Saitama Prefecture, located just north of Tokyo, is an ideal place to live, featuring both abundant nature and a well-developed, highly advanced transportation network, including railways and highways. Food culture in Saitama Prefecture boasts an extensive variety of tantalizing specialties. From Urawa Ward, where the Saitama Prefectural Government can be found, to all regions throughout the prefecture, stores serving unagi (eel) are plentiful, with famous long-standing stores, unchanged for generations, lining the streets. Also, Saitama’s love for pork has led to the thriving popularity of a range of mouth-watering delicacies, including Chichibu’s grilled miso pork and pork-don (rice bowl) and Higashimatsuyama’s yakiton (kebab skewers made with pork instead of chicken). It’s no surprise that Saiboku Ham, a meat mega-store with a focus on healthy eating, attracts around 4 million visitors each year!
But what staple could the food-loving people of Saitama never live without? Udon noodles! Even the Governor of Saitama Prefecture has given his personal seal of approval to Saitama’s udon noodles, declaring them “the noodles that never let you down!” With an enormous variety to choose from, including Kazo, Kumagaya, Musashino, and Kawahaba Udon, Suttate Noodles, Fukaya Nibōtō Thick Noodles, as well as a range of others, delicious noodles with distinctive tastes can be found all over Saitama Prefecture. Saitama Prefecture even ranks second for udon production throughout the whole of Japan!
In November, 2017 the Udon Summit will be held in Saitama Prefecture’s own Kumagaya City, where 30 store representatives will gather to showcase the distinctive qualities of their local specialty noodles. This exciting event will take place three times, once every year leading up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, when Kumagaya will host multiple matches. So why not visit Saitama Prefecture, compare our noodles with the rest of Japan’s, and put your taste buds to the test!
