Udon Sakaeda: Self-Serve Sanuki Udon with Iriko Dashi

Open since 1973, this is Sanuki udon in its classic self-serve form. You are handed a bowl of plain noodles, warm them yourself in a wire basket (tebo) dipped in hot water, then open the tap on a large silver tank to pour your own iriko (dried sardine) dashi. Several reviewers call the clear, amber, gently salty broth the best they have had in Takamatsu. A local regular notes that this main shop makes its own tenkasu (tempura crumbs), which puts it ahead of the branches.

The noodles' chewy, mochi-like bounce comes up in most reviews. One Korean visitor who had tried more than 30 local shops ranked it first. Kake udon, noodles in hot broth, is the most praised order. Other favourites are kamatama (noodles tossed with raw egg), niku bukkake (simmered beef with a little sauce), chikuwa-ten and the soft-centred egg tempura.

A minority found it ordinary for the wait. Individual reviewers mentioned cold tempura, stale-smelling spring onion, and a seasonal sudachi udon thin on citrus for its price. Tempura is unlabelled, and you say how many pieces you want before choosing.

Breakfast or lunch comes in well under ¥1,000, and there is no dinner service. Reviewers around 2026 paid ¥320 for a small kake udon, ¥370 for medium and ¥420 for large; a small kamatama was ¥410, sudachi udon ¥580 and a small niku soba ¥630. Every tempura was a flat ¥130, as was inari. Reviewers repeatedly call it the best value around, with generous portions and large tempura.

• Getting there: 10 minutes' walk from JR Kotoku Line Kuribayashi Park North Exit Station, or 15 minutes from Kotoden Kawaramachi Station (West Exit). Behind the Kagawa Prefectural Office.
• Booking: reservations are not taken; walk in. Queues can reach outside at lunch and on holidays, but turnover is fast, usually 5–15 minutes.
• Payment: cash or PayPay. Credit cards and electronic money are not accepted.
• Children: welcome; the listing specifies school-age children.
• Seats: 50 (15 at the counter, 32 at tables). No private rooms. Wheelchair access.
• Non-smoking.
• Parking: four free spaces on the east side of the shop. Avoid the paid lot next door; one driver paid ¥600 there by mistake.
• Fully self-serve. Popular items such as niku bukkake sell out, and noodles can run out near closing.
• Take-out available. Kisoba is served in winter.
• A Korean menu was reported, and one visitor was helped by Korean-speaking staff.