Osaka: Ramen

 

Ramen is often referred to as the national dish of Japan, and Osaka has no shortage of ramen options. The department store, Edion for example, has dedicated one entire floor to a ramen food court. There were also many wonderfully delicious ramen restaurants like Kinryu Ramen, which specialize in tokoko, a pork bone broth with noodles and generous slices of pork loin.

At this point it must be noted that Osaka is the city which introduced the world to instant ramen, and later instant cup noodles. So, to properly celebrate these achievements of great cultural importance, we visited the ‘CupNoodle Museum’. Outside the museum building we were greeted by the statue of Momofuku Ando, forever imortalized standing on a noodle cup base. It was 1958 that Momofuku first marketed his instant noodle creation ‘Chikin Ramen’. Since then his company, Nissin, has been a global force in manufacturing and distributing instant ramen, 

The exhibits focus on the history of instant noodles, from the early development to Space Ramen, a product designed for astronauts. The tour includes a mini fun factory where ramen lovers of all ages can create their very own custom cup noodle blend!

CupNoodle Museum website:

https://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/en/