Ordering Udon

When you order your Udon, you select the bowl you want to put it in. If you're hungry, you pick the larger bowl and put 2 ladles of Udon in it. There are bowls for 3 ladles but that is rarely used. One ladle of Udon will satisfy most hungry Udon eaters. After you select your Udon, you select the side dishes to compliment your Udon.  The side dishes can be placed directly inside the bowl of Udon, or eaten on the side.

The real treat of eating Udon is that there is no wrong way of enjoying this!

Eating Udon properly

There is no improper way to eat Udon. It's meant to be enjoyed, along with the sound of slurping!

Daikoku-ya Udon in Matsuyama

A great place for lunch or dinner in Matsuyama.Visited it on graduation day. Local college graduates were out celebrating the end of the semester. The girls wear traditional outfits for their graduation ceremonies. Quite a lively place. Great food. Just get there early!

Link to article on Japan Tourist Website on restaurant.

Daisuke Udon - Matsuyama-shi, Ehime Prefecture

Daisuke Udon is a restaurant off the beaten path of Matsuyama. If you enjoy Udon, then this is a place to visit. It’s not a traditional, sit down and order then they bring you your food restaurant. At Daisuke Udon, you can select the amount of Udon you want to eat and then customize the order with toppings and side dishes to compliment your meal, as you want.

When you first enter the restaurant, you line up in a cue where the Udon is. The Udon is cooked ahead of time but you can warm it up in a hot water bath. It only takes a minute until the Udon is piping hot. After the water bath, you can select how big of a serving you want. Usually just one serving is enough but if you are especially hungry (or just love Udon), you can added more to your order. There are different size bowls to accommodate you Udon order. If in doubt, go to a medium size bowl.

After you select the Udon, your bowl is poured a large ladle of broth to slurp your Udon with. You move down the line then you can choose your toppings and side dishes. The food is made fresh daily and there is quite a selection to choose from. You can pick anything from pork cutlets, fried chicken, shrimp tempura, fried fish cakes, pickled veggies, bean sprouts, etc. The great thing about this selection is that you can use them as toppings or side dishes. There is no wrong way to eat Udon as long as you enjoy it!

Daisuke Udon is a family style restaurant. It is impeccably clean and well lit. The restaurant is decorated in Uwajima Ushi-oni Matsuri festival decorations. That is because the home of the restaurant chain resides in Uwajima and was founded in 1897 and 1917 (this is Japan, there are 2 names for everything and 2 dates for everything else that does not have 2 names).

The food is great, freshly prepared, inexpensive and a quiet but friendly atmosphere. If you want a great place to eat Udon at an affordable price and a family atmosphere, this is the place to go. I highly recommend Daisuke Udon.

Daisuke Udon
5-744-8
Minami-Edo
Matsuyam-shi, Ehime
Tel: 089-922-0870
Business Hours: 10:00 ~ 20:00
*No smoking inside, free parking
Daisuke Udon Official Website (in Japanese)

 Udon Shop

 Udon cooking

 Drain your udon

 Select your serving size

 Select toppings and side dishes

 Served with scallions

 Topped with a chicken cutlet

 Topped with seasoned tofu

 Serving area

 Uwajima Ushi-oni Matsuri festival

 Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

 Paper lantern outside the entrance

A look inside the udon making area of the shop

Nakano Udon School

Kagawa Prefecture, situated on the north of Shikoku Island is known for its excellent udon noodles. The lovely town of Kotohira is famous for its shrine to the God of the Sea, Kotohiragu. At the base of the mountain that takes you up to the shrine are many shops. Among them is Nakano Udon School. The school offers a class on how to make udon. It's recommended that you sign up for the class in advance so they aren't overbooked.

The class is on the 3rd floor of the building. You can either climb the narrow stairs or take the small elevator. After you arrive in the class, the instructor starts the class by giving an overview of what will be going on. While they are talking, another instructor goes to each table and makes sure everyone has their block of dough to start with along with a rolling pin and a knife for cutting the udon when it is done.

Udon starts out as a block of dough that needs to be worked into the finished product. The dough is placed inside a plastic bag and the students are instructed to dance on the bag to knead the dough. Then several students are invited to the front of the class to dance when making udon. It's a lot of fun and they play pop music as the dancing is going on (YMCA). It is fun but you work up a sweat dancing. The music plays for about ten minutes until the udon is nice and flat and ready for preparation.

After the dance, the participants return to their work benches and roll the dough, then cut it neatly into noodles for cooking. When this is done, instructors come around to each table and carefully place each student's udon on its own bamboo tray. The bamboo trays are then taken to the cooking area. The students sit at tables and prepare the udon they just made into meals. It's a fun way to relax after learning how to make udon.

The udon is boiled at the table for a few minutes until it's just ready, then you eat it accompanied with an egg and dipping sauce to enhance the flavor. The dipping sauce is a mixture of dashi, mirin, and shoyu. The class gets to eat what they just made. After the class, you can walk around the shop below for souvenirs or take the climb up to Kotohiragu Shrine.

Class duration: 40-90 minutes Name in Japanese 中野うどん学校 琴平校 — nakano udon gakkō, kotohira kō — Nakano Udon School, Kotohira Location: Kotohira-cho, Nakatodo-gun, Kagawa 796 Tele. 0877-75-001, Fax 0877-75-1155

Kotohira Udon Nakano