Known locally as the “brick road”, this long arcade is located in Kure city, Hiroshima prefecture. As I heard that there’s a popular restaurant here that serves  “kureyaki”, the local version of okonomiyaki, I dropped by for a visit.

As soon as you enter the “brick road” from the south, you can spot the letters “Kureyaki” (呉焼き)! Takozen (多幸膳), which is the name of the rumored restaurant. Let’s go in ♪

The first thing that catches your eye is the row of comic books on the wall. Apparently, a large number of customers are young men from the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, and by answering their requests to add more comics, this is what happened!

Kure is famous for being the hometown of battleship Yamato, and it is and has been a town of sailors for eons…
But let’s get back to the main topic! The first special characteristic of Kureyaki is that thin udon noodles are used. They were developed in Kure during the war, and can be boiled in a very short period of time. They were convenient for the workmen building ships in Kure’s naval port as their breaks were short and the noodles could be eaten quickly.

The thin udon noodles are fried and put on wheat batter…

Oh! The fried batter is folded in half. This is also part of kureyaki’s unique style. In the old days it was done to make them easier to take home, because that’s where most people would have them, or because the hot plate was too narrow. There are many theories, but the same form has been kept since the earliest days of this delicious meal.

Tadah! It’s ready! And the hidden ingredient is…

This! Takozen’s famous spicy miso sauce. The miso sauce soaks into the thin udon noodles – irresistible for the hungry! You can understand why the restaurant is frequented by young men.