One of the most beloved foods in all of Japan is the simple cup of noodles. It’s something I was familiar with before our move, so I’d put off a trip to the museum in Yokohama, saving it for a rainy day. That was a mistake.

This museum is AWESOME. I went with a friend, and our visit skipped around quite a bit from the museum’s normal order of things. We bought our tickets and went straight to the make-your-own-cup floor, where we promptly sat to coloring our styrofoam (CupNoodle, please change that material!) cups.

Some of us were better decorators than others…

We went on a weekday and the place was packed. You reserve a time slot to make your CupNoodles (yes, it’s cup noodles, not cup *of* noodles) and join the rest of Japan on the third floor.

If you are extra on-the-ball, you can reserve a tour to actually make your own NOODLES from scratch, not merely your own cup of made-by-somebody-else noodles. I still think this would be an amazing group outing – if I can remember to book months out!

Sadly, we only made cups of the pre-made noodles. Which was still amazing, just not *peak* amazing. You can choose four from a variety of toppings for your CupNoodles.

I think we chose well.

This is the face of someone who can’t wait to eat their delicious cup.

You can take your CupNoodle home in its very own airpack. Which makes a convenient weapon…

Or a stylish bag…

Once we had our CN’s in tow, we started the museum over from the bottom, where we learned all the good stuff. Like how once upon a time, CupNoodle only came in a few flavors…

But luckily times have changed!

Known as Mr. Noodle for inventing CupNoodle, Momofuku Ando was a beloved international figure, famous and influential enough worldwide that the New York Times wrote him an obituary. Sidenote: they belatedly wrote one just recently for the woman who invented the chocolate chip cookie, an equally life-changing invention. 

There’s plenty of CupNoodle memorabilia to take home, too!

We had such an awesome time, I ended up taking several new friends who hadn’t visited yet there too. There’s an epic playground for kids 3+ and a CupNoodles bazaar, where the noodles are served in a variety of international ways.

It’s a great place to spend any day, be it rainy or otherwise! Weekends are breathtakingly busy, so I’d recommend a weekday and booking tickets advance if you can!

More information on the legendary CupNoodle museum (in Yokohama) is here!