Sanuki udon

Background

Sanuki udon is the udon of Kagawa Prefecture (formerly Sanuki Province), famed for its thick, chewy noodles. According to Japanese Wikipedia, Sanuki has long hours of sunshine and plenty of flat land suited to grain; from the Sengoku to the Edo period double cropping flourished and wheat production increased, and the landscape of irrigation ponds dotting the Sanuki Plain also took shape at that time. On the Konpira Festival Folding Screen from the end of the Genroku era (early 18th century), three udon shops can already be seen in the approach town of Kotohira-gu; in the late Edo period, many inns serving Konpira pilgrims ran udon shops on their ground floors. Salt, sugar and cotton were called the "three whites of Sanuki," and together with soy sauce from Shodoshima and dried small fish from the Seto Inland Sea, they provided the conditions for udon. Today Kagawa has a great many udon shops, and the self-service (serufu) shops and small shops run directly by noodle makers are the most distinctive.

Local customs

• At self-service shops the routine is usually: take a tray and order noodles (choosing size, hot or cold), add tempura and other sides yourself, pay at the register, add green onion and ginger yourself, and return your dishes to the return station when done
• common styles include kamaage, bukkake, kake and shoyu udon.

Religion & beliefs

• Sanuki udon has historical ties to the pilgrimage culture of Kotohira-gu (Konpira)
• in the Edo period, pilgrims ate udon along the way in the shrine's approach town. A local tale says Kukai brought udon to the area, but this is legend. Kukai was an eminent monk from Sanuki, several of the 88 temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage are in Kagawa, and pilgrims also often eat udon on the way.

Rules that apply here

Travel tips

• There are many udon shops in central Takamatsu, around Ritsurin Garden and in the outskirts
• many open in the morning and close when the noodles sell out, so in the afternoon you may miss out. A bowl takes only a few minutes, so you can visit two or three shops in a day. Many famous shops in the outskirts are in the countryside and require a car, a taxi or a sightseeing udon taxi. It combines well with Ritsurin Garden, Yashima and Kotohira's Konpira Shrine. Dietary notes: the noodles contain wheat
• the broth is usually made from dried sardines and kombu and contains fish
• tempura toppings contain egg and wheat. Some small shops take cash only. Opening hours vary widely between shops, so check before you go. Prices and opening hours are set by each shop
• popular old shops often have queues, so eating outside peak mealtimes is more relaxed.