Ichiran Ramen with no broth?

I'm going back to Japan in a few months and I love Ichiran, however I have a friend who is coming with me and she's vegetarian so she can't eat the broth.
Is there any way to get ramen there without the broth? I really would like to go there but I don't want to eat if there's no way she can eat there too.
Thanks.

She could order plates of refill noodles (kaidama), but frankly, what's the point. Good luck... might want to plan a lot of your eating ahead of time.

Think carefully... she's gonna eat dry noodles with some green onions and maybe the special sauce (is the sauce veggie)?

I don't think this is going to be good.

They do seem to offer Hiyakabai (dry noodles with citrus-soy dressing) but maybe they use bonito dashi in the dressing, so you have to ask. She maybe could eat this.

Disclaimer: Never eaten at Ichiran, going by their website.

Eating ramen without broth is like, eating pasta without pasta sauce. In other words: yuck.

Just because your friend is vegetarian, doesn't mean you have to be one too (and she doesn't expect you to) Especially when you travel all the way to Japan, would be crazy to neglect all the delicious food. Does she eat fish??

I wasn't saying that I was going to be eating ramen without the broth. I'm going to be drinking as much as I possibly can. I would just like for her to be able to eat something while I'm there cramming my face.
She eats no meat, fish included.

Check out sites like this one, and plan your eating-out in advance:
http://www.happycow.net/asia/japan/tokyo/

Enjoy!

Thanks AK!
I appreciate that but I am NOT a vegetarian and I plan on eating a lot of meat. (:
I was just hoping my friend could eat something while I'm at Ichiran.

Send your friend shopping.
I can't imagine a ramen shop which takes any pride in its food wanting to serve noodles with no broth.

If your friend doesn't even eat fish I assume that fish broth used for flavouring lots of Japanese dishes is out?

Maybe I am interpreting your post incorrectly 'planning on eating a lot of meat' but if you go with your friend you gotta have to do some sacrifices or work out a plan beforehand carefully.

Like, it's no fun if your friend has to sit there twiddling her thumbs while you fill your belly with meat. Ramen places depend on a high customer turnover rate, they don't want somebody to occupy a valuable seat. What is your friend gonna do?

What does eating lots of meat include? Yakiniku, ramen with extra chashu, yakitori, places with serve gyudon? Again, what about your friend?

You are not willing to go to vegetarian restaurants with her or what?

I went with my friend to Japan, she can't eat deep-fried stuff or oily/fatty dishes so we had to search for suitable restaurants a little longer but I did it because I have no such restrictions and want my friend to enjoy herself.

Well fish broth would be out normally but she said herself that she's not going to try to find out if something has fish broth, if she can't tell and she doesn't know it's in there than she won't deny herself an experience. Now that doesn't mean she's going to eat soup with fish broth or ramen that she knows is made of pork. Just food that uses it (fish broth) for flavoring cause we read that it's in a lot of different things.
Also she and I have already had this discussion, I'm not sacrificing one of my main reasons (not my only reason) for going back to Japan (food) and she doesn't expect me to. If that means we gotta split up during lunch time, so be it.
I'll help her find restaurants with vegetarian options but again, she doesn't expect me eat there if I don't want to, just like I don't expect her to eat anywhere she doesn't want to. The ramen with no broth thing was her idea.

There is a ramen that does not use the soup of meat and fish in Osaka.
Broth is shiitake mushrooms and kelp.
http://vegewa.com/about.html
Misaki Heights 1F, 3-12-6 Kuzuhamisaki ,Hirakata, Osaka 11:30 to 15:00 ,17:30 to 21:00
Regular holiday: every Thursday
The distant, but there are ramen broth of only vegetables (dashi) also in Fukuoka.
Kaho ramen
hatake-kara-no-syoyu-ramen
http://tabelog.com/fukuoka/A4007/A400702/40004948/
http://tabelog.com/fukuoka/A4007/A400702/40022350/
For now, ramen soup of vegetables found only two.

Josh,
Two options for her
(a) CIY - cook it yourself in hotel room or 7-11(?)
Ramen in a packet/pouch ; all she needs is boiling water and she can add whatever suitable toppings she fancies
(b) order ramen with broth in a seperate bowl(?). You can take/drink the broth like sake;-)

Any visitor to Japan with specific food requirements needs to adapt to the native food

What next -the odd food requirement?
Broth without the ramen?
The ramen eatery cook will hit the roof!

Instead of Ramen, go Udon or Soba.

You can order Udon without broth, along with tempura that you can choose yourself.

That means your friend can have udon (no broth) plus vege tempura. You can have udon with broth, plus meat/vege tempura.

Thanks guys these are great suggestions!

Not trying to be negative here but you do realize that what your friend will be ordering is 'plain', cooked noodles? (Udon without broth)

I love udon but the broth plays an important role in flavour... and it's gonna be pretty dry. And even the tempura, as delicious it may be, maybe needs some flavour shot (be it the broth or some dipping salt).

Udon without broth is common in Japan; it is eaten with a dipping sauce as you would eat zaru soba.

And if she won't eat the broth/dipping sauce like for zaru soba... it's still plain, cooked noodles without any additional flavouring?

You can't order "kaedama" (refill noodle) unless you have ordered a bowl of ramen, Ichiran's soup is popular for its animal fat and I wouldn't be surprised if they use eggs in their noodles.

But your friend can order gohan (rice) or sho-gohan (small portion of rice) and top it with things like nori (seaweed sheets) and kikurage (type of hard mushroom). You can also order for her tsuika-ninniku (more raw garlic) or tsuika-negi (more green onions) too.

http://www.ichiran.co.jp/english/html/oshinagaki.html
http://www.ichiran.co.jp/html/oshinagaki.html

But of course, soba is one of the most vegan-oriented foods in Japan, although the soup and sauce contains shredded dried fish.

Meanwhile, I hope your friend doesn't have a problem with smells. Ramen bars are filled with animal fat smell, which is the treat.

Uco, my friend isn't a vegan, just a vegetarian. She eats eggs, cheese (huge fan of cheese), milk and other animal products like honey as long as it isn't meat and the animal isn't harmed to get it.
Smells aren't going to be a problem, she lives in a house of all meat eaters who regularly cook their meals alongside her. Also she and I go out to lots of restaurants here in the US that have very strong smells. As long as she's not eating meat it doesn't bother her.
Thank you though for the suggestion of rice, that's a great idea. I had forgotten that they sold rice there.

I just saw a new Japan Times article on vegetarian ramen and remembered this thread. In case it might be of interest:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/09/23/food/veggie-ramen-broth-th...

This doesn't solve the problem of how to go to Ichiran with a vegetarian, but the OP (or possibly others) might be interested in trying other places. Three of the four mentioned in the article also serve more conventional ramen.