Cupnoodles Museum Osaka Ikeda [カップヌードルミュージアム 大阪池田]
The Instant Ramen Tunnel, Photo by Ivan Lian
Chicken noodle making class, Photo by Ivan Lian
Cupnoodles Museum Osaka Ikeda is the museum of instant ramen (Chinese noodle) in Ikeda city.
It is located about 400 meters south of Ikeda station of Hankyu Railway, Talarazuka Line.
It is about 15 km north-northwest of Umeda or Osaka.
In addition, it is about 4 km north of Itami Airport.
Ando Momofuku (1910-2007) was a businessman from Taiwan.
Taiwan was in the period of Japan's rule at that time, so he expanded his business in Japan.
He had lived in Japan before the World War II, and established current Nisshin Food Products Company in 1948.
And, his home was in Ikeda city after the World War II.
(He receives Japanese Citizenship in 1966.)
He developed the world’s first instant ramen in 1958, and it sold tremendously in Japan.
The instant ramen needs to be cooked in a pot with hot water.
So he developed "cup noodle" without using pot for cooking in 1971.
Now, it is sold in over 80 countries in the world, and more than 40 billion cup noodles in total have already been sold.
This museum was built to commemorate his achievements in 1999 and introduces the history of Momofuku Ando and instant ramen.
There are the display of the instant ramen in the world, tasting room for Nisshin's ramens, etc.
And there are My Cup Noodles and Chicken Ramen Factories that you can create original cup noodle package or instant ramen.
In addition, Nisshin Food Products Company opened the similar museum in Yokohama city in 2011.
How to get here
By local train of JR Hanwa Line, about 22 minutes from Ten-noji to Mozu station.
Or, by express of Nankai Koya Line, about 15 minutes from Nanba to Mikunigaoka.
