A little luck might be needed to get your favorite.

Cup Noodle is an instant ramen brand that likely needs no introduction around the world, but Umaibo snacks might be a little less known outside Japan. Inside the country, however, it’s a household name that has been around long enough for nearly everyone to have experienced it in their childhood.

▼ Umaibo

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They’re made of a corn material similar to snacks known as cheese puffs, cheese curls, cheesies, or a number of other names depending on the region. However, in Japan they come in a huge variety of nearly every flavor imaginable at one time or another.

And as Umaibo’s mission to come in every flavor known to humanity continues, news arrives of a set of eight Cup Noodle flavors based on each of the instant ramen’s regular rotation lineup:

▼ Cup Noodle (Original soy sauce flavor)

▼ Seafood

▼ Curry (a mild and sweet vegetable curry)

▼ Chili Tomato

▼ Cheese Curry (with those creepy cheese head people)

▼ Sio (salty and smoky olive oil)

▼ Miso (miso broth with garlic and ginger)

▼ Tonkotsu (spicy pork bone broth with Chinese pepper)

Although Umaibo is dirt cheap, its quality of flavor replication is no joke, so we can expect a pretty tasty snack that matches anyone’s favorite kind of Cup Noodle. However, there is a catch: These will not be sold in stores.

▼ Store bought flavors include these cheese, corn potage, vegetable salad, salami, seaweed, takoyaki, teriyaki burger, mentaiko, sugar, and shrimp mayo flavors that I just got, all for a grand total of 89 yen (US$0.81).

Photo ©SoraNews24

To acquire one of these special Umaibo everyone must purchase a regular-size Cup Noodle from Nissin’s official online store between 6 and 12 September. For each cup of instant ramen bought, a randomly selected Cup Noodle Umaibo will be given for free as a gift.

For those who don’t like leaving things up to lady luck, in mid-September Nissin’s online store will also sell the Cup Noodle 50th Anniversary Complete Set, which will contain all eight types of Cup Noodle along with each one’s Umaibo counterpart.

Another option will be to go to a FamilyMart convenience store from 31 August to 13 September and buy two Cup Noodles for which customers will be given two special Umaibo sticks, the flavor of which will also be random and depend on what the store has in stock.

In all cases supplies are limited, and judging by the online reaction to the news, they might go quick.

“Oh, those are definitely going to be good, aren’t they…”
“No Umaibo fan can miss this chance.”
“They’re pretty tough to get though.”
“Please just sell them normally!”
“That reminds me: I haven’t had the Curry one in ages.”
“Cool! Now do an Umaibo flavored Cup Noodle!”
“The forbidden collaboration…”
“I think the Chili Tomato would be the best one.”

There’s likely to be a rush on these all-star snacks, so be sure to mark your calendars in order to get in early. This might be the only chance to try them.

▼ Computer simulation of you enjoying a Cup Noodle Umaibo right now

Photo ©SoraNews24

It’ll be tricky and might require some luck to end up with the flavor or flavors you want, but on the bright side, there’s still a few weeks to practice “the cool way” to open an Umaibo.

Source: Nissin, Twitter/@cupnoodle_jp, My Game News Flash
Images: Nissin (Unless otherwise noted)
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