Noodles in cups and potatoes in space

Hello and welcome back :) the weekend is over, more than 33,000 steps have been walked and much new stuff discovered, to be presented here just for you. No, it's not all about food, but let's start with...

...Cup noodles

On Saturday, Francesca, Alizée and me had been exploring Yokohama. Our main objective was to visit the bamboo lantern (taketa) festival in the evening, but we didn't make it as you will see later ^^'. However, we left in the morning to take the train for just one station, then found our first target - the art museum. Unfortunately, it is currently closed for a change of exhibitions :( so plan B had to come into action - the Cup Noodles Museum. 

What sounds like a rather uninspiring place, turned out to be a very fun experience. It shows the story of cup noodles from the idea to the various sort you can find all over the world today, using interesting art installations. Sadly, most of the explanations were only in Japanese...

Momofuku Ando, the father of cup noodles

Ramen, ramen and more ramen

Chicken ramen factory, where children learn to make their own noodles

Do you recognise (some of) these guys?

You could even create your own cup of noodles, design it and mix together any ingredients you like. Then it will be sealed for you and you place it in an inflatable plastic bag, to take home as a souvenir. 

Our creations - photo by Francesca

   

Am I really supposed to eat that?

   

Hungry visitors head for the small bazaar, where you can try noodles from different countries. This is the spicy Malaysian version:

On our way to Yamashita Park, where we needed a rest, we could enjoy a few views of Yokohama and its port.

 

In front of the park, we stumbled onto this American conjurer's performance. He delivered a very good show and lured innocent children into being his devoted servants.

At the time we arrived at Yamashita and finally sat down on the soft grass, it was already too late to go to the festival, since it was almost an hour away, plus we were already really exhausted. So we decided just to visit Chinatown nearby, before we headed home. There were some really good steamed buns with different fillings to try!

Chinatown entrance

Holy potatoes! We're in Tokyo

Today, on Sunday, was the last day of Tokyo Game Show, an exhibition or convention for the newest video game releases at the Matsuhari Messe in Chiba. Although you may not know me as the greatest gamer, I had one main reason for going: Two games were presented there in whose production my favourite German game studio, Daedalic Entertainment, had been involved. In addition, I have never actually been to a real convention and I enjoy being around people in costumes (especially adding the Japanese craziness), so I decided to take this opportunity for only 1200 yen. Sadly, no one was fit or motivated enough to accompany me, or had already been there, so I just checked this out on my own.

There were 11 halls in total (although I have seen only 1-9), and each of them was well-frequented, as you can see here:

Getting in was faster than I expected

Resting area from above

Hall 9, for indie games and merch, was no less crowded

Food court - you eat your meal up there in the theatre seats, feeling like you are watching a play

Although there were not too many people showing up in cosplay, many game booths had their own models posing for photos.

 

 

After a long search, I found the two games I was talking about. One of them, which was some kind of space adventure/strategy/fighting game, I could even try - and it was lots of fun! Too bad that none of the Daedelic guys was there though.

"Holy Potatoes! We're in Space?!" - With 3000 real potatoes from a Japanese farm

The second one was already busy, but looked awesome

For the larger games, there were booths which you could enter, letting you experience the game on a different level. Most of them looked exciting, but 60 minutes of standing in a queue didn't seem worth it... the same goes for the numerous virtual reality booths. At the indie game area, however, there were plenty opportunities to try humourous, experimental and beautifully designed games.

A controllable robot

Move it!

VR really is a thing here

This one looked so beatiful - such a shame that it was all in Japanese so I don't even have an idea what it is about :(

Sculpture outside the Matsuhari Messe halls

Now that my feet still hurt from all the walking done the last days, I doubt that there will be much adventure in the next few days. ^^' Have an awesome week start!