Make udon noodles by hand at Nakano Udon School Kotohira Campus

Day 6 in Shikoku

For lunch in Takamatsu City, we had our first delicious Burger King burger in Japan. After that, we headed to the station to take a JR train to Kotohira Station. In the afternoon, we planned to visit Nakano Udon School Kotohira Campus for a hands-on udon-making experience.

While waiting at the station, we watched the trains go by. Once aboard, we experienced our first train ride in Shikoku. We had taken trains in cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka, but never in Takamatsu.

Arriving at Kotohira Station in Kagawa Prefecture, we noted that this station (station number D15) is part of the JR Shikoku Dosan Line. After exiting, we had to cross the street immediately.

After reaching the opposite side of JR Kotohira Station, we took some photos of the station’s exterior before heading towards Kotohira Shrine. Along the way, we passed Kitajin’en Garden and another station also named Kotohira Station. This one, however, belongs to the Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad (Kotoden) and is a different station operated by a separate railway company. When returning to Takamatsu, we planned to take the Kotoden train from there. The walk to Nakano Udon School took about 10 minutes, during which we crossed several bridges.

Near Kotohira Shrine, there was a shopping street known as Kotohira Shopping Street or Kotohira Sando Shopping Street. Nakano Udon School is located on this street, with different classrooms labeled as Building A, Building B, etc. Our class was scheduled for 2:30 PM in Classroom 2.

Since the afternoon was hot, having our lesson indoors was perfect. After putting on our aprons, we began the first stage of udon-making. The school provided us with pre-made dough, which we kneaded before rolling it out four times into a 3–4mm thick sheet, then folded it.

Next, we used a kitchen knife to cut the dough into 4mm-wide strips and placed them into bowls, ready to be cooked downstairs.

In the second stage, we started from scratch, preparing the ingredients and adding saltwater to wheat flour. The salt-to-water ratio varies by season. We slowly mixed the flour and saltwater by hand before kneading the dough to the softness of an earlobe. Then, we placed the dough in a thick plastic bag and used our heels to step on it in circles, following the rhythm of background music. Everyone had fun stepping along to the beat.

Once done, we shaped the dough into a large round bun to take home. Japanese participants could bring it home to cut and cook later. Since we had more travel plans ahead, and the dough would spoil after three days, we left ours with Nakano Udon School for disposal.

After that, we enjoyed an udon meal. Besides the udon we made, we also ordered Japanese fried chicken, tempura, and chirashi sushi to go with our udon. The handmade udon was incredibly chewy and delicious. Full and satisfied, we were ready to climb up to Kotohira Shrine.