Yokohama is a good place for a day trip if you’re visiting Tokyo. We had activated our JR Pass so it was only about a 30 minute ride on the bullet train or less. We didn’t have a lot planned for our day in Yokohama besides visiting Yokohama Chinatown, Osanbashi Pier, Cosmo World and the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum. The ramen museum is just a short 10 minute walk from Shin-Yokohama station. We were surprised that admission was only 310 yen which is about $3.50 CAD. I noticed they even offer an annual pass for people who want to visit often! The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum was opened in 1994 and is the world’s first food-themed museum.
The ramen museum features specialty ramen from 9 different regions in Japan. Once you buy your ticket and go in, you will be in a lobby area with a small gift shop and slot car racing for kids. This is also where you can learn about the origins of ramen through some large poster panels on the wall. At first I wasn’t very impressed because there wasn’t much on this floor but the ramen eating area is actually located downstairs. You can get a glimpse of the waiting times for the various ramen restaurants from a TV screen in the lobby. Continue reading →