Oishii! – Japan Day 04

Our fourth day in Japan, and yet again we took the opportunity to have the free breakfast at our hotel lobby. Again, the breakfast menu is different and it really helps us as we had to catch an early train to the Cup Noodles Museum, quite a ways from our hotel. Located in Ikeda, Osaka, this museum is a homage to the founder of Cup Noodles, Momofuku Ando. To reach there, we took another train to the famous Cup Noodles Museum, for our very special afternoon.

Inside, we started our tour of the museum, and we wanted to get straight into one of the exclusive events that we had signed up for before, allowing us to create our own cup noodles from scratch with guidance from staff from the Cup Noodles Museum. There, we went through the process of manufacturing cup noodles, flash-frying them, and packing them in our very own packaging that we were able to decorate and design ourselves. Of course, we all had a wonderful time.

Afterwards, we also looked around the museum, which includes every single cup noodle flavour ever released in the history of Nissin. It was absolute insanity looking at the sheer variety of cup noodles that were offered throughout the years. I only wish other companies could come up with this kind of display showcasing their rich history not through words, but through the amount of products that they have simply released throughout the years. For lunch, we decided to get some cup noodles for the true experience. To my surprise, they had a Singapore Laksa flavour available. However, this flavour was unlike anything else we have had ever. The broth was so flavourful and rich, and was almost true to life laksa. It was simply amazing. The other flavours such as Milk Seafood, and the Chashu ramen were also amazing.

Afterwards, we took the time to also make our very own cup noodles through their interactive design and flavour selection section. We ended up making our own cups as well as creating some gifts for others. It was an extremely fun experience!

 

For our real lunch, we headed to a real ramen place just down the road. Called Ippudo, it had many flavours of ramen on offer, and even had one that was designed after the famous Nissin flavour, in memory of Momofuku Ando. They also served up a mean garlic rice, that was simply amazing.

 

After lunch, we also headed to a bowling alley before returning to Osaka. Although it did not have much on offer either, we took the time to look at the various things available at the pro-shop, and seen that some famous and familiar names were here before us.

 

Heading back to Dotonbori, we stopped at the other Osaka station, where we realised that there was a Krispy Kreme nearby. We couldn’t resist.

For dinner, we headed to one of my favourite places from my first trip to Japan. Daruma Kushikatsu, where anything and everything is flash fried in batter, dipped in special sauce and eaten — the only rule? You cannot double dip. One of my highlights of my first trip, this also became one of the highlights of the second trip. In a cramped and cozy dining area, I love every part of the food that was served, ordering as much as our heart desired.

 

Before heading back proper, we also took the time to stroll through Dotonbori once again, to pick up some other snacks for supper. Yet again we stopped at a Taiyaki place, and they did not have a Custard flavour available, much to SF’s disappointment. We realised that the first time going to Japan that the Taiyaki stand was probably an outlier than the majority regarding flavours. However, we also took back some takoyaki and Ashley enjoyed her huge soft-serve ice cream. What a successful day.