The Ramen Museum

I consider myself borderline obsessed when it comes to soup noodles. And I’ve been eating ramen for as long as I remember. There’s nothing better and comforting than a piping hot, rich bowl of soup noodles on a cold day. 

So when I was in Tokyo, one thing I needed to have was ramen. And I found something even better…The Ramen Museum. It is located in Yokohama, about an hour train ride from Tokyo.

Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup dish usually accompanied with garnishes and toppings. The noodles are almost always made from eggs and flour. The broth is made from seafood, seaweed, and or meat. Toppings usually include a slice of meat or marinated egg. It is widely consumed in Japan as fast food and each region has its own variation. And just like there are different types of pasta, there are also different types of ramen. They are usually categorized by seasoning and broth base: shio (salt), miso, my favorite tonkotsu (pork bone), and shoyu (soy sauce). 

The Ramen Museum showcases 8 different types of ramen around Japan. There is an exception of one that rotates seasonally. I went expecting to learn about the history and evolution through the years. However, what I got was more of a food court experience – not that I’m complaining. I was like a kid at a candy store.

The museum inside is designed to depict Japan in 1958, when instant ramen was first invented. There are small alleyways leading to ramen shops. There is also an old-fashioned convenience store stocked with snacks that would be sold at that time period.  

Each ramen shop has a vending machine posted outside the entrance. The usual process in Japan is to punch in your ramen of choice and put in money. The machine will then spit out a ticket for you to hand it over to an employee (or chef). You will be seated and in a quick minute be presented with your bowl of ramen!