Kagawa prefecture is known as the “Udon Prefecture” in Japan.
The people of Kagawa eat more udon than any other place in Japan. Their annual consumption of udon is said to be 230 servings per person, which means an average of one serving every 1.5 days. This is almost twice the amount of the national average.
They also eating udon for breakfast and many of the udon shops open early in the morning. And did I also mention they have sanuki udon soft serve? And sanuki udon burger? That’s probably mostly for tourists…but you get the idea. They really love their udon.
After our week at my parents place in Ehime, my sister and I headed towards Okayama airport to fly back to Tokyo. On our way there, we stopped by Kagawa to see our friends and try out a local sanuki udon shop ourselves!
Our friends took us to Nagata in Kanoka, which I later found out is one of the most popular udon shops in Kagawa at the moment. There was already a looooong line when we got there. (Not that that would deter us.) Nagata in Kanoka is a kamaage udon specialty shop. Kamaage is a type of dish where the udon is taken straight from the udon boiler. It is usually in a bowl of its own and you eat it by dipping the udon into a separate bowl filled with tsuyu (broth).
It was a very hot day and you might think we were crazy to eat at a udon shop that only serves hot bowls. But once we got inside the building, the air conditioning was working in full force and it actually felt really good eating something warm! We were chatting away while waiting for our udon to come, but once it came…there was no conversation until the bowl was empty! It was that good!
Our friends actually don’t live in Kagawa either (they just come back for the holidays like me), so we’ve started this tradition of going to a different udon shop everytime we’re both in the area, which I love! This place is my favorite at the moment but I can’t wait to try a different place next time. So many udon shops in Kagawa…and so little time!
Do you have a favorite udon shop? Or a favorite type of udon? I’d love to know! x
Here are some photos:
Standing in the long line and getting more hungry by the minute!
My sister with our friends, D and K, in front of the entrance.
The place was packed…and of course the summer koshien is on tv this season!
The tsuyu (broth) for the udon was in this crafty pitcher.
We put sliced scallion and ginger in our individual tsuyu bowls.
Excited that the udon is here and also trying to pour the tsuyu without spilling.
A few seconds before we all dug in to the bowl of kamaage udon! Yum yum!
Here is our kamaage bowl after we all finished! Gochiso-sama-desu!
When we came out the line had gotten even longer and the parking space was packed!
We had a great time catching up with D and K, who drove us all the way to Utatsu Station.
At Okayama Airport, checking out our airplanes. My sister flies JAL and I fly ANA 🙂
Had to force myself away from watching Koshien to board the plane at the bottom of the eighth!
Above the clouds, heading back to Tokyo.
1180 Motomura, Konzoji-machi Zentsuji-shi, Kagawa
香川県善通寺市金蔵寺町本村1180
TEL: 0877 63 5921
OPEN: 9am-5pm (closed Wed/Thu unless holiday)
Kaori Square Feet 
I was so excited when I saw your pictures because… I've actually eaten there before! And it was delicious 🙂
PS. I love the last picture from the plane!
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very nice pictures to make us hungry ! 🙂
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Oh my gosh! Was it during the road trip you mentioned before in my other Shikoku post? That is so great. I liked how they served fantastic kamaage but still looked like a regular 食堂 😀
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Thank you! I got quite hungry writing this post as well ;D
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Udon is my favourite Japanese food. Well, that is, except Meiji chocolate. And Ghana chocolate. And Meltykiss chocolate. And …
Actually my favourite Japanese food is oshiruko, but udon is a very close second. Favourite type? Hōtō udon from Yamanashi. Yum yum nom nom.
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Yes, it was during that trip 😉
Your photos (especially your airplane ones from your most recent post) are making me want to travel so badly!
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Oshiruko? Really? Oddly that is one of my least favorite food, Japanese or otherwise. But I do agree wholeheartedly on udon and meiji chocolate…yum yum!
Is the Hoto udon, the thick flat udon? I think I've had it once and have very good memories…will need to try it again just to be sure!
PS: Did you know there is an Udon museum in Kyoto? (http://guide.travel.co.jp/en/article/1714/) I cannot for the life of me understand why I never heard of this when my parents were still in Osaka!
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I think I've finally FINALLY gotten all my Melbourne photos organized…now to write something on those posts. This part could take even longer ;D
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