Before We Become Insiders

Somewhere along the way, I stopped dishing out unsolicited travel advice.

It wasn’t because I ran out of recommendations. If anything, we’ve accumulated more over the years: small family-run restaurants, quiet neighbourhood cafes, overlooked alleys… places we’d happily return to. It was because I realised something: every traveller has a first time.

If it’s your first visit to Japan, perhaps you’ve dreamt about eating at Ichiran long before you booked your flight. Maybe you’ve watched countless reels of diners seated in individual booths, waiting for that first steaming bowl of tonkotsu ramen. Then someone tells you to skip it.

“It’s overrated.”

“It isn’t worth the wait.”

“Go where the locals go.”

“There are so many better places.”

Perhaps they’re right.

We’ve had wonderful bowls of ramen in tiny neighbourhood shops with handwritten menus, no queues and not a word of English. Sometimes there’s only one item on the menu. And some of those meals remain among our favourites. Yet somehow, every time we’re back in Japan, we find ourselves back at Ichiran again. Not because we think it’s the best ramen in Japan or because it’s a hidden gem, but simply because we enjoy it. We like being able to customise our bowl, we know exactly what to expect, and after so many visits, it’s become one of those familiar stops we genuinely look forward to.

Over time, we also started measuring our travels by how obscure our discoveries were. We hoped to stumble upon the hidden café, the restaurant with no tourists, the alley no guidebook mentions. There’s nothing wrong with that. Some of our favourite travel memories have come from wandering into places we hadn’t planned to visit. But there’s something equally satisfying about finally experiencing a place you’ve imagined for years, whether that’s the crossing at Shibuya, the torii gates at Fushimi Inari, or a bowl of ramen at Ichiran.

I’ve come to believe that neither experience is more valid than the other. Travel isn’t a test to pass or a summit to conquer. It’s deeply personal. What becomes unforgettable for one person may be entirely ordinary to another.

So if it’s your first trip to Japan, order that ramen you’ve always wanted to try. If it’s your tenth, wander into the little ramen joint tucked away down an alley. If you eventually end up doing both, even better.

As for us, we’ll probably still queue for Ichiran every time we’re in Japan. Not because it’s the best, but because we like it.

Before we become insiders, we all deserve to be first-time travellers.