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The story
A Kyoto University cooking club posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the moment they walked into the Kyoto branch of Ramen Jiro, a part-time staff assistant barked “Number!” at them — twice. It’s a cue telling customers to line up at the numbered spot taped to the floor, a rule regulars take for granted but one that leaves first-timers baffled. On 5ch, reactions split between those laughing it off as “typical of an authentic Jiro shop” and those questioning what on earth it even meant, and the thread eventually snowballed into a full East-vs-West debate over Tokyo’s rich, heavy Jiro-style ramen versus the broth-forward, lightly seasoned ramen culture still deeply rooted in Kansai.
What people said
The moment I walked into the Kyoto branch of Ramen Jiro, a part-time staff assistant barked "Number!" at me. Twice.
"Line up at the number on the floor" got abbreviated way too much. Truly an authentic Jiro shop.
I'd probably just blurt out "1!" on reflex.
You're basically a prisoner as a customer there —
you're supposed to shout your number in order, starting from 1, as you line up, right?
In western Japan, Jiro-style shops keep opening and going under, over and over.
Re: #11
But Tenkaippin — a chain that started in Kyoto and is famous for being bad — has managed to hang on in a modest way.
The one near me always has empty seats, but I guess it survives just because it's a chain.
In Kansai, where everyone loves light flavors, it probably would've gone under ages ago otherwise.
Didn't Kamukura (a famous Osaka-style ramen chain) proudly open two shops in Ikebukuro, and now both are gone? lol
Huh? What are you half-asleep talking about?
It's the ramen shop that's being high-and-mighty here!
Although, to be fair, throughout history it's usually the customer who acts superior, not the shop.
You'd think in this day and age it'd go viral, blow up into a controversy, and get weeded out.
Guess it just depends on the person working there.
At the very least, you're not supposed to just slap the Jiro name on your shop and call yourself part of the chain without permission.
So I guess that means the customer service, warts and all, is part of the deal they've signed off on?
and I've never had an unpleasant experience at an authentic "chokkei" (direct-lineage) Jiro.
If anything, the "inspired-by" copycat shops tend to have worse service.
Then again, maybe that's just because there are so few options in Kansai that it comes out that way.
Everyone here's just a regular law-abiding citizen.
Please spare us the professional-grifter mindset.
Would be funny if they end up working for the local health department someday.
so it just papers over that with mountains of vegetables and toppings.
Only masochistic addicts go to Jiro — surely you realize that's not representative of Tokyo ramen.
Kamukura isn't anything special either, but you wouldn't want people calling that representative of Osaka ramen, would you?
Look at you, going off lol
Not even funny though lolol
Or just say you didn't like their tone.
Posting about it on social media instead is the part I dislike.
Some people who post stuff like this are doing it as a heads-up for others, you know.
Now they can act like a seasoned regular.
Doesn't seem like it'd suit you if you can only handle super-salty ramen.
Your palate's just salt and MSG (Ajinomoto) anyway.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Ramen Jiro originated in Mita, Tokyo, and is known for its “call” culture — where customers place orders for extras like “large portion/vegetables/garlic” — as well as its distinctive rule of lining up according to numbers marked on tape on the floor. The Kyoto branch is one of the “chokkei” (direct-lineage) shops that inherit techniques directly from the founding store, as distinct from “inspired-by” copycat shops. The thread split over one question: is the brusque service simply part of Jiro’s culture, or is it just poor customer treatment? Defenders argued that “it’s fine once you get used to it” and that “inspired-by shops have worse service,” while critics questioned the staff’s attitude itself. From there, the discussion broadened into the general claim that Kansai’s strong dashi-based, lightly seasoned food culture makes it hard for Jiro-style ramen to take root there — though the case of Tenkaippin, which also originated in Kyoto yet has survived with a rich, heavy flavor, shows that flavor intensity alone doesn’t fully explain the pattern. Note: some replies speculated that the staff member’s behavior was linked to a disability, and others made unsubstantiated claims naming specific companies; those comments have been excluded from this article.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Kyoto University Cooking Club: “The moment I walked into the Kyoto branch of Ramen Jiro, a part-time staff assistant barked ‘Number!’ at me. Twice. Truly an authentic Jiro shop.”“
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