Hint … it’s probably the noodles.
There’s truly no shortage of quirky museums and attractions in Japan. One of our favorite museums pays homage to the creative thinker behind CUPNOODLES. The CUPNOODLES MUSEUM Yokohama honors Momofuku Ando and celebrates invention, discovery and food.
With an evening flight out of Tokyo, we had several hours to explore. The museum is located in Yokohama, a short train ride from the airport. We ditched our bags and squeezed in one last adventure in before leaving Japan.
Momofuku’s Work Shed
The museum building is impressive and modern, a far cry from the humble origins of the beloved noodles. Be sure to visit Momofuku’s Work Shed. It’s a re-creation of the shed where Momofuku invented instant noodles. The museum says the message of this simple shed is to remind us that all it takes to change the world is a good idea.
Instant Noodles History Cube
I thought this was exhibit fascinating from a design perspective. The Instant Noodles History Cube showcases 3,000 product packages marking the evolution from 1958 to today. About 100 billion servings of instant noodles are consumed every year, around the world. We have Momofuku Ando to thank for inventing Chicken Ramen back in 1958.
CUPNOODLES Park
The CUPNOODLES Park is an indoor play area. Kids get to experience being a noodle in a huge factory, from manufacturing to shipping. The idea is that kids get to see the world from the noodle’s point of view. There are slides and climbing areas, it’s a lot of fun.
Play sessions are scheduled in 30 minute time slots. This activity is open to kids ages 3 to elementary school age.
Chicken Ramen Factory
I wish we’d had time to partake in the Chicken Ramen Factory experience during our visit. I know that my little foodies would have enjoyed it. We got to watch through the windows as kids, wearing aprons and head coverings, learned to make chicken ramen by hand. The kids get to experience the entire process including kneading, spreading, steaming and seasoning the wheat flour, before drying it using the flash frying method. Kids get to take home their handmade noodles as a souvenir.
This is a 90-minute session. There are several sessions throughout the day. You can schedule your reserved slot up to three months in advance.
My CUPNOODLES Factory
The My CUPNOODLES Factory was the absolute highlight of our visit. Visitors are able to create an original CUPNOODLES, from the exterior packaging to the to the soup inside and the toppings.
It starts with an empty cup purchased out of a vending machine. Then a worker will usher you to a table where you’ll decorate your cup with markers. From there you line up at what looks like a big buffet line. Guests move along the line choosing the flavor of soup and the toppings they want. Then the noodles are added and the package is sealed. You won’t consume your noodles on premises. These are to enjoy later.
My kids had the best time making their own CUPNOODLES, from start to finish. They liked the opportunity to select from the array of unusual toppings.
We took our CUPNOODLES home to Portland, Oregon. Once we shook off the jetlag, we ate our custom cups. The flavors were a little quirky, but to be fair, we had no one to blame but ourselves.
Snacks
A visit to this museum might make you hungry, possibly craving noodles. Pop into the Noodles Bazar – World Noodles Road to fill up. The space is designed to feel like an Asian night market. It features eight types of noodles like pasta from Italy, pho from Vietnam and laksa from Malaysia.
Souvenirs
In addition to taking home our custom CUPNOODLES, we had fun shopping at the museum store. By the end of our six week trip to Asia, we didn’t have much room left in our luggage for souvenirs. We opted for some small trinkets, taking home chopsticks and wind-up toys.
Admission
This was one of the best deals during our trip. Admission for adults is approximately $5 USD, high school aged children and younger are free.
It costs extra to participate in the Chicken Ramen Factory, to make a custom CUPNOODLES or to play in the CUPNOODLES Park. However, it’s all less than $5 USD per activity.
Getting to the museum
Yokohama is about 20 miles outside of Tokyo. As I mentioned, we had an evening flight out of the Tokyo-Haneda airport. We didn’t want to haul our luggage around with us. But it was too early to check our luggage into our airline. We opted to pay a fee to have our luggage stored for the day. There are a few baggage storage locations inside the airport. There are also several less expensive coin-operated storage lockers around the airport.
To get to the museum, we took a train directly from the airport to Yokohama, about 10 miles away. There’s a train station conveniently located inside the airport. We purchased a round-trip ticket at the airport. Once you arrive in Yokohama, you’ll want to take a short taxi ride to the CUPNOODLES Museum.
There was quite a bit to do in the area around the CUPNOODLES MUSEUM including an amusement park. You could make a day out of this adventure, or even stay overnight. If you want to really splurge, the InterContinental Yokohama Grand is located near the museum.
There’s another CUPNOODLES MUSEUM in Osaka Ikeda, which is the birthplace of instant noodles. It has some slightly different exhibits and attractions.
