Japan’s three great udon are Sanuki, Inaniwa and Mizusawa udon. I have been to Kagawa, the home of Sanuki udon, and Inaniwa udon has a famous shop in Ginza and, being dried noodles, tastes much the same as it does locally. Mizusawa udon, though, is hard to find anywhere in Tokyo. So to complete the set of three, I decided to go to Gunma myself. I rented a car on the weekend, and a drive that should have taken about two and a half hours took four because of traffic.

Osawaya

A large number of Mizusawa udon shops are packed into a very small area, and among them Osawaya is the most famous and the biggest.

The parking lot is spacious too.

Lots of families, but quite a few tour groups come in as well.

Inside

It really is remarkable that a restaurant this big does such good business deep in the mountains.

Mizusawa udon

A taste that deserves its place among the three great udon. The chew is not as strong as Sanuki udon, but it is not lacking either, and it slides down smoothly. A refined udon with a character all its own.

Maitake tempura

The only side dish is maitake, but the aroma is out of this world. It goes really well with the udon. I had found it strange that an udon sold only in this area counts as one of Japan’s three great udon, but after eating it, I get it.

The whole spread

A place well worth the long drive. I would love to go back; the only pity is that it is so far away.

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