CUP NOODLES!

Who is this happy man and what is he standing on?

He is Momofuku Ando-san, and he is standing on a cup of ramen. That's right, we have just been visiting....

The coolest place ever: The Cup Noodles Museum.

No, you grammar freaks. It really is Cup Noodles. Not Cup O' Noodles.

Here is the Hall of Noodles, through the ages.

From the original package of Chikin Ramen, invented by Mr. Ando in 1958...

To the full line of Nissen products on sale now:

At the top left is my boys' favorite.

Who knew? Curry noodles were one of the first variations, back in the late 1950's.

This one seems a little....

Here's the man himself in his trademark sunglasses. He lived to the age of 96. Cool to the very end.

Did you know there is an Instant Noodles Summit?

I wonder what they eat.

The museum had a tasting room; we tried several types, including the classic Chikin.

Hugo and Max had Cheese Curry.

Then...so exciting! We got to prepare our own cup!

Here we are waiting in line near the Cup Noodles theatre. Alek cannot contain his excitement and is jumping up and down.
First, you buy your cup.
You wash your hands.
You decorate your cup.

You put the cup on the noodles. Upside down.

(This is because if you drop noodles into a cup in the assembly line, the cake of noodles might go in crooked. So--you put the cup on the noodles and then flip it all over. We learned so much today! Seriously. )

Then you pick broth and up to four toppings. Things like egg, pork, shrimp, asparagus, onion, bacon, cheese, crab....

...or mini fish baloney with pictures of chikin guy.
Max designed the protein power punch: egg, shrimp, pork, and crab.
Alek did a similar, vegetable-free combo. Shrink rappin'....
Then we put them into these funky bags, and pumped up the bags with air. I am not sure what's up with the packaging--just a novelty I guess.

Other museum highlights included the world tour of noodles.

And the giant cup! Please notice--the cup is empty at the bottom, to allow better hot water circulation. The noodles are also more dense toward the top, making a lovely stage for the freeze dried shrimp and veggies.

Finally, in the spirit of complete nonsequitur, we walked around the surrounding neighborhood of Ikeda a little bit. Ikeda's mascot is, inexplicably, the wombat, and you can pretend to beat one.