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- Ichiran Ramen took over Japan with their

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Flavor Concentration Booths,
that allowed Japanese

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salarymen to eat dinner alone.

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I'm here at the company's
first US location

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in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to
try the most solitary bowl

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of ramen I've had in my life.

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(gentle music)

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So these are the Flavor
Concentration Booths,

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and when you come in, a sensor discretely

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lets the staff know that you're here.

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Ichiran only serves one type of ramen,

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which is tonkotsu, or pork broth ramen.

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Everything is actually made in Japan

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at a central facility
and then shipped here

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for, like, maximum authenticity.

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However, the noodles are made on-site,

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so they're extremely fresh.

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(pen scratching paper)

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(pen scratching paper)

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This is all about the experience

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of sensing every little
bit of eating ramen.

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But there's another
reason that they exist,

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which is that they remove the
stigma of eating dinner alone.

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(soft electronic flute notes)

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That might be the noodle
sound, I'm not sure.

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(speaking in foreign language)

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(speaking in foreign language)

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Oh, man.

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(inhales deeply)

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The scent of pork just, like, hits you

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right when it comes into the booth.

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There's actually maybe some
legitimacy to this scaffolding

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that, like, traps all the smells here.

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(slurps soup)

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It's really nice. The pork
flavor is actually richer

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than thicker tonkotsu
ramens that I've had.

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(slurps noodles)

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Sorry I had to do that.

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So it's actually a global trend

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that more people are eating alone.

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And a lot of restaurants
have expanded their bars

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so that you can do this, but, you know,

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this is, sort of a nice take,
that is a little less social

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for those times that
I just don't feel like

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dealing with anybody.

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(gentle music)

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So I travel a lot for work,
and it means that I end up

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usually eating at the bar.

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And I could really imagine
that this experience

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could scale up to other restaurants.

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Like, could I order a
steak in a booth like this?

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Like, sure, why not?
And I think these booths

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are actually less of a novelty,
than a carefully crafted

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consumer experience,
that allows you to enjoy

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a really great meal, even
if you're by yourself.

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(slurps soup)

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That's hot, that's actually hot.

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(gentle music)