[Joseonggwan's Global Humanities Journey] A Glimpse of Haruki's Praise for Udon from 'Kafka'... 'Murakamian' Follows Him

My acquaintance with Takamatsu (高松) in Shikoku (四國), Japan, is entirely thanks to Haruki Murakami (村上春樹). The cities featured in his hit novel Kafka on the Shore are Takamatsu and Tokyo.

The first time I read Kafka on the Shore was because I was drawn to the title “Kafka.” Featuring the fascinating Bohemian writer Franz Kafka in the title, how could I not be curious about this novel? After researching and studying Haruki Murakami, the “genius loved by Tokyo,” following Franz Kafka, the “genius loved by Prague,” I couldn’t help but revisit Kafka on the Shore. Perhaps Murakami is the first author in the world to use Kafka’s name as a novel title.

Kake Udon from Nakamura Udon House. Photo by Seonggwan Cho

The main cities in this novel are Takamatsu and Tokyo. The protagonist is fifteen-year-old Tamura Kafka. After his parents’ divorce, he lives with his father, but Kafka does not have a good relationship with him. The boy tries to become stronger and more mature on his own. One day, the protagonist runs away from home without a plan and takes an overnight express bus to Takamatsu.

Compared to Tokyo, Takamatsu is a rural backwater. The protagonist lies about his name and age to get a job as an assistant librarian at a small private library in Takamatsu. The fifteen-year-old boy cooks various dishes well by himself like an experienced tenant. The novel captivates readers by shifting between reality and surrealism, alternating thriller, fantasy, and mystery genres. Reading the novel makes one very curious about Takamatsu.

Signboard of Nakamura Udon House located in the suburbs of Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture. Photo by Hong Ji-hyung

Takamatsu, the prefectural capital of Kagawa (香川), has a population of 430,000. Murakami wrote Kafka on the Shore in 2002. The Murakami fandom is beyond imagination. They are called Murakamians or Harukists. They travel to places featured in Murakami’s novels and share their experiences. A book titled Traveling to Find Haruki was published long ago.

'Kafka on the Shore' cover. Photo by Seonggwan Cho

Murakami also wrote a gourmet travelogue. It is Haruki’s Travel Method, translated in 2008. This book includes a story about pilgrimage to udon shops in Kagawa.

A characteristic of Murakami’s novels is the frequent appearance of food and music stories. Even in Kafka on the Shore, Murakami praised Takamatsu’s udon through the protagonist’s mouth. The protagonist enters a udon shop visible across the square from Takamatsu Station and eats udon.

Haruki’s Travel Method can be seen as having its seeds sown already in Kafka on the Shore.

Japan is the country of udon. The representative udon of Japan is Sanuki (讚岐) udon. Kagawa’s old name is Sanuki. Due to insufficient rainfall in Sanuki, wheat has been widely cultivated since ancient times, and naturally, noodles became a staple food. The charm of Sanuki udon lies in its thick, chewy, and springy texture. The secret to its chewiness is said to be the ratio of water and salt when kneading the flour.

Nakamura Udon Shop, which opened at 9 a.m. Photo by Seonggwan Cho

To write Haruki’s Travel Method, Murakami visited famous udon shops in Kagawa, including Kamo Udon. Among those, the place he later wanted to revisit was Nakamura Udon.

Nakamura Udon is located in Marugame (丸龜), adjacent to Takamatsu. Transportation is quite inconvenient without driving a car. It is that remote. With the help of a companion, I took an express train from Takamatsu Station, got off at Sakaide Station, and planned to transfer to a bus. I took a bus bound for Okada (岡田) and got off at Yamanodani (山の谷) stop to walk. However, due to my absurd misjudgment, I missed the bus. The next bus was an hour later. I had no choice but to take a taxi. The taxi left the city and ran through fields for about 20 minutes. Houses were scattered sparsely. Could such a place really exist? Far away, the Nakamura (なかむら) signboard stood like a banner against the blue sky.

Nakamura’s business hours are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There were about 20 minutes left until opening. I looked around. Behind the udon shop were vineyards and potato fields. Beyond them stood a mountain shaped like an overturned bowl. It was Mount Iino.

A car had arrived before us. The taxi driver said it had a Tokyo license plate. When I spoke to the man getting out of the car, he said he wanted to eat Nakamura Udon and had left Tokyo yesterday, stayed overnight in Osaka, and drove six hours from Osaka after waking up early. As the opening time approached, cars lined up as if by appointment. A woman who got off a car with a Hiroshima license plate was a YouTuber. She filmed the surroundings and talked nonstop.

About five minutes before opening, a distinctive smell of boiling noodles wafted from inside the restaurant. They were boiling udon noodles. It was the same smell I remembered from childhood when my mother made hand-pulled dough soup dumplings and dropped them into boiling water. My mouth watered.

Kamatama Udon and Tempura from Nakamura Udon House. Photo by Seonggwan Jo

At exactly 9 a.m., a waitress opened the door. I was the second to enter. The aroma of freshly fried tempura filled the air. We had already looked at the menu and ordered small-sized hot and cold kake udon and kamatama (釜たま) udon as planned. For tempura, we chose vegetable tempura, squid legs called geso (ゲソ), and cylindrical fish cake tempura called chikuwa (ちくわ).

Sitting down, I admired the glossy, chewy noodles. The visual alone stimulated my appetite. I decided to try the kake udon first. The chewy and springy noodles were delightful. The smooth throat feel was ecstatic. Could a lover in my mouth be this good? This was beyond the level of food. I understood why Murakami called it a udon shop he wanted to revisit. Wanting more tempura, I ordered another portion of geso. After finishing the meal, I discreetly observed other tables. They were enjoying two bowls of udon each, of various types. They seemed to be visitors from far away.

Kitchen view of Ueharaya Main Store. Photo by Seonggwan Cho

During my 3-night, 4-day trip to Takamatsu, I ate udon five times: Nakamura, Ueharaya main branch, Sanuki Men-gyo main branch, Fugetsu, and Merikenya Takamatsu Station front branch.

Among these, the udon shop that impressed my palate the most after Nakamura was Ueharaya (上原屋) main branch. It is located just across the street from Ritsurin Garden (栗林公園), the top sightseeing spot in Takamatsu. Having udon for lunch and then visiting Ritsurin Garden is a perfect combination.

The charm of this udon shop is that customers participate directly in the cooking process. Customers take boiled noodles into their bowls and briefly dip them in boiling water for 5 to 10 seconds before taking them out. Then, they add green onions, tempura flakes, and shichimi spice according to their preference. The tempura side dishes include shrimp tempura, fish tempura, potato tempura, and konjac tempura. I ate kake udon with a palm-sized fish tempura.

During the five udon shop visits, I repeatedly heard the “furu-ru furu-ru” sound right next to me. Each time, I realized one fact: udon is the food that makes Japanese people Japanese. Just as Chinese people eat baozi (包子) at least once a day, and Koreans find comfort in bubbling doenjang jjigae, Japanese people find happiness in a bowl of udon. The sound of slurping noodles heard from all directions conveyed this perfectly.

Kagawa Prefecture’s nickname is Udon Prefecture. There is an udon taxi that only tours udon restaurants, and an udon school where you can experience making udon. At Takamatsu Airport’s international departure lounge, there are several unique sofas shaped like udon noodles. They are soft to sit on. Not only that, while lining up at the departure security checkpoint, passengers see a sign that says “Airport Broth (空港 だし).” Paper cups are provided to taste udon broth. Instead of water, people drink udon broth. The imagination knows no bounds.