Sample ramen pizza, alongside other limited-edition items to pick up, or just make your own treats.

Snacks in Japan come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from ever-feuding mushrooms and bamboo shoots to make-your-own sweets, but one that I see fairly often in the hands of little children are packets of Baby Star Ramen. A popular snack made of deep-fried, crunchy, bite-sized pieces of instant noodles, Baby Star Ramen came about in 1959 when the founder of Oyatsu Company realized that the broken noodle fragments left at the bottom of instant noodle production lines could actually be seasoned and packaged up as a snack by themselves.

The Oyatsu Company factory is located in Tsu, Mie, and while factory tours are currently suspended, for those who want to dive into the world of Baby Star, right next door is Oyatsu Town, a theme park offering everything from a giant athletic course to making original Baby Star Ramen, as well as limited-edition food you can only eat there, resulting in an enjoyable experience for child and adult alike.

▼ Sadly, no factory tours are currently available.

Our Japanese-language reporter Natsuno Futon visited the theme park with her kids in tow during Golden Week, one of Japan’s busiest periods for travel and day excursions, so upon arriving and noting that same-day entry was limited until after lunch, it wasn’t too unexpected. So, Natsuno’s first recommendation for any future visit is to always reserve your entry tickets in advance, particularly if you plan to go on a weekend or holiday.

Arriving at the entrance, the first thing to welcome Natsuno and her family was a giant Baby Star photo spot, appearing as if Baby Star was flowing like a waterfall, along with a spot where you could get inside a Butamen cup, Oyatsu Company’s line of instant cup noodles, adorned with designs of Hoshio-kun, the Baby Star Ramen mascot.

Peak season entry is 2,500 yen (US$15.70) for adults, whereas it drops down to 2,200 yen during the Regular days, and 1,600 yen for the Value days.

It’s best to check the company website for absolute clarity, but the general rule seems to be Saturday through Monday is Regular, Tuesday through Friday is Value, and national holidays like Golden Week in May and Obon in August are Peak.

▼ Natsuno couldn’t help but take one last look at the factory, as she really enjoys factory tours, but it sadly wasn’t to be.

Stepping inside, Natsuno was greeted with the company’s history spread out on the floor, designed almost like a board game.

It was quite interesting to learn that the name change to Oyatsu Company was an unexpectedly recent development.

▼ Not at all spoken through the pitch-black sunglasses of denial: 1993 is still very recent.

Proceeding further inwards, a giant athletic area appears, teeming with the Golden Week crowd of people.

While as an adult, Natsuno tends to curb her childhood playfulness and instead let her children loose to gallivant through play areas, she couldn’t quite restrain herself from wanting to join in on the fun. Looking around, she could even see many adults playing there quite seriously, so she embraced her inner child and entered the play equipment.

Among them, what was particularly enjoyable was the Hoshio-kun Giant Slide, which gets quite a bit of speed.

▼ They’re even considerate enough to provide wrap-around skirts to make sliding even more speedy.

The Super Giant Butamen-kun Adventure and Giant Jungle Gym are also extremely fun.

Since you walk on the net, the stimulation to the soles of your feet is amazing, nearing the level where you might mistake it for a minor piece of health equipment.

▼ Natsuno is still a child at heart, she promises.

The most popular one, though, is the giant athletic course consisting of three whole floors, which are divided by height; the first floor is for small children, but the second and third floors offer up more of a challenge.

Natsuno ventured up to the third floor together with her children but had to retire halfway through for a very specific reason: her sweaty hands.

It’s a little difficult to see in the image below, but this is a course where you have to move forward while moving around the outside of orange bars that bulge outward.

With hands that get particularly sweaty, Natsuno could just foresee herself slipping off due to them. Yet, because she wanted to show her children an inspirational figure that takes on challenges even in the face of adversity, plus it was too frustrating to just give up, she attempted it a second time and cleared it safely. However, she later heard from her children, “since we were moving ahead of you, we couldn’t see you.” Sad though she was, she still felt a sense of accomplishment, so it wasn’t all bad.

▼ There is even a section of the park dedicated to interactive digital content that kids can have fun with.

Next, the family moved on to the experience of making Baby Star at Hoshio-kun Kitchen, where you can make your very own original Baby Star Ramen.

For an additional 1,000 yen each to the park entrance fee, the children challenged the “My Special Baby Star,” where you can choose your favorite flavor from several types, season it yourself, and then have the staff bake it for you in the oven.

Natsuno had reserved in advance, but there seemed to be sufficient availability that you could even reserve on the day itself.

After completing the ramen, you put stickers on the original container, though her children instead opted to put on only a few, saving the rest for later to add to their sticker collection albums.

The family came away from the experience with the children beaming with happiness and proud faces for their new creations.

However, being hungry, they decided to swing by Baby Star Dining, where you can savor original foods using Baby Star, such as Baby Star Katsu Curry.

Among them all, Natsuno can personally recommend the pizza, particularly the limited-time Pink Butamen Gratin Pizza, being a lot more authentic than expected.

It’s baked in a pizza oven, so you get that classic pizza base texture, and the pink coloring is added via beetroot instead of food coloring.

The appearance certainly has quite the impact, referencing Butamen and its pig mascot, but the taste has no unexpected quirks and is extremely delicious.

▼ The Ramen Pizza was also full of ingredients and highly satisfying.

Of course, you can eat freshly-fried Baby Star Ramen.

