Osaka’s Cupnoodles Museum
It may have Japanese origins, but American college students have claimed ramen noodles as their own unique cultural marker (and cheap food of choice).
If you want to experience the Fully Monty of Ramen, however, you do need to go to Japan. Specifically, to the Cupnoodles Museum, 8-25 Masumi-cho, Ikeda-shi, Osaka, Japan.
Momofuku Ando is acknowledged as the “father of instant ramen”, and there’s even a specific date connected with the invention: August 25, 1958. “Chicken Ramen” was the result of a year of experimentation in Momofuku’s backyard shed in Ikeda-city, Osaka Prefecture (and, of course there’s a reproduction of that shed in the museum).
A trip to the United States in 1971 transformed his creation. Momofuku observed supermarket managers breaking up Chicken Ramen noodles, putting them in a cup, pouring in hot water, and then eating them with a fork. Ramen — as Cupnoodles — turned “made in Japan” ramen into a global food.
Ramen conoisseurs will want to visit the tasting room in the museum. In addition to popular favorites like Chicken Ramen and CUPNOODLES, products sold only in limited areas of Japan, can be purchased from vending machines..
