May 17, 2014 - 1 min read

Cup of Noodles Museum

Yokohama's museum of instant fun

By Justin Velgus

Community writer

Noodle art is not a big part of the museum, but surely a memorable sight.

Visitors browse the walls of past instant noodle package designs.

Outside experience areas are mostly info panels, but this room also has a picture show projected onto the wall.

Various pieces of noodle art decorate the museum.

Momofuku Ando, creator of the cup of noodles, shines bright in a museum hallway.

The museum's message is to never give up. It took literally decades of trail-and-error, legal battles, and helping competitors to make this iconic product.

Here for a small fee you can make your own cup of noodles cup.

"Cup" and "Noodle" are spelled out on this daruma head.

A view of the museum's park (which contains no noodle reference) from the outside deck.

Inside you will find stalls representing different countries around the world. All serve up their own country's noodle dish.

Sampler bowls for just 300 yen can be bought at each restaurant in the bazaar.

A children's play area that resembles a noodle factory. A separate fee is required for entry.

The Cup of Noodles Museum in Yokohama is a popular museum swarmed with crowds almost every day of the week. Still with its many floors and spread out attractions, the only problem moving around may be at the entrance or gift shop. Don't even let that turn you off because there is much fun to be had while learning about the creation of instant noodles--also sometimes known as ramen in a cup. First of all, don't confuse this museum with the Ramen Museum also located in Yokohama.

Your educational portion of this museum is completed through several small exhibits, many info panels (Japanese only), and a video with options to borrow a personal audio device to play the soundtrack in a different language. And that means they have English, too. The real joy in the museum comes from browsing the wall of past cup of noodles package designs and seeing sporadic noodle art or making your own. Children will really enjoy the play area. Before you leave, snack out at the Noodle Bazaar, a darkened room that transports you into some distant land with a street that sells noodle dishes from around the world.