Today we are heading to Ikeda-shi, Osaka, the birthplace of Instant Ramen. The boys (yes including my husband) were all excited knowing we are heading to an Instant Ramen Museum "Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum".
We exited Osaka via Umeda Station using the Hankyu-Takarazuka line and arrived at Ikeda 30 minutes after. The museum is a leisurely 4-5 minutes walk from the Ikeda Station.
Entrance to the museum is free, but you would have to pay extra for the activities.
Momofuku Ando, the man behind instant noodles.
Showcased is a recreation of the creator's workshed, where he developed the technique for drying noodles.
My youngest ~ overwhelmed by the wide variety of instant noodles lineup at the Instant Noodles tunnel.
Can you guess how many varieties of instant noodles there are to date?
Can you guess how many varieties of instant noodles there are to date?
Approximately 800 product packages.
The fun part of the tour ~ creating our own CUPNOODLES package.
First ~ purchase a cup through the vending machine (cost is Y300 per cup).
Second ~ make sure your hands are clean
Third ~ sit down (and be creative)
Fourth ~start decorating your cup
Here is mine :P
My chicken little (but looks like an ugly duckling) decorated cup
Fifth ~ as soon as you are done decorating, head to the noodles station and choose:
a Soup Base and four Ingredients.
For base I got the original chicken base with sausage, cheese, garlic and eggs as toppings.
An attendant will then seal and plastic shrink-wrapped the cup for you, like this...
The little boy is so amazed.
He was grinning the entire time!
Lastly ~ our finished products in easy to carry air-package.
It was almost lunch when we finished and decided to drop by the Tasting Room next door.
At the Tasting Room, you would see a couple of vending machines selling instant noodle products (including newly released products and products sold only in limited areas of Japan) and drinks.
It was really hard to choose, especially since some of the packaging are written in Japanese.
I don't know what I got, I it was really delicious (I liked it, I am not even an instant noodle fan).
My husband got this Cheese Curry cup, which he said was very good. He liked it lot and bought a couple more to take home to Manila.
My youngest got a kiddie cup, with this cute characters that taste like chicken.
Chopsticks only room :P
From the Instant Ramen Museum, we walked our way back to Ikeda Station and headed to our next stop ~ Expo City in Suita (about 25 minutes by train, East of Ikeda).
Follow Part 2 of our DAY 4 by clicking the link below:
Expo City ~ Fun Land
What a very interesting place and an interesting way to enjoy your noodles. My kids would certainly have a blast in a place like that. And so will me and my husband.
ReplyDeleteMy little girl loves noo-noo (noodles) so I think this should be on our list if ever we go to Japan! I didn't know there are other flavors of instant noodles aside from beef, chicken and seafood!
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun experience at the Ramen Museum . . Looking forward on your next stop
ReplyDeleteWow! great bonding,your family looks having fun in museum mommy,:)
ReplyDeleteOh so cute! I am not a fan of cup noodles myself (though I occasionally eat them if they're around lol), but I'm so curious about the Cheese Curry flavor!
ReplyDeleteSeems like a fun activity for the whole family! Would really love to visit Japan soon. Hoping and fingers crossed :)
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm sure my husband and my little guy will enjoy this 🙂 We will definitely include this on the itinerary when we visit Japan.. someday 🙂
ReplyDeleteKailangan ko na matuto magchopsticks haha!
I love the characters! I remember having an alphabet noodle when I was a kid. Too bad that product didn't last. I take note of this museum if we had the chance to visit Japan.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice activity! Noodles don't get that much attention here. That event will be a great idea for one.
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