Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum
Photo: Own work — CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Explore the history and varieties of ramen at this unique museum, featuring regional ramen shops and a 1958 Showa-era townscape.
Planning your visit
The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is a food theme park pretending to be a museum, and it is very good at it. The basement holds a full-scale reconstruction of a Tokyo backstreet in 1958 — the year instant ramen was invented — with wooden buildings, hanging laundry, lit signage, a sunset sky painted overhead and period music.
Around that streetscape sit branches of ramen shops from across Japan, each representing a regional style: Hokkaido miso ramen, Kyushu tonkotsu, Wakayama soy, and others rotating over time. Mini portions are sold specifically so visitors can try several without defeat.
The upstairs exhibition covers ramen's history — Chinese in origin, adapted in Japan, transformed by postwar American wheat imports — and its regional differentiation.
Reaching the regional shops individually would mean crossing the country, which is the museum's argument for existing.
Allow two hours. Bookable options include day trips combining Yokohama and Kamakura. Current availability is listed below.
Before you book
Where is Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum?
Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is in Yokohama, Japan. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum?
Allow two hours. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum in advance?
Tickets can be bought on the door at quiet times, but booking ahead fixes the date and avoids the queue at busy ones. Live availability is shown on this page.
