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June 8th: CupNoodles Museum and Hana Biyori Botanical Garden


After gathering at the hotel lobby, the ERAU group made our way to the one and only CupNoodles Museum in Yokohama. When we got there, we had some time to look around, but at 11:30 we lined up with our groups (my group was Naomi, Joseph, V, Cat, Abi, and me) to join a ramen making class. This class was more of a hands-on experience as we were able to mix the ingredients with a partner and then feed our dough through a strainer. Then our instructor guided us to separate our noodles into even 100-gram portions, which we got to see get deep fried. Once it was done boiling, we were able to package our ramen and take more home. 

After this first class, there was another session where you were able to make your own flavor; however, I didn’t attend it. I instead went to a farmers’ market that I saw while leaving the hotel that morning, but everything there was more on the expensive side so I didn’t buy anything. At this time, it was really hot so I ended up eating at this cute cafĂ© I found inside of a warehouse and once I finished my food, I joined Naomi and Jaxon on their shopping journey. They didn’t get too much, they were simply buying some souvenirs for their friends, but once they were done, we headed to the station to go to our next hotel. This was another APA hotel, but this time we were able to get our own room for 2 whole nights. I put my stuff away and rested for about 30 minutes, then I called Jaxon up to see if he wanted to go to a botanical garden with me. At first all I was expecting was a fancy Starbucks, but once we got there the reality was much better. The Hana Biyori botanical garden has a lot to offer, like their brightly lit path ways and their unique umbrella wall. Jaxon and I thought we would only stay there for 30 minutes, but we ended up staying till closing time (1 hour and 30 minutes later). 

On our way back to the hotel we were looking for places to eat and I found a ramen place that didn’t close till 12:00 a.m. so we decided to check it out and I’m so happy we did because the food was incredible! It was the first time I had garlic in my ramen, but it added so much flavor. The place is famous for its pork, which makes sense because it just melted in your mouth. The noodles were a little thicker than what I expected but it made each bite better. It was definitely a great way to end the day.

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