A 1958 Showa Street, Underground

At a Glance

Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum (新横浜ラーメン博物館) opened in March 1994 as the world's first food-themed museum. The ground floor tells ramen's history; floors B1 and B2 reconstruct a 1958 Tokyo downtown streetscape in which nine real ramen shops from across Japan operate. 1958 is the year Momofuku Ando invented the first instant ramen, Chicken Ramen.

A Time-Capsule Street

The underground "streets" are a detailed period set—market stalls, tobacco shops, hanging lanterns, Showa posters. Mini-bowls at each shop let visitors compare regional styles in one sitting.

What to Eat

• Kyushu tonkotsu (pork bone) as a textbook example.
• Ryushanghai (Yamagata) aka-yu spicy miso, stirred tableside.
• Onomichi ramen, a lighter soy-and-seafood style from Hiroshima.
• Guest rotation shop for rarer regional bowls.
• Retro desserts—Showa-style cream soda and coffee milk in ribbed glasses.

Visiting Tips

Five minutes from JR / Shinkansen Shin-Yokohama station. Admission around ¥450; ramen bowls are separate (¥750–900 for mini). Quietest 2–4 pm. Finish with a retro café stop at Showa-ryu for coffee. Easy add-on if you have a Shinkansen layover.