Cup Noodles Museum: Yokohama vs. Osaka

What could be more famous from Japan than Cup Noodles? Well, maybe Pikachu -- but if you've been through college, Cup Noodles is certainly iconic. Now, you may expect Japan to have a museum for such a product, but it actually has two museums dedicated to Cup Noodles: one in Yokohama and one in Osaka.

D and I couldn't figure out which one would be better, so we decided to check out both. Here's our rundown of the main differences:

Admission

If you want to make your own cup noodles, the Cup Noodles Museum in both locations require you to pay 300 yen.

However, Yokohama's Cup Noodles Museum requires attendees to pay an additional admission fee of 500 yen. In Osaka's, admission is free.

Space

Yokohama's Cup Noodles Museum was definitely much bigger in comparison to the one in Osaka. However, there was also a noticeable size difference in the number of tourists at the museum, with Yokohama's being much more popular.

Instant Ramen Tunnel vs. Instant Ramen Cube

Both museums have a room with the history of instant ramen on display.

Yokohama's Cup Noodles Museum has an Instant Ramen Cube, a room where you're surrounded on all sides by instant ramen throughout the years. Osaka's Cup Noodles Museum, on the other hand, displays the instant ramen along the wall of a corridor, more like a timeline.

Personally, I preferred the display in Osaka's, but all in all, the content isn't too different.

The Tasting Room

Yokohama

One of the main stars of Cup Noodles' history is the chicken ramen instant noodle (you'll see this cute chicken guy everywhere as he is the mascot).

Naturally, D and I wanted to try some of this famed instant noodle, and we were blown away by the tasting area. Noodle lovers, the food court in Yokohama has a sampling of noodles from 10 different countries. There were mie goreng from Indonesia, lagman from Kazakhstan, and maybe some others that you've seen before, such as spaghetti from Italy and cold noodles from Korea.

Of course, representing Japan, chicken ramen! And just to make it extra fun, the food court was designed look like the different countries.

The portion sizes weren't too big, but if you want to try all of them, you may want to eat a lighter lunch before coming.

Osaka

On the other hand, the tasting room at the Cup Noodles Museum in Osaka is much more focused on the history and concept of instant noodles. There are three vending machines which include some rare and limited editions of instant noodles as well as the original chicken ramen.

There is a hot water dispenser conveniently located in the room, so you can eat it right there!

There are mini cup noodles that I'm a big fan of! Not only is there the original flavor, but there's also some cool flavors, like yuzu shio and soba!

Making Cup Noodles:

You go through the same process in both museums to make your custom Cup Noodles:

Step 1: Buy a Cup Noodles container.

Make sure to have 300 yen in cash with you. The machine does not accept credit cards.

Step 2: Wash your hands.

Step 3: Design the exterior of your Cup Noodles.

Step 4: Turn a knob to put the noodles into your designed cup.

Step 5: Choose your ingredients.

Step 6: Watch them seal and shrinkwrap the Cup Noodles for you.

Step 7: Put your Cup Noodles in an air protected bag.

You'll have to pump the air into the bag itself. Don't worry. It's fairly simple and there are instructions to guide you.

Step 8: Carry it around like a fashion accessory.

Museum as a Whole

Both museums had the reproduction of the house where chicken ramen was first invented and an instant ramen wall, but the Yokohama one has more art whereas Osaka's is more history focused.

You can also make Chicken Ramen by hand from scratch at both museums.

TL;DR

If you're short on time, just visit one museum. They're not too different. Visit both if you have the time and really enjoy Cup Noodles!

If you want to avoid crowds and happen to be in the Kansai region, visit the Cup Noodles Museum in Osaka.

If you're going to be in Yokohama or you're in Tokyo and have time for a day trip, visit the Yokohama Cup Noodles Museum.