On my way back from the amazing Sankeien Garden, after attending (but honestly not paying much attention to) a Japanese-only BioInformatics lecture (seriously, I enjoy those things), I went for something fun and quirky: the Cup Noodles Museum.

Founded by revered Momofuku Sando-san, Instant Noodles (Cup Noodles) has a very interesting story behind its world wide wild success. I learned that Sando-san spent two years in jail for tax evasion. That he invented the instant noodles in his 60’s.

That he invented a very ingenious packaging technique to keep the noodles suspended in the cup… and many more facts. As was to be expected of a museum dedicated to cup noodles. I must admit the building and interior is beautiful, and the displays are interesting, very well made and maintained.

Without a doubts, the most fun part of the museum is the “make your own cup” part, where you get to decorate your cup, select your ingredients, and take home your very special and personal cup.

I decided to make mine the “Love Noodles Cup”, with a double art reference: “Ceci n’est Campbell Soup”. Hey, some people have been called “great conceptual artist” for less 😉

On my way back to the hotel I saw a flower bouquet competition, not to be confused with Ikebana (the traditional Japanese flower and plant arrangement art).