Ask the taxi driver about sanuki udon! “Udon Taxi”guides you to famous, unique, and secret udon restaurants.

Kagawa Prefecture, located in the Shikoku Region of Japan, is known as the “Udon Prefecture” for its famous local specialty, sanuki udon.

There are many udon restaurants in Kagawa, more than the number of convenience stores, and they each have their own characteristics.
“There’s too many to decide which restaurant to go to!”

To those who have an experience like this before, do you know a service called “Udon Taxi”? It is a udon expert taxi that guides you to udon restaurants around Kagawa.

How reassuring.
The only woman “Udon Taxi” driver, Jun Tada, will be our guide to her recommended restaurants.

“Udon Taxi”is a service operated by a local bus company Kotohira Bus. Passing 3 hard tests: written, practical, and udon handmaking, the talented udon professionals will take you to a few udon restaurants as the passenger prefers.

Jun “This service began in 2003, but taxi drivers were asked for their udon restaurant recommendations from passengers before then. So the drivers thought about starting a service specialized in udon”

Jun “Many tourists use the ‘Udon Taxi’ as transportation, but some tourist have a rental car and still use the ‘Udon taxi’. Although many information are on the internet, tourists cannot decide by themselves which restaurant to visit. That is the reason why they rely on the ‘Udon Taxi’.”

Enjoying conversations with the taxi driver is one of the best part of the trip. In the “Udon Taxi”, the conversation is usually ‘udon talk’ and ‘noodles talk’. Some tourists even invite the driver to enjoy udon with them. “Udon Taxi” can also be a way to communicate and become familiar with the local people.

Jun “Many foreigners also use the ‘Udon Taxi’, but we are always a little worried giving them a tour. We know they like ramen, but we are concerned if udon is too simple for them. However, they seem to enjoy even the most simple kake udon, with just only noodles and hot dashi soup.”

There are 3 standard courses.

The first course is a 1 hour course going to 2 restaurants relatively near. The second course is an hour and a half course which goes to 2 restaurants farther than the first course, and the last is the 2 hour course going to 3 restaurants. The driver will choose the best restaurants out of many they know, perfect for each tourist’s preference. Such as restaurants known for bukkake udon with hot dashi soup and various ingredients, kake udon, kama-age udon served straight from the pot*.
*Udon noodles are usually soaked in cold water after being boiled in hot water.

Jun took us to 2 restaurants.

Enjoy the local customs at the pioneer of shoyu udon Ogataya

The tasting adventure started at Ogataya, the pioneer of shoyu udon, which is a dish that many udon restaurants have in their menu nowadays. This restaurant is situated in Manno Town, which is located in the Sanuki Plains.

After ordering the famous shoyu udon, the staff will bring you one whole Japanese radish daikon. Grating the daikon while waiting is the Ogataya style. You don’t have to grate the whole daikon, but this appearance is a surprise.

When hands start feeling weak by grating the daikon, finally the udon arrives. Put on the grated daikon, and sudachi; a Japanese citrus fruit, green onion, sesame seeds and last but not least, pour the shoyu specially made by Ogataya evenly.

Pouring 2 rounds of shoyu is just right for the taste. Not too salty, and all of the condiments make a perfect combination. Ogataya and the Shoyu brewery made this special shoyu over the years so that the diners can eat the udon in the best taste.

Ogataya is committed to the quality of the noodles too. The noodles of the shoyu udon has to be eaten freshly boiled by the kama pot. When time passes after the noodles are boiled, the shoyu do not cover the noodles well. Since there is waiting time for the freshly boiled noodles, using that time grating the daikon is a logical system for the diners.

Let’s think about the origins of shoyu udon.

As mentioned previously, Ogataya is situated in Manno Town where the huge Sanuki Plains are located. There was a time where there were many rice farmers in the area. They were too busy to make dashi soup, so instead, they poured shoyu on the noodles and ate the udon quickly. This routine created the shoyu udon.

Later on, Ogataya added condiments for nutrition, and named it shoyu udon.

This specially made shoyu is also sold at stores, so you can relish the local customs at home. Please try the light, easy on your stomach shoyu udon.

Store name:
The pioneer of shoyu udon Ogataya

Address：
1298-2 Yoshino, Manno-Cho, Nakatado-Gun, Kagawa 766-0023

Phone number:
0877-79-2262　(Japanese only)

Business hours:
9:30〜15:00

Holidays:
Monday, Tuesday
*The opening hours during consecutive holidays will be updated

Website:
http://www.ganso-ogataya.com/ (Japanese only)

Yamauchi Udon, popular for firewood cooked kake udon

The next stop was Yamauchi Udon, the restaurant famous for their kake udon.

Yamauchi Udon is placed in the deep in the mountains of Kagawa. They make 400 dishes on week days, and 1000 on holidays. They are so popular, they run out of noodles and close right after noon on holidays.

There are 2 reasons why they are popular.

The wildly firewood boiled noodles, and the iriko dashi soup, made by dried small sardines.

The recommended menu is hiya atsu** kake udon. The hot dashi soup makes the cold noodles savory and tasteful.
**Cold noodle and hot soup

By cooking the noodles with firewood boiled kama pot, every edgy noodle’s typical tough texture becomes perfect. The popular topping, tentacle tempura, is fried with seasoned batter. The dashi is rich flavored so the udon can be equally present with the tempura.

But why do they cook their noodle with a firewood boiled kama pot?
The second generation manager Tetsuya answers the question.

In fact, the previous generation, Tetsuya’s father used to be a Japanese traditional roofing tile craftsman. This restaurant is using the building that was a factory before. They had a connection to obtain firewood since then, so they are still using firewood to make udon. As we got to the restaurant, the appearance evoked a “sword smith”, but now we know the reason.

Tetsuya’s father’s hobby was to make udon noodles, and his wife’s parents were operating the legendary sanuki udon Miyatake Udon, the pioneer of hiya hiya***, atsu atsu****, hiya atsu. So he decided to change from a tile craftsman to a udon craftsman by learning from them. Yamauchi Udon used to be a store selling noodles, but as they started an eat-in at lunch, their popularity started to spread by word of mouth and they changed into a eat-in restaurant.
***Cold noodle and cold soup
****Hot noodle and hot soup

There noodles are “all handmade”.

Knead by hand, stepped on by foot, and cut after being matured. The noodles are made only by Tetsuya, so not many can be made. Please go to Yamauchi Udon at an early time and try the popular hiya atsu.

Store name:
Yamauchi Udon

Address:
1010 Ohkuchi, Manno-Cho, Nakatado-Gun, Kagawa Prefecture 769-0316

Business hours:
AM 9:00- *Until the stock has been sold.

Holidays:
Thursday

“When the tourists seemed to be satisfied with the restaurant, it makes me satisfied and happy too.”

After guiding, Jun talked about her job.

An encounter with the udon that the internet could not provide you,
and the communication with the local taxi driver.

“Udon Taxi” will enrich your Udon tasting adventure.

Make a reservation from the Koto bus reservation center.

Phone number:
050-3537-5678

Website:
https://www.udon-taxi.com/en/