The most delicious omikuji you’ve ever seen!
As the company that gave the world instant noodles, Nissin is always looking for new ways to keep pushing the envelope, or should we say, the ramen bowl, and now they’ve done just that by turning the company’s Yakisoba UFO cup into a fortune-telling vessel.
The team shared their clever invention with a tweet on the official UFO Twitter account, which read: “We took advantage of the fact that noodles poke out when draining the hot water by testing it out as an omikuji.”
湯切りで麺がちょびっと出ることを利用して
— 日清焼そばU.F.O.公式 (@nissin_u_f_o) January 25, 2024
おみくじにしてみました pic.twitter.com/wKqTPZj8Wh
As the above tweet shows, the omikuji — a Japanese form of fortune telling where a box is shaken to release a stick that tells your fortune — works by using noodles instead of sticks, with different fortunes printed above the holes.
▼ An example of an omikuji box at a Japanese shrine.
While some omikuji, like the one above, involves a stick with a number on it that correlates to a fortune, Nissin’s ramen omikuji has the fortunes printed above the drainage holes. Whichever hole the noodle pokes out of predicts your fortune, and in Nissin’s tweet, that hole reads, “末吉” (“suekichi”), meaning “future good fortune“.
Other fortunes printed above the holes are in line with the ones generally used on omikuji at Japanese shrines and temples:
- 大吉 (daikichi) great good fortune
- 吉 (kichi) good fortune
- 小吉 (shoukichi) small good fortune
- 中吉 (chuukichi) medium good fortune
- 末吉 (suekichi) future good fortune
- 末小吉 (sueshoukichi) future small good fortune
- 凶 (kyou) misfortune
- 大凶 (daikyou) great misfortune
The idea for fortune-telling by noodles was such a clever one that it garnered over 25 million views in a few short days, with people leaving comments like:
“This is genius — I definitely want to try this!”
“As expected of Nissin, they do things we can’t even imagine! I’m so impressed.”
“If they sold this, I’d buy it immediately.”
“So innovative.”
“It’s great to have a company where playfulness is an important part of product development.“
Nissin really has outdone themselves with this new concept, and we now have our fingers crossed that the “future good fortune” indicated in the photo is a hint that the product might soon be appearing in stores. We won’t put it past them, given that this is a company who once sold their Cup Noodles with cat ears on the lids!
Source: Twitter/@nissin_u_f_o via Hachima Kikou
Images ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Rumors say Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple sticks you with bad fortunes, so we bought 100 to find out
Testing our luck – Can visiting Japan’s power spots improve the omikuji temple fortune you draw?
Pitch-black instant ramen added to Cup Noodle lineup to fill dark hole in our ramen-loving hearts
Nissin’s New Year lucky box is packed with instant noodle surprises
Cup Noodle Pro is Nissin’s latest way to up its instant ramen game
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Are Japanese convenience store sandwiches scamming us with their fillings?
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Pizza Hut Japan’s new ie-kei ramen pizza is here and weird, but is it tasty too? [Taste test]
Umamusume food and drinks dash into real world at Family Mart convenience stores[Taste test]
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Studio Ghibli’s “Bouncing Totoro” zoetrope gets its own merchandise at museum
Is Sapporio’s Snow Festival awesome enough to be worth visiting even if you hate the snow? [Pics]
Japan’s budget chain restaurant Saizeriya might just be the perfect first date location
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Starbucks Japan opens new cafe and art gallery in top Tokyo tourist neighbourhood
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones
Komachi Shokudo: Japanese mum’s-style cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo
The top 10 graduation songs in Japan as chosen by current Japanese high school students
Pizza Hut Japan teams up with creator of one of the country’s best kinds of ramen for ramen pizza
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases a new Cream Puff Frappuccino for a limited time
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Cup Noodle’s Nissin releases ultra-nutritious instant ramen with “all nutrients your body needs”
Powering up our instant noodles with Nissin Cup Noodle’s instant tempura and abura-age【Taste Test】
Nissin’s Cup Noodle gets glamorous birthday makeover!
Cup Noodle instant ramen topping ice cream is on sale now, Nissin reminds/threatens us
Nissin’s new Bukkomi Meshi is the guilty pleasure of rice plus instant ramen broth
Cup Noodles Campfire S’mores puts a weird new twist on instant ramen
Japan unknowingly wastes over four metric tons of vegetables a year in its instant noodles【Video】
Perfect instant ramen eggs every time! Cup Noodle’s Nissin creates Shirotama Maker kitchen gadget
Clever Cup Noodle-only measuring cup becomes instant ramen lovers’ new most-wanted kitchenware
Poisonous blowfish instant ramen on the way from Cup Noodle’s Nissin
Cup Noodle pizza flavor instant ramen arrives in Japan, but can it win over our greasy hearts?
Nissin comes out with new Cup Noodle using … “almost real sea urchin”!
Nissin offers chance to try rare cans of fresh, non-instant cup noodles in huge giveaway
Instant tempura and abura-age from Cup Noodle maker Nissin coming to power up your noodle meals
We try Nissin’s newest world flavors-inspired cup noodle: Chili Con Carne【Taste Test】