Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda
Visit the birthplace of everyone's favorite instant meal, and even make your own!
- Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda 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/
The museum, just north of Osaka city in Ikeda, celebrates the beloved instant food with quirky and colorful displays, interactive exhibits, and live factory demonstrations. Here’s what you need to know to experience this wacky niche museum for yourself!
Interactive noodle exhibits
Photo by: Cyradis Noodle archway.
An archway of Nissin Cup Noodle packaging and a larger than life cross-section of one of the infamous cups awaits visitors inside. Learn the history of this convenient food through the interactive timeline of instant noodles from their inception to the modern-day.
The displays and activities are so visually appealing that you don’t even need to understand Japanese to enjoy them!
Photo by: Wiki We wish we could find an actual cup of instant ramen this big.
The real reason most people visit here though is the My CUPNOODLES Factory which allows visitors to create their own cup with flavors and ingredients of their choice. Select your ramen preferences then watch an assembly line team package it for you.
Customize it even further by designing your own logo, writing a message to a loved one, or simply doodling on the styrofoam package before it’s sealed.
Photo by: Holly So. Many. Noodles.
If you want a more hands-on experience, try the Chicken Ramen Factory workshop where you can make the classic flavor for yourself. Advance reservations are required to participate, however.
Before you leave, pop by the Tasting Hall and sample limited edition and regional flavors all in one place. Choose what you want directly from the nifty ramen vending machines.
Ikeda: The birthplace of Cup Noodles
Instant ramen was actually created in Ikeda back in the ’50s, even though the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama is decidedly more popular.
The invention of Cup Noodles helped families recovering from the aftermath of WWII afford hot food.
In 1958, the world’s first instant noodle product, Chicken Ramen, was made in a “research shed” in Ikeda. The tiny shack belonged to Taiwanese-Japanese inventor Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin. At the time, Nissin was a small and unknown local company. Imagine that!
Photo by: Wiki Where it all began.
The invention of Cup Noodles helped families recovering from the aftermath of WWII afford hot food in addition to just being a breakthrough in modern convenience. It also helped Japan catch up to the instant food craze that swept the US and other nations in the ‘50s.
Now it’s a global phenomenon, consumed worldwide by the billions every year. Happy slurping!
