Ramen, Bullet Trains & Floating Flowers

After the peaceful moment in the bamboo gardens, it was time to jump back onto Japan’s wonderfully efficient transport network.

Several trains later we arrived in Yokohama for dinner… and not just any dinner.

We were heading to the wonderfully quirky Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum.

> The Ramen Museum

The museum is partly educational and partly delicious.

There are displays explaining the history of ramen, but the real highlight is downstairs where the space has been recreated as a 1960s Tokyo street scene, complete with glowing shop signs, narrow alleyways and tiny ramen shops.

The idea is that each shop represents a different regional style of ramen from across Japan.

Naturally, our main interest was the food 😂

So we decided to try two very different bowls.

> Komurasaki – Tonkotsu Ramen

First up was Komurasaki, a shop founded in 1954 in Kumamoto.

Their tonkotsu ramen uses a rich pork bone broth that was wonderfully warming and deeply savoury.

Simple, comforting and very satisfying.

> Ryu Shanghai Honten – Spicy Miso Ramen

The second bowl came from Ryu Shanghai Honten.

This ramen was completely different.

In the centre sat a ball of fiery red miso paste, slowly dissolving into the broth as you mixed it.

The soup itself combined pork and chicken broth with dried sardines, and the thick homemade noodles were wonderfully springy.

Possibly the best noodles I’ve had so far.

> A Quick Ride on the Bullet Train

Feeling happily full, we still had one more transport experience planned.

As we headed back towards Tokyo, we managed to jump onto the Shinkansen.

Even though it was only for a couple of stops, it was still a great geeky thrill 😂

Smooth, fast and ridiculously efficient.

> TeamLab Planets

After a couple more trains and a metro ride we arrived in Toyosu for the final experience of the day:

This interactive art exhibition is designed to be fully immersive… in some rooms you even walk through water.

Quite literally.

We wandered barefoot through glowing koi ponds, tropical jungle environments and rooms filled with floating flowers and shifting light.

One installation slowly surrounded us with falling flowers until it felt like standing inside a living painting.

It was an incredible experience and also a great way to cool down our very tired feet after all that walking 😂

> Homeward Bound

Finally, after a very long day, we decided to treat ourselves to a taxi back towards our accommodation.

Well… technically to the nearest 7-Eleven Japan, because hydration was urgently required 😂

With over 18,000 steps and countless trains, buses and escalators behind us, it had been an amazing day exploring another side of Japan.

So credit where it’s due…

Well done Alex on planning this one 👍Read more