The port city of Yokohama is Japan’s largest city by population, located just 30 minutes by train south of Tokyo. It is home to a museum dedicated to that most common of Japanese staple foods – the ever-popular instant noodle.  The CupNoodles museum is one of two in Japan (the other being the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum in Osaka) centered around this famous food item. It is conveniently located at the harbour near Minatomirai Station, and is a fun and different way to spend an afternoon in the city.

The CupNoodles Museum in Yokohama.

While the museum is centered on the history of the instant noodle and its inventor, Momofuku Ando, a central underlying theme is innovation and the encouragement of creative thinking. Don’t expect dusty old exhibits (there are hardly any exhibits at all) and a boring, dry history lesson – this place is very much an interactive experience, as evidenced by the large number of kids having a really good time. Throughout the museum there are many references to how Ando overcame obstacles to become a modern Japanese folk hero – from his initial invention of instant ramen in 1958, the Cup Noodle in 1971, and space noodles in 2005 (when he was in his 90s). He is also the founder of Nissin Food Products, the company behind many of today’s instant noodle varieties.

The most popular area in the building is undoubtedly the third floor where the noodle “factories” are located. For a small fee, visitors can create their own customized instant ramen or cup noodles, and take them home as edible souvenirs. It gets super busy on weekends so probably a good idea to book a timeslot in advance if you’re hoping to make your own noodles.

The main entrance of the museum, and possibly the biggest Cup Noodle the world?

Up the stairs to the exhibits.

The world’s first instant noodles, Momofuku Ando’s “Chikin Ramen” from 1958.

The “History Cube” exhibit room.

A chronological history of the development and proliferation of instant noodles.

The Momofuku Theater where a short film of the inventor is shown.

Statue of Momufuku Ando.

Happy Birthday, Cup Noodle!

One of the few art installations.

Encouragement of outside-the-box creative thinking.

My CupNoodles Factory, where you can make a customized Cup Noodle.

First decorate your own cup…

…and then fill it with your own ingredients. 5,460 different combinations possible!

Finally, your custom cup noodle is sealed and carried in an air bag. Great edible souvenir.

In the adjacent Instant Ramen Factory, you can make your custom noodle pack from scratch.

Checking out the CupNoodles mascot.

Projected exhibit on the creation of Chikin Ramen.

The CupNoodles Park on the fourth floor, an interactive fun factory that goes through the manufacturing process.

A recreation of Ando’s workshop where he experimented with his invention.

The work shed where the worlds first instant ramen was created.

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