Friday, August 2, 2013

Reasonably Priced Outings and A Dip Worth Trying



Cooking classes at Cup Noodles Museum.
 Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama

On Mother's Day we went to the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama.  The museum is close to the Landmark Tower and Cosmoworld and is an easy 15 minute walk from the train or subway station.  This museum not only had the history of the instant noodle, but you could make your own noodle concoction to take home with you, and if you planned ahead and made reservations, you could participate in a cooking class that teaches you how to make chicken ramen from scratch.  I found out while at the museum that you can make reservations for the cooking classes up to 3 months in advance.  This is something I'd like us to do before we leave Japan.  Here's the link for additional information: http://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/english/

Kirin Beer Factory

In May, I went with my Japanese friend and her ESL students on a tour of The Kirin Beer Factory in Yokohama.  The tours are free and last an hour.  At the end of the tour, you are able to enjoy 3 varieties of beer in their tasting room.  There is also a small gift shop, a restaurant and lovely grounds outside of the factory.  Although the tour was mostly in Japanese, I believe they lead tours in English.  Here's their website:  http://www.kirin.co.jp/about/brewery/factory/yokohama/tour.html
You can always scroll down to their phone number and call for additional information. 

Keiba

Last week we went to Keiba (Japanese Horse Racing).  The track was located up in Kawasaki, near Tokyo.  We went with some co-workers who emailed us (via phone) a ticket for free admission.  Without the ticket, the cost is 100 yen to enter. There were food vendors, automated machines to place your bets, and other strategists looking at the paper to see who might be the winning horse(s).  You can place bets on races located at other race tracks, pay as little as 100 yen (about $1USD) for a bet, and sit inside, or outside on bleachers.  All in all it was a fun evening.  It made it better that we had friends to translate for us.