Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum

As a ramen lover, visiting the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum was on my top must-visit places in Japan. I can't wait to go back to Japan to visit the Cup Noodles Museum located in Yokohama as well.  

A little background on the museum. It was founded on March 6, 1994 and it is the world's first food-themed amusement park. At the museum, you can freely enjoy the different regional flavours of ramen across Japan without stepping on a plane or train to get there. There are a total of 9 different ramen restaurants showcased in a street-scape replication from the year 1958 which is also the year when the world's first instant ramen was invented. 

You can easily spot the museum with these green ramen bowls at the top of the sign. 

There is even this moving ramen bowl with a TV screen from RA-HAKU TV the showing all about ramen from ramen world fairs, ramen history in Japan and famous ramen shops.  

Tickets can be bought at the front entrance to the museum. Adult (13 and older) cost 310 yen and child (6-12) and seniors (60 over) cost 100 yen and free for children younger than 6 years old. 

When you first enter the ramen museum, there is this wall that display ramen bowls used in successive ramen restaurants in different unique patterns as well as some history photographs of Japan and Japanese culture. 

You can also grab a pamphlet translated into many different languages as well as renting a locker to store your bag and other heavy duty things you may not want to carry with you around the museum. 

The ramen museum is divided into 3 floors. B1F and B2F is where all the ramen restaurants are and as well as some snack shops with snack and food from Japan's good old days. On the 1st floor there is a gallery where visitors can learn all about the history of ramen, museum shop and an IRIS slot-car race track. 

The interior design of the museum is a replica of some streets and houses of Shitamachi, an old town of Tokyo around the year 1958 and the amount of details is incredibly amazing that it makes you feel like you have traveled back in time to the olden times in Japan. There is also classic music playing at the museum which really sets the mood.

Like most Japanese restaurants you still see now in Japan, you purchase what you would like to eat through the ticket vending machines outside the restaurant and bring it inside and give it to the chef/server to take your order. 

You also have the option to choose to order a half size portion bowl or a full size portion bowl. If you are someone like me who gets full easily, half size bowl would be a better option so you can try more different flavours at different restaurants. In this picture above, I ordered a half bowl of salt ramen with pork chashu.

And this is a half portion bowl of tonkatsu pork bone based ramen. 

There are also these little streets on B1F that is worth exploring around where you can find many historical places in old Japan time so make sure you check it out!  

An old post office and motorcycle used to deliver mail back in the old times. 

Kateko Cafe and Snack Shop is a nostalgic space for relaxing while savouring popular soft-serve ice cream called soft cream made from Hokkaido milk, and drinking coffee or alcohol. Karaoke is also available at the cafe and smoking is allowed. 

An old camera shop selling old classic cameras that use films. 

Old telephone booth and ancient telephones. 

An old tattoo artist shop back in the old days. 

Old hospital back in the days.

Daigashi-ya on Yu-yake Shoten (Sunset Shopping Street) is an old-fashioned sweets and toys shop that used to be seen in every town and served a classic children's social hub. Nostalgic Bon Bon ice cream (ice cream in a rubber container), ramune soda, and starch syrup are popular sweets sold at the time. It is interesting to see what kind of toys and sweets are sold in the old Japan days. 

And finally on the 1st floor is the Gallery where you can learn about the different type of ramen and the history.

Also on the 1st floor is the museum shop where you can try samples of different ramen food, buy ramen things such as stationary, cellphones holders and other things.

But what surprised me the most was there was this whole section of Dragon Ball figures and games and as someone who grew up watching the anime since I was a kid, I was beyond thrilled and excited when I saw this so I had to snap some pictures of them. 

There is also a IRIS slot-car race track for visitors to play which looked pretty cool and unique. 

How to get to the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum:

From Haneda Airport:

Time required: 45 minutes
Directions: Haneda Airport→Shinyokohama Bus Terminal (Take the Rinko or Keikyu bus from Gate 8)→Shinyokohama Ramen Museum (by foot)

From Yokohama:

Time required: 15 minutes
Directions: Yokohama→Shinyokohama (Yokohama City Subway)→Shinyokoaham Ramen Museum(Leave the subway station from Exit 8 and walk for several minutes)

From Tokyo:

Time required: 50 minutes
Directions: Tokyo→Yokohama (JR Tokaido Line)→Shinyokohama (Yokohama City Subway)→Shinyokohama Ramen Museum (Leave the subway station from Exit 8 and walk for several minutes)

From Shinjuku:

Time required: 50 minutes

Direction: Shinjuku→Shibuya (JR Yamanote Line)→Kikuna（Tokyu Toyoko Line）→Shinyokohama (JR Yokohama Line)→Shinyokohama Ramen Museum (by foot)

Address: 2-14-21 Shinyokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-City, 222-0033, Japan

Hours: 11am - 10pm (shops take order 30 minutes before closing time) 

Website: https://www.raumen.co.jp/english/