Japan loves ramen so much that there’s an entire museum dedicated to it. And I love it so much that I visited the ramen museum on my day of walking around Yokohama.
The Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum was a short walk from the Shin-Yokohama train station — the streets in the area are more organized that those in central Tokyo, so getting around is much easier. The station is accessible by the JR Yokohama and Chuo Lines and the Blue Line city subway. There really isn’t much else in the neighborhood, so it’s a quick stop for ramen before heading to the port of Yokohama.
The museum itself isn’t large or all that educational, but it is fun for lunch (even if it is a little overpriced for ramen). And you are expected to purchase at least one bowl of ramen when you visit — really, it’s in the ramen museum rules. The entrance fee is JPY 300 (about $3).
The basement area of the museum is set up as an old Tokyo street scene. Visitors can walk around the alleys and into shops. Scattered about the alleys are some ramen shops, but most of them are in the central area. During lunch (and I assume dinner), there are lines for some of the ramen shops. I hate lines and chose the Hollywood ramen shop.
All the shops have ticket vending machines to choose what ramen and/or drinks you’d like to order. Insert money, press buttons, hand ticket to server, and wait for your ramen. It should come as no surprise that I ordered the spicy ramen. It was good and spicy, but only the second-spiciest ramen I’ve had — it didn’t even come close to the ramen I had at Nakamoto.
The Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum isn’t really worth the trip unless you’re already traveling through Yokohama and want a little distraction.
