Yokohama Cup Noodles Museum

• Yokohama Cup Noodles Museum is temporarily closed until further notice due to the coronavirus. For updates on the COVID-19 situation in Japan check GaijinPot Blog: https://blog.gaijinpot.com/is-it-safe-to-visit-japan-as-the-coronavirus-cases-increase/

Cup Noodles are the holy grail of fast food, loved by college students and busy full-timers everywhere. Unlike the holy grail though, the origin of these delicious noodles is well documented and easy to find when you visit Yokohama’s CUP NOODLES Museum.

Workshops and exhibits galore, this is the perfect place to spend a couple of hours if you’ve already tackled the other wonders that Yokohama has to offer.

Ever dreamed of learning how to make ramen? Looks like you’ve come to the right place. For 500 yen, you will be shown how to knead, spread and steam your way to glory in the Chicken Ramen Factory.

Want to get your teeth stuck into some creative product design and customize the flavour of your own cup noodles? Pay 300 yen and you can do just that at the My CUPNOODLES Factory (the capitals are clearly there to express how AMAZING this workshop is). In and around the museum you can observe people wearing their exclusive cup noodles around their necks with pride. Now, you too, can join these cool kids.

Before you leave, work your way through the many creative exhibits to learn about the God of Cup Noodles, Momofuko Ando. You’ll find that not only did he invent the first ever instant Chicken Ramen in his shed but he also spent his life on a quest to create the most delicious space food for astronauts. The guy was truly out-of-this-world.

As well as searching for answers in outer space, he also travelled the world for food inspiration. At the Noodle’s Bazaar, eight varieties of noodles that Ando encountered during his adventures in search of ramen’s origin can be sampled. The atmosphere is reminiscent of an Asian Night Market which will prove a hit with fans of Yokohama’s bustling China Town.