Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda: Design Your Very Own Instant Ramen

Experience the Birth of Instant Ramen

The city of Ikeda in Osaka, the site of the museum, is where entrepreneur Andō Momofuku, founder of Nissin Foods, launched the world’s first instant ramen 60 years ago. In addition to being the site of his Chicken Ramen invention, it is also where Cup Noodles, popular around the world, got its start.

The first Chicken Ramen package.

A statue of Andō Momofuku stands at the museum’s entrance, a package of Chicken Ramen in hand.

Entertaining graphics detail the history of Chicken Ramen and Cup Noodles. Hands-on attractions, where visitors can create their very own Chicken Ramen or customize a Cup Noodles cup and its contents, are especially popular.

This modern stone structure houses the museum, which is operated by the Andō Foundation, endowed by the inventor.

The exclamation-mark logo, designed by Satō Kashiwa, was inspired by the Cup Noodles package.

Start your tour of the museum on the first floor, where a display relates the ups and downs of Andō’s life and his out-of-the-box thinking and creative ideas.

The museum’s interior has a sleek, futuristic look. Many of the displays and exhibits are geared toward children, making this a fun place for younger visitors.

The first thing to catch visitors’ attention is a wooden structure 10 meters square. It is a reproduction of the backyard workshop where Andō invented Chicken Ramen, ready-to-eat dried noodles reconstituted in hot water, in 1958 at the age of 48.

Seen here are the ordinary materials and tools—saucepans, sieves, flour, and so forth— that Andō tinkered with to produce his creations. This barebones workshop is a perfect example of Andō’s philosophy: “If you have an idea, you don’t need fancy equipment to invent something.”

A reproduction of Andō’s backyard workshop. Left penniless by a business failure at age 47, he worked tirelessly to develop his products.

The inside of the workshop. Andō got the idea for instant noodles from his wife Masako’s tempura.

A panel tracing the story of how Chicken Ramen became such a huge hit. Starting with production of just 400 units a day, five years later the business had grown to generate annual sales of ¥4.3 billion.

Next is the story of Cup Noodles—the hit product straddling national borders and cultures that Andō invented at the age of 61. After getting the idea for this meal-on-the-go during a trip to the United States, he developed numerous new technologies. Here visitors can follow the process of how he made his dream a reality.

The first packages for Cup Noodles, launched in 1971.

The theater housed in the round wall on the right shows an animated film on the birth of Cup Noodles. Audio guides are available in English and Chinese.

Andō developed Space Ram instant noodles as a space food at the age of 95. He paid special attention to creating a soup that would not splatter in the zero-gravity environment of outer space. Japanese astronaut Noguchi Sōichi ate Space Ram aboard the space shuttle Discovery during a mission in 2005.

In the Instant Ramen Tunnel, visitors can view the evolution of instant noodles from the invention of Chicken Ramen up to today. Approximately 800 Nissin Foods products are displayed in the order of their creation.

Making Your Own Chicken Ramen

The star attraction of the museum is a hands-on chance to make your very own noodles at the Chicken Ramen Factory. The four daily noodle-making sessions are often sold out.

Visitors often find this the most enjoyable part of the museum tour.

Here visitors can experience the entire process of making Chicken Ramen: mixing the dough ingredients, rolling it out, slicing it into noodles, and deep-frying and drying the noodle cake. The process allows visitors to experience the fun of making something with their own hands while revisiting how Andō experimented 60 years ago.

Made using just a few ingredients: flour, the mineral-rich, alkaline water known as kansui, and some seasonings.

After mixing the ingredients and kneading the dough, visitors roll it out with a rolling pin.

The process takes 90 minutes, with visitors working in pairs. Staff are on hand to help out and make sure the process is foolproof. Kneading the dough is an absorbing task, and soon everyone is concentrating on what their hands are doing.

The dough comes out even thinner and smoother after being run through a noodle-making machine.

The noodles are cut to the ideal length for slurping.

After the dough is steamed and the seasonings kneaded in, the last step is deep-frying.  According to the staff, deep frying instantly eliminates moisture from the noodles, but they will soften right away if hot water is added. This demonstration of the flash-frying method discovered by Andō is very interesting.

Freshly-fried noodles, Tasty scraps are available for tasting right away.

Visitors design their own packages and seal them up to take them home.

The visitors’ goodie bag includes their very own Chicken Ramen, along with one package of the commercial version and a souvenir bandanna.

Next on the Menu: One-of-a-Kind Cup Noodles

At the “My Cup Noodles Factory,” another popular museum attraction, visitors can customize Cup Noodles cups to create their very own version.

Blank noodle cups let visitors create their very own Cup Noodles as a souvenir.

Visitors purchase a cup from a vending machine and design an illustration for the blank space on the cup. Next, they take the cup to the topping counter, place a noodle cake in the cup, select the soup and add-ins, and voilà—a one-of-a-kind Cup Noodles just for you. No reservations are ready for this attraction, and the process is quick and easy.

Start by designing your very own cup. There is a blank space on the back for an illustration.

There are four soup flavors: soy, seafood, curry, and chili tomato. Choose one, along with any 4 additional toppings out of the 12 offered. This yields 5,460 possible flavor combinations, making this selection something to think about seriously.

Special additional ingredients, available for a limited time only, add to the fun.

After the ingredients are selected, the cup is capped and wrapped. Visitors can observe the same production processes as at the factory.

The final touch: adding air to the packing bag to keep your Cup Noodles in good shape.

If you feel hungry after all this exposure to noodles, make your way to the tasting room on the same floor. Standard and regional versions of Cup Noodles are available and can be purchased and consumed on the spot.

This is the perfect spot for taking a photo commemorating your visit. The wall display shows the huge variety of Cup Noodles sold all over the world.

Andō’s Creativity: Hints for Living

Not to be missed is the second-floor exhibit describing the highlights of Andō’s life and his achievements. Throughout his 96 years, Andō continued to be a fount of creativity and tenaciously overcome obstacles as he created his food products. The medals and honors that Andō received for his achievements are testaments to a productive life.

This year marks 60 years since Chicken Ramen was invented. Manpuku, broadcaster NHK’s morning drama series set to be aired this fall, tells the story of Andō and his wife Masako. This makes this year a perfect opportunity to visit the Cup Noodles Museum and learn more about Andō’s passionate devotion to his work and his indomitable spirit.

Items used by Andō during his lifetime are displayed alongside the various awards and decorations he received.

A collection of calligraphy that Andō wrote each January 1 to mark the New Year.

Museum Information

Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda

• Address: 8-25 Masumichō, Ikeda, Osaka
• Official website: https://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/en/osaka_ikeda/
• Telephone: 072-752-3484
• Access: 5-minute walk from Ikeda Station on the Hankyu Takarazuka Line
• Parking: Available (¥300 for 60 min.)
• Hours: 9:30 AM to 4 PM (last entry 3:30 PM)
• Closed Tuesdays (closed the following day if a public holiday falls on a Tuesday) and during the year-end and New Year period
• Admission: Free
• Chicken Ramen Factory: ages 6 to 12, ¥300, ages 13 and up, ¥500. Making your own Chicken Ramen takes 90 minutes; start times are 9:30 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, and 2:30 PM. By prior reservation only (online or by telephoning 072-751-0825).
• My Cup Noodles Factory: ¥300 each.

Related article: Andō Momofuku: An Inventor Who Used His Noodle to Change Global Food Culture

(Originally published in Japanese on April 20, 2018. With thanks to Nissin Foods Holdings, Co. Ltd. for photos and interview material. Reporting and text by Yamaguchi Noriko. Photos by Yamazaki Yoshinori.)