温泉の駅 澄銀

The local cuisine in the hot spring town in the mountains features a unique spicy radish puree udon!

When I arrived at the Togurakamiyamada Onsen area in Nagano Prefecture, I noticed a special local dish during the day called "oshimori udon," which is a type of udon noodle. After soaking in the hot spring in the evening, I went out to find a restaurant that sold it.

I passed by this small restaurant, which had only about two four-person tables and a few bar seats inside, and there was only an elderly lady managing the shop that day.

I ordered a serving of oden (500 yen) and a serving of udon (1100 yen), and the oden was served first with classic ingredients: white radish, egg, chikuwa (fish cake), and konjac. The radish was very flavorful and tender, with a well-balanced savory taste that made it enjoyable to eat on its own.

I had no idea what radish puree udon was before ordering; I only knew it was udon. When I checked while eating the oden, I learned that it uses a special local variety of white radish to make a dipping sauce with miso, served in a way that requires you to dip the noodles in the sauce.

The restaurant prepared the white radish puree fresh using a juice machine just before serving, leaving in quite a bit of small radish chunks. When I dipped the steaming hot udon noodles into the sauce with the miso, I realized it was super spicy!! It wasn't the kind of spiciness from chili or wasabi but rather the refreshing heat that comes from fresh white radish itself, and this special variety of radish was particularly spicy!

At first, I found it quite hard to get used to, but by the end, I felt like I could keep eating it without getting tired of the flavor; it was a really unique experience.