ramen — Travel Blog — The Check In

If you love cup noodles or instant ramen, I’ve got the perfect experience for you. Did you know there is an entire museum dedicated to Cup Noodles? Did you know that you can even make your own custom cup noodles to take home as a souvenir?

There are two cup noodle museums in Japan, one in Yokohama and the other in Osaka. I’ve been to both, but the Yokohama location is bigger and has more to see and do. I recommend checking it out while you’re staying in Tokyo.

When you enter, you will learn about the evolution of Cup noodles and see a really colorful display of the noodle development. They have packaging from all of the eras of cup noodles so that you can see how it has changed over time. It also makes an excellent backdrop for photos.

Then, you’ll learn more about the origins. They have an exhibit about the founding of cup noodles for you to explore.

Let’s get to the fun stuff. One really cool element of the Yokohama location is a tasting room. It’s an old fashioned city scape with ramen shops surrounding a food court. This is very similar to the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum, which you can read about in my other post here.

My favorite part was actually creating my own custom cup noodle. You enter a large room where you get an empty cup noodle cup. Then, you sit down and decorate it however you like with markers. This is a great activity for kids or adults. Each time I’ve done this, it was with other adults, and we all had a great time. Next, you take it up to the noodle station. You move your cup through a noodle-filling machine by turning a lever. Then, a cup noodle staff member will add whatever dehydrated toppings you want as well as the soup base flavor of your choice. There are so many options to choose from! I chose seafood base with shrimp, crab, green onions, and corn. My friend picked curry base with shrimp, corn, kimchi, and green onion. You can really customize it however you like! At the end, you package it up in a nice little protective bubble for your cup noodles and take it home.

We ended our museum tour with an excellent view. They have a balcony where you can look out over the harbor in Yokohama and take in the beautiful sights.

This was a wonderful experience. At the Yokohama location, be prepared to spend several hours and come hungry and ready to eat. The Osaka location can be toured in about an hour, as it is smaller and does not have the tasting room. It does still have the create-your-own cup noodles, though. If you’re planning your trip to Japan, I definitely recommend checking this place out!

What do you imagine when you think of a museum? A place with exhibits and displays that you can read about, maybe some historical facts, or some art… what about a museum that transports you back in time to Japan in the late 1950’s, that lets you fully interact with the exhibits, that lets you eat the ramen on display. The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is more of a food amusement park than a traditional museum. Yes, they have things to read and historical exhibits, but the main room is filled with 7 retro ramen shops and a bar. You can hang out in the streets of Tokyo from 1958 while eating some delicious ramen. The ceiling looks like the sky, and each shop is a detailed building in the recreated city atmosphere.

I tried ramen from two different shops. My absolute favorite was the spicy red miso ramen from Ryu Shanghai Honten. I got the vegetarian version, but they also have it with pork. The signature red miso has quite a kick to it! It’s hot and spicy and pairs perfectly with the broth and fresh green onions. This is an absolute must-try!

Next, we tried Komurasaki tonkotsu ramen. They have a pork version, but I had the vegetarian version here also. It came with soy meat and a creamy broth that was very similar to the original. On top, there were some shaved garlic chips. It was so good!

At this point, I had eaten two full bowls of ramen. The meat versions are available in half sizes, but the vegetarian versions are only full size. So I was absolutely stuffed! We sat and had a nice drink and watched a street performer in the central court.

After that, we did visit the historical displays and read about the origins of ramen. We also stopped by the gift shop for some last minute souvenirs.

This food amusement park is only a quick train ride from Tokyo and is a definite must for any visit to Japan. If you find yourself in Tokyo, I definitely recommend the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum!