Today I Learned
Cup Noodles Museum Yokohama: Custom Cups, Tickets & Inventions
Make your own Cup Noodles in Yokohama and discover the design behind it. Compare workshops, admission, reservations and current visitor information.
At Cup Noodles Museum Yokohama, you can decorate a cup, choose its soup and toppings, and take home your own instant noodles. My CUPNOODLES Factory costs ¥500 per cup, plus museum admission. To make noodles from flour, choose the separate Chicken Ramen Factory, which has different booking and participation rules. Museum admission · My CUPNOODLES Factory · Chicken Ramen Factory
The cup makes a cheerful souvenir. It also contains a small engineering story: getting noodles inside it became easier when its inventor turned the problem upside down.
Research note: This guide uses operator information checked on October 8, 2026. We have not visited in person. It covers the Yokohama museum; Osaka Ikeda has its own visitor information.
Why the cup goes over the noodles
Nissin’s account of Momofuku Ando’s invention describes a practical problem. A noodle block small enough to drop easily into a tapered cup could move and break during transport. A larger block held in the middle fitted better, but was difficult to insert reliably.
The solution was to put the cup down over an inverted block, then turn the assembly upright. At My CUPNOODLES Factory, placing a cup over the noodles is still part of the advertised process. Look for that step while making yours. Nissin’s account of the invention · Museum’s assembly sequence
A shed, then a wall of packages
Chicken Ramen in 1958 and Cup Noodles in 1971 were two different inventions. The museum’s timeline follows the change from instant noodles prepared in a separate bowl to a product with its own container. Museum’s introduction to Ando
On the second floor, Momofuku’s Work Shed is a reconstruction of the small workspace associated with Chicken Ramen. It is a recreated exhibit in Yokohama, rather than the original Osaka shed transplanted here. Work Shed exhibit
Nearby, the Instant Noodles History Cube displays what the museum describes as more than 3,000 product packages. Following the packages is a way to see how much variation can develop around one everyday object. History Cube
Which hands-on activity should you choose?
| Activity | What you do | Activity fee |
|---|---|---|
| My CUPNOODLES Factory | Decorate a cup and select the soup and toppings; staff seal and wrap it | ¥500 per cup |
| Chicken Ramen Factory | Begin with flour, then follow kneading, steaming, seasoning and drying | ¥1,200 for junior-high-school age and older; ¥600 for elementary pupils |
These fees are separate from museum admission: ¥500 for adults, free for high-school students and younger. An ordinary adult making one custom cup therefore pays ¥1,000 in total. Admission and attraction fees
For the custom cup, choose one of four soups and four topping portions from 12 choices. Repeating a topping is allowed; the operator counts 5,460 possible combinations. There is one noodle type, and each person can make one cup per visit. Operator’s activity details · Topping FAQ
Chicken Ramen Factory requires a reservation and paired participation. Participants must be elementary-school age or older; solo participation is not accepted. Children in the first three elementary grades need a partner of at least junior-high-school age. Its published duration is 70 minutes. Reservations normally open at 10:00 Japan Standard Time (JST) three months before the visit date, with exceptions when that release date falls on a closure day. Workshop · Participation requirements
Booking a custom-cup session
You can buy the official Admission Ticket with My CUPNOODLES Factory Voucher in advance. Its standard adult price is ¥1,000, including both fees; the price for high-school students and younger is ¥500. Tickets normally go on sale at 10:00 JST on the first day of the previous month and sales close at 24:00 JST the day before, or earlier if sold out. Official ticket information
The selected time is your factory reception time. Museum entry is possible earlier. The ticket site gives 45–60 minutes for making the cup, and requires collection at the first-floor kiosk using the confirmation code. Leave time for that before your session. Collection and timing instructions
Same-day participation is also possible when spaces remain, using numbered tickets distributed in arrival order. General museum admission does not guarantee a factory session. Current participation methods
Opening hours and getting there
The normal museum hours are 10:00–18:00, with last admission at 17:00. It normally closes on Tuesdays and over the year-end/New Year period. A holiday Tuesday can shift the closure; check the operator’s calendar for your date. Hours and calendar
The museum is at 2-3-4 Shinko, Naka-ku, Yokohama. The operator gives walks of about eight minutes from Minatomirai or Bashamichi Station, or 12 minutes from Sakuragicho Station. These are walking estimates, not guaranteed connection times. Official directions
Visiting on October 25, 2026? The Yokohama Marathon will bring traffic restrictions around the museum. The operator asks visitors to use public transport where possible. Operator’s October 8 notice
Photography
The museum permits photos and video when they do not disturb other visitors or its operation. Livestreaming requires a prior application. Photography FAQ
Taking your cup home
The operator recommends eating the custom noodles within about one month of making them. If you have dietary restrictions, consult the current ingredient and allergen details: choosing vegetable toppings does not make the noodle-and-soup base vegetarian or allergen-free. The Japanese activity page lists chicken among the noodle base’s allergens. Consumption FAQ · Current ingredient information
If everyday food design interests you, read how a self-heating ekiben warms its meal and why restaurants use plastic food samples. More unusual places and the stories behind them are collected in Curious Japan.
Exterior photo: Keeezawa / Wikimedia Commons, May 3, 2024, CC0 1.0.
