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We've compiled the best of the best in Side Trips from Tokyo - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
At this hands-on museum, you can create your own instant-ramen flavors and packaging and learn all about one of Japan's biggest culinary exports. Kids love running through the Cup Noodle Park, a playground simulating the noodle-making process, complete with a "noodle net" and "seasoning pool" ball pit.
Calling this a museum might be a little misleading: it's home to a collection of ramen restaurants (seven currently), each serving a different style of Japan's favorite noodle, all packaged together in a streetscape designed to replicate 1950s Yokohama. While here, you could also try a noodle-making class or create your own instant ramen. There are also a few old-fashioned sweet shops for a post-noodle snack.
From the opening of its borders to the beginning of the 20th century, silk was Japan's most sought-after export, and nearly all of it went through Yokohama. This museum, which pays tribute to this period, houses a collection of silk fabrics and an informative exhibit on the silk-making process. The hands-on exhibits include silk reeling and weaving machines. The museum is near the northwestern end of the Yamashita Park promenade, on the second floor of the Silk Center Building.
This museum houses a collection of roughly 3,500 dolls from all over the world. In Japanese tradition, dolls are less to play with than to display—either in religious folk customs or as the embodiment of some spiritual quality. The museum is worth a quick visit, with or without a child in tow, although the puppet shows that sometimes take place on the fourth floor are especially good for kids. It's just across from the southeast end of Yamashita Park.