At the gift shop Oyatsu Marche, limited-edition products and character goods are lined up, with Natsuno being drawn to all of the Butamen goods. He just has such a charming presence…

Natsuno also discovered Baby Star limited to Oyatsu Town, this time purchasing the Spiny Lobster Flavor (850 yen for a pack of six), and found it to have a very strong shrimp taste, both rich and delicious.

There was also a cute, little steel suitcase-like container that you could stuff your favorite Baby Star flavors into for just 1,700 yen.

Before walking through the doors, Natsuno had assumed she would be entering a facility designed just for children, but she ended up, even as an adult, enjoying it with all her might.

In the end, from their 10:30 a.m. start, they stayed fully until the closing time at 5:00 p.m., staying more than six hours. With the addition of a new area opening in Spring 2027, there will be even more to get lost in, although prospective visitors should take note that the park will be closed from January 12, 2027, to prepare for this new opening.

Whether you visit with kids or not, it’s all but guaranteed you’ll have a great time exploring Oyatsu Town, just remember to book in advance on the weekends and holidays.

Location information
Oyatsu Town / おやつタウン
Address: Mie-ken, Tsu-shi, Mori-cho 1945-11
三重県津市森町1945-11
Open: 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. (Tuesday–Friday), 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (Saturdays and Mondays), 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (Sundays) However, times can change, so check the website for up-to-date information
Closed: Irregular Days
Website

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Conservationists say population rebound demands rethink of retention zones that allow thousands of the animals to remain in the park

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Feral horse numbers in the Kosciuszko national park have surged, with new survey data estimating populations climbed by thousands after the New South Wales government paused aerial culling in 2025.

Conservation advocates say the rebound in numbers demands an urgent rethink of retention zones that allow thousands of horses to remain in the park.

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JERTIH, May 19 — Residents of Kampung Alor Belanga near Kampung Alor Keladi here are concerned over the presence of a sun bear that has been roaming the village in search of food since April.

Alor Belanga Federal Village Development and Security Committee (JPKKP) chairman Abdullah Hassan said the wild animal has been spotted more frequently around the village at night and in the early morning in recent weeks.

“Previously, the bear only damaged stingless bee hives and coconut trees to feed on honey and coconuts, but lately it has allegedly attacked and eaten villagers’ livestock.

“The latest incident occurred last Thursday when the bear attacked and ate a resident’s goat. It had also preyed on other domesticated animals belonging to villagers,” he told Bernama today.

Abdullah said he has reported the matter to the Terengganu Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), which is expected to take immediate action.

Resident and logger Muhammad Isazuali Mohd Yusof, 27, said his female goat was found dead about 10 metres inside bushes behind his house and is believed to have been attacked by the bear.

He said the goat, which had been tethered near his house, went missing last Friday morning. After searching for it, he found the carcass with some of its internal organs missing.

“About a week before the incident, two of my stingless bee hives were destroyed by the bear,” he said, adding that he was worried about the safety of villagers.

Another resident, Abd Aziz Nasir, 51, said five of his 10 stingless bee hives were damaged by the bear recently, which also destroyed several coconut trees he had planted.

“The bear has come near my house three times. I am very worried about the safety of my family, especially my mother, who is in her 70s and often spends time in the yard every morning,” he said. — Bernama

 

 

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SINGAPORE: An Indian content creator living in Singapore has received a lot of attention after her recent Instagram video, where she highlighted the fact that picking fruit that fell from public trees can come at a very high price.

“Mango / $5000 fine #Singapore #Indian currency 3.74 lakhs,” wrote Priyanka Sinha (@ppriyankasinha) in the caption of her May 9 post.

In it, she showed fallen mangoes on what appeared to be the grounds of an HDB block, as well as those that are still on a tree.

Her post seems to have puzzled other Instagram users, who asked about the reason why people would be fined for picking the fruit. 

A couple of commenters wrote that “India is the best,” where the laws aren’t as strict as they are in Singapore. The post created quite a stir in India, where it was covered by a number of local media outlets.

Since it’s mango season in Singapore as well as other parts of Asia, including India, Ms Sinha’s warning is a timely one for those who may be unaware that under the city-state’s Parks and Trees Act, fruit growing on public land is considered government property. You can neither collect fruit that falls to the ground nor pluck fruits that are still on trees without permission from the National Parks Board (NParks). Otherwise, as she pointed out, people may face fines of up to S$5,000.

The law does not just apply to fruit, however, since even cutting the leaves of plants found on public ground is not permitted.

In January 2018, a worker from Bangladesh was seen taking leaves from a Syzygium myrtifolium tree, which is also known as the Kelat Oil or Red Lip tree. After pictures of a notice of offence that he had been issued were shared on social media, his employer appealed to NParks on his behalf, and his composition fine was reduced to a warning.

Other offenders have not been so lucky. An individual who took two Kopsia singapurensis saplings, which are critically endangered, was slapped with a S$3,000 fine.

In 2019, Lawrence Wong, who was then Minister of National Development, said in Parliament, “NParks manages most of the trees on state land. Members of the public who wish to pluck fruit from trees, or  collect fruit that has dropped from trees on state land, should approach NParks for permission.” /TISG

Read also: Singaporean man warns against Aljunied durian vendor with ‘unethical’ sales tactics

This article (Indian woman in Singapore warns of $5000 fine for picking up fallen mangoes) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

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