like “ya” or “neo.”

Ichiran now has 78 stores, and Yoshitomi has grown into a manager with annual sales of 22 billion yen (approximately 211.4 billion KRW). Requests for benchmarking his management philosophy and lectures are pouring in. He has also received offers to sell the Ichiran trademark but has rejected them all. Efforts to promote the taste of Fukuoka’s tonkotsu ramen continue. He is continuously researching with 40 ramen artisans to find the “ultimate tonkotsu ramen.”

In an interview with the media, he said, “I believe Ichiran, which values people’s hearts more than making money, can grow bigger.” Beyond the taste, the reason for its popularity not only in Japan but also overseas seems to be its ability to attract people’s hearts.