Unlike other museums where you go and appreciate art and history, the Cup Noodles Museum allows you to explore your inner artist. You will be amazed to know how instant noodles spread so fast all the way from Japan to all over the world so quickly.
We tried cup noodles, ice cream, and a bird’s nest drink. Yes, you read it correctly! I don’t know which one sounds more cursed: soft cream with onions or a drink with a bird’s nest in it. Well, let me tell you how weird they both tasted, but first let’s get into how we ended up there.
Cup Noodles Museum: Museum Or Workshop?
Credit: Ryo Iwasako
Though I have seen many videos of people on Instagram having fun in the museum, I still imagined it as a museum. You know very well when we imagine a museum, we imagine a display of historical stuff, where we go to appreciate art and surely not create anything by ourselves. But the moment I entered the Cup Noodles Museum, I was blown away by the cheerful laughter and happy sounds of children. Hearing all this in a museum, bikkurishimashita!
It felt more like a workshop where everyone was channeling their inner artist by creating beautiful designs using cups as their canvas. Using sketch pens on cups, the designs were everything from names and flags to cute chickens and shrimp.
Let me begin from the start. We reached Yokohama and booked online tickets to the museum the night before for 500 yen each to enter the Cup Noodle Factory. There was another option available for the Chicken Factory, too, for 1,000 yen per adult. This option allows you to knead, spread and steam the wheat flour by yourself for a noodle-making experience from scratch. In our case, there were no available slots left, but I observed most elementary children were joining in.
Credit: Ryo Iwasako
We walked from Yokohama Station to the museum, and it was a beautiful 30 min walk where we could see why Yokohama is a popular tourist attraction. Yokohama has its own amazing city vibes graced by a giant Ferris Wheel at Cosmo World.
We got an empty cup after showing our tickets and were taken to a desk with sketch pens to create our own cup design in under 45 minutes. After we were done designing our cup with detail that rivals Leonardo da Vinci, we stood in a line to choose our favorite powder flavor and seasonings. It was so soothing watching our cup noodles being laminated in a machine right in front of us. We were then given a bag in which we could pump protective air around our noodle cup inside.
Hungry? Eat Ramen In the Noodle Bazaar From All Over The World
Credit: Ryo Iwasako
After the fun-filled hard work of making noodles, we went to the cafeteria to satisfy our souls with everything. The cafeteria has noodle versions from many different countries. It felt like a noodle town with various countries having their own stalls. We could try as many as we wanted by purchasing tickets from vending machines. I tried tom yum goong noodles from Thailand as I am a big Thai food lover, while my friend tried Phở rice noodles from Vietnam. We had several other options like Laksha from Malaysia, Mie Goreng from Indonesia, Cold Ramen from Korea, and even delicious Lagman from Kazakhstan. The good news is everything is at a fixed price of 500 yen each. You can also buy a mini bowl of classic chicken noodles at 250 yen per serving too.
Cup Noodle Ice Cream
Credit: Ryo Iwasako
The drinks and dessert time came, and my friend bought a bird’s nest drink. First, I thought it was a brand name and drank a sip, haha! The taste was very unique, so I asked what it was, and he told me it was a drink actually made out of a bird’s nest. Coming from India, it was a huge culture shock to know that people drink and eat something like that. Later I searched and found out that bird nests are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. Due to their rarity and richness in proteins, they are considered a delicacy in some Asian countries.
After that, we tried Cup Noodles Ice Cream primarily because it had the longest queue and simply because it sounded interesting, so we had to try it. But how did it taste? My answer is – worse than you can imagine! Ice cream with onions and shrimp tastes terribly bad. But anyhow we finished it and laughed a lot. Overall, it was a very fun experience, and we enjoyed it a lot.
When Are You Visiting Cup Noodles Museum?
Credit: Ryo Iwasako
The Cup Noodles Museum Yokohama has a lot of things to see apart from the workshops I mentioned above. As a museum, it offers a 58 m-long guide on the wall describing the life of Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant noodles. They have a Momofuku Theater, too, that runs an animated movie on how Momofuku overcame all the adversities to make this fantastic food that fueled the Asian Miracle at that time. There is a fun curiosity wall for children where the art is expressed in a very modern way, inviting you to think outside the box.
All in all, the Cup Noodles Museum has something or another for everybody. When are you going to the museum? Please share it with your friends so that you can go with excellent company to enjoy and, of course, good Instagramable pictures.
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Featured Image Credits: Ryo Iwasako
