Japan is a food paradise and Japanese food theme parks have spread out all over the country and they will whet the appetites of the food-curious visitors.
The food theme parks specialize in one type of food and offer various versions of that particular dish and if you are in Japan you might want to check out the following:
At the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum you will learn about the history of ramen, strolling through a dozen ramen shops with regional flavors from different parts of Japan in a 1950s shitamachi (old style downtown) setting. Admission is 310 yen, then tickets for ramen are purchased from vending machine in front of the shops.
Info: http://www.raumen.co.jp/english/
Then the Namja Gyoza Stadium which is located in the very noisy Namja Town game center inside Ikebukuro Sunshine City. Admission to Namja Town is 500 yen, then you can stroll around a dozen famous gyoza shops from around the country. Adjacent to is “Ice Parlor,” with fifty types of ice cream, some with weird flavors like freshwater eel (unagi) oyster ice cream, Indian curry…
Info: http://event.namco.co.jp/namja/en/
In Osaka, known as the Tenka no Daidokoro (the Nation’s Kitchen), famous for its inexpensive and tasty casual foods such as okonomiyaki and takoyaki, you will find the Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho, located inside the Tempozan Marketplace shopping mall. It showcases Osaka’s variety of native dishes and specialties, all set in a 1970s street scene. Admission is free.
Info: http://www.kaiyukan.com/language/eng/kuishinbo.html
And finally, the Osaka Takoyaki Museum, a great place to strengthen your knowledge about what may be Osaka’s most famous contribution to Japan’s rich street-food culture. Located inside City Walk at Universal Studio complex, you will choose among 5-6 Takoyaki outlets from some of Osaka’s most famous makers of takoyaki.
Info: http://ucw.jp/otm/
