Japanese noodles Udon to be turned into a tourist product?

BANGKOK- It was probably the most unusual booth in Queen Sirikit Convention Centre hall during the recent TITF, Bangkok’s largest international travel fair. Lost in the midst of Japanese destinations distributing brochures and goodies, a small booth was presenting to potential travellers bags of udon noodles. “We are a very young association and this is the first time that we venture abroad to see how udon noodles could become a tourist product”, explained Koji Ishizuka, one of the Japan Udon Association staff.

The association presents currently 10 varieties of Udon with their typical characteristic, spread all over the Japanese archipelago, seven of them being available in Honshu, Japan’s main Island, one in Shikoku and one in Kyushu in the Southern part of the country and one in Hokkaido in the North.

“Udon can be considered as one of Japan’s favourite national dishes and is widely available all across our islands. They are three different varieties with a myriad of regional variations. We believe that this is a great tourism asset as we think that ‘udon circuits’ could be organized for interested travellers”, explained Koji Ishizuka.

Culinary udon circuits will definitely address a niche market but there is obviously great interest from tourists, especially from Asia. The Japanese noodles have been increasingly popular all across the continent and –like Korean kimichi- there is growing interest to know where and how udon is done. “We have very famous udon masters in Japan”, adds Mr. Ishizuka.

A map has been edited by the Japan Udon Association but so far the grouping is still in its infancy. “We are now looking to create a website in both Japanese and English as it will be the best way to reach worldwide audience. And we realize that we could also look at “Udon Ambassadors” around the world by appointing famed udon restaurant which could make promotion. We had many visitors during the show coming to us asking where they could eat the best udon in Bangkok…”

Cooperation could also be developed with Japan JNTO with udon restaurants turning into promotional tool for the destination Japan. A very successful similar partnership has already been developed between Thai tourism authorities and Thai restaurants around the world to promote Thailand as a tourist destination…

Sourced: TravelDailyNews