Although the Cup Noodle Museum is in a better location, this hidden gem of deliciousness will rekindle your love for Ramen.
A live concert at Yokohama Arena or a sporting event at Nissan Stadium are usually the two reasons why people end up in Shin Yokohama, the salaryman’s paradise.
But there’s one more reason, and it’s on a side street, with a red bowl out front and chopsticks raising and lowering noodles.
You’ll walk up onto an elevated pedestrian roundabout, a hodoukyo, or a compass-rose-floating sidewalk, after exiting the train station’s main exit. The Shin Yokohama Raumen Museum will be reached after a five-minute stroll.
Having a meal at the museum
If you’re looking for historical exhibits, put that desire on hold and come to this opulent 1958 food court on an empty stomach. This was the year Japan discovered a way to create ‘instant’ Ramen noodle, which was quickly adopted by the rest of the world.
After paying a $300 entrance fee, you enter and are greeted by a ramen gift shop with a national presence. A tribute to Showa-era branding awaits, but if you’re too hungry to care, keep walking toward the back of the room, passing by a rather random miniature race car track, where you can challenge your friends to a 200-dollar duel of “slot-cars.” It’s a decent distraction for 5-10 minutes, but the museum’s art is two levels below.
On the ground floor, you’ll find a dozen ramen shops from all over the country, each with storefronts that harken back to the progress of the late 1950s. If the Rishiri Ramen Miraku, a wavy noodle with an edgy soy sauce and kelp from Rishiri Island off the coast of Hokkaido, is available, go for it.
Getting There
ADDRESS
2 Chome-14-21 Shinyokohama, Kohoku Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture 222-0033, Japan
BY RAILWAY
Take the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to Shin-Yokohama station from Tokyo Station. Or, try an alternative cheaper route by taking the Marunouchi Line to the Tokyu-Toyoko line. You can drop off at Kikuna, and board the line Yokohama line one stop to Shin Yokohama. The museum is within a short distance from the train station.
