What do you figure the shelf life of a cup of noodles is, or how long past its expiration date would you dare eat it? I moved from a cultural hotspot to a cultural wasteland for anything Japanese related, and before I moved I shopped at Marukai and Mitsuwa and stocked up. Mitsuwa had this sale for Toyo Suisan tempura or soybean curd cups for 99 cents, so I bought a ton even though they didn’t have expiration dates. Even the Nissin wide-bowl cups didn’t have expiration dates, unlike the more narrow cups which always seemed to have them. I bought everything in late June, and to this day the only cup that tasted funky had an expiration date on it, and I ate it about a week after its date. I still have a lot of bowls left (maybe around 25), and I would hope to spread them out for as long as possible until I have the opportunity to restock around Christmas.

And how much turnover do you see in terms of cup variety? Roughly a year sgo I was finding cups I really loved. Nissin made this spicy noodle cup (it was red and in one of the narrow cups), and the noodles were the best I ever tasted in a cup. They disappeared from store shelves sometime last spring. I also enjoyed other cups that I took a photo of here: http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1843/1000190ue2.jpg
These disappeared as well, although I found a few stragglers before I moved. I would constantly buy my favorites, and then I was noticing months before I left how the supply at the Japanese stores would slowly and painfully dwindle to zero. I don’t know if the flavors are phased out in Japan or if the distributors just don’t feel like importing them anymore. I’m curious to see what Mitsuwa has to offer come Christmas time.

instant ramen does go stale, but it’s usually not to a degree where it bothers me. (i say this because i typically send a few boxes of my favorite stuff back from japan whenever i visit, and that lasts me until my next visit). i have ramen relics dating back to 2000 lol, although the ones i will eat every now go back at most to 2005. i don’t notice very much difference in the noodles once they’re cooked up, the main thing is the discoloration in the green onions, which get a little brown.

incidentally, i’ve seen ramen that does have expiration dates on them, although these are mostly the nama packaged ones. they usually suggest eating them within the month, although i let those sit too sometimes. and they still turn out fine.

as for ramen in the japanese markets, i think variety is largely seasonal. my favorite brands tend to show up every now and then, but only at certain times of year. summer, for example, is not really “ramen season” in japan, so selections maybe slimmed down. around new years they bust out the oshogatsu ramen with bits of mochi, and i think there’s a rotating schedule for other brands as well, for the most part.

i just knocked through a 5-pack of that ramenya-san shio recently. good stuff!