Kazo Udon

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Kazo udonhand-cut noodlesKazocarp streamerslocal specialty

Saitama · Kazo

36.1229°N, 139.5963°E

The line outside Kazo Udon, if there is one, is usually a better sign than a review score.

Kazo has been making hand-cut udon for more than three hundred years, from a wheat crop the flood plain here supported better than rice, and there are still more than thirty shops in a city of a hundred thousand doing it. The noodles are glossy, firm and cut wide, and the local convention is that summer is thin and cold while winter runs to the ribbon-wide kind served hot.

The town's other product is carp streamers — Kazo is one of Japan's main producers — and the two are unconnected except that both survive because the families kept doing them. Shops range from noodle makers with a few tables at the back to proper restaurants, and several are attached to mills that have been grinding since the Meiji period. The tourist material lists them and locals will argue about the order.

Before you eat

Serving hours

Varies by shop; many are lunchtime only — confirm before travelling

Closed: Varies by shop

What it costs

A bowl of Kazo udon typically runs under ¥1,000 — confirm current pricing at the shop

Best time to go

Year-round; wide hot noodles in winter and thin cold noodles in summer | Early May for the carp streamer event on the Tone river

Time to allow

45 minutes – 1 hour

Access route

Directions

Shops are spread across Kazo City, with a concentration along Route 125 and around Kazo Station on the Tobu Isesaki Line, about 1 hour from Asakusa. More than thirty udon shops operate in the city; hours, closing days and prices vary widely, and several are lunchtime only. The Kazo Udon Association and the city tourism pages publish a current shop list. Some shops are attached to working noodle mills and sell dried noodles to take away.

Insider tips

**Ask for kate-men.** The local way of eating is with a side of boiled seasonal vegetables to bulk out the noodles, a habit from when wheat was the crop and not much else was. Several shops still serve it and few visitors order it. **Wide in winter, thin in summer.** The seasonal cut is a real convention here and shops change it. Ordering hiyamugi in January is not the local move. **Many shops are lunch only.** Check before travelling; the udon culture here is a daytime one. **Kazo makes carp streamers.** One of Japan's main producers, and the town flies a 100-metre one over the Tone river embankment in early May. Unrelated to the noodles and worth the timing if you are coming in Golden Week. **An hour from Asakusa.** Kazo is a straightforward day trip out of Tokyo on the Isesaki line, and the udon is the reason to make it.

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