First Udon Shop Pictures

Here is the shop. That is the line of people waiting to get in and it's only just before 10:30am !!!


Here is the inside of the shop. Pretty crowded/tight, somewhat hot. I realize that none of the pictures show how just to the left of the camera in every shot is the wall, so all of what you see is the open space of the little shop. In the picture, to the right the guy is rolling noodles, the old lady is somewhat in charge of selling gift-bag udon sets (although more just socializing), there is the cutting machine to the left, and in the back is the big stove manned by another woman(which you can't see).


A better shot of the old lady and folk. Each person is manning a different machine/area. You'll see the old lady in the magazine shot.


The cash register! Yep, 500/100/50/10 yen coin baskets. Put whatever amount in, and take the correct amount out. A very trusting system.


The lady in charge of the noodles. Note how the baskets are lifted up out of the boiling tub, probably for easy cleaning. This gives a pretty good idea of how hot/steamy this was. There was a serious gas flame heating up this gigantic tub.


Another shot of the same thing, only this time you can see the noodles and baskets that they're in...


An up close shot of the cutting machine. This machine's pretty neat, although very 1-dimensional. There's one in Genkotsuya Ramen shop (the ramen shop near my apartment that I frequent a couple of times a month, and who play mahjong).


The tempura selection. You can also pick an egg. Prices are listed below on a very short and simple, yet not easy to comprehend if you can't read Japanese menu!


Here it is. The menu in all it's glory. Udon-70yen. Egg-30yen. Tempura-100yen. The one below that in the orange/yellow is a joke or perhaps an off-beat way of advertising the 70yen price of their udon: "shi-awase ippai (ichi-mai) 70yen", or for 1 serving of lots of happiness, 70yen.


Serious flames. This udon shop was the only one where everything was in front of us and laid out, hence the amount of pictures. The others definitely had a more restaurant-like feel to them, whereas this was like an organized bbq or something.


And the final product before consumption (yes, that's a raw scrambled egg, and the green is a spicy/hot kind of chai or something).


Here are the folks and the background/restaurant after our first meal. Physched and off to a good udon start!


Last but not least, the magazine. Doesn't that face look familiar!! I laughed when I saw that.