Behold the Udonuts, with a texture like no other doughnut in Japan.
In June last year, udon chain Marugame Seimen transformed noodles as we know them by releasing an innovative new sweet called “udonuts“. Made from udon noodle flour, these doughnut bites have been selling like crazy, with over 15 million sold in the ten months since their debut.
Now, the chain has quietly opened a specialty store called “Marugame Udonuts-ya”, with “ya” being the word for “store”. At this special branch, there’s a custom menu you won’t find anywhere else, with options to add your own toppings and sauces, so our doughnut-loving reporter Mr Sato set out to pay it a visit.
Located at the Marugame Seimen Kasugai Nishiyamacho branch in Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture, the specialty store is a bit of a trek from Tokyo but around a 20-minute drive from Ghibli Park.
▼ Studio Ghibli’s popular theme park isn’t far from the Udonuts location.
Luckily for Mr Sato, he was in the area when he found out about the store, so he was able to hop on the Chuo Main Line from Chikusa Station…
▼ … to Kasugai Station.
Then he had to hop on the Aoi Kotsu Toukadai bus, but in his eagerness to try the doughnuts he’d failed to plan accordingly so had to wait 40 minutes for the next bus.
▼ With his stomach now rumbling, Mr Sato was finally able to board the bus…
▼ …but after getting off at his stop he still had to walk about a kilometre (0.6 miles) to his destination.
It definitely would’ve been better to get here by car, but for Mr Sato, the more challenging the journey, the more delicious the reward, so when he finally spotted the Kasugai Nishiyamacho branch, he immediately began salivating.
Heading to the car park, he found Udonuts-ya, standing there like a beacon of joy against the grey skies. Opened on 15 May, the store was less than a week old when Mr Sato visited, and there was already a line of customers out the front.
Looking hungrily at the menu, Mr Sato spied a few things he wanted to try, and although the Udon Fries were something he’d never seen before, his heart was set on something sweet.
The main draw here is the “Mocchi-Mochi Satisfaction Set” (300 yen [US$2.09]), which allows you to customise a trio of Udonuts with three out of 11 toppings and one of four sauces to create your perfect combination.
The available toppings are: kinako (soybean flour), anko (sweet red bean paste), chocolate sprinkles, mini pudding, whipped cream, custard cream, sliced almonds, fruit mix, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, and matcha ice cream. The four sauce options are: chocolate, strawberry, mango, and kuromitsu (brown sugar syrup).
The options cover a wide range of Japanese and Western-style flavours, and if you have your heart set on one topping, you can even request it three times to strengthen the flavour. For Mr Sato, variety is the spice of life, so he opted for fruit mix, whipped cream, chocolate ice cream, and chocolate sauce.
This was his first time trying Udonuts so he wasn’t sure if his choices would go well together, but after trying a bite, he quickly realised that the doughnuts are so good they’d go well with anything.
The first thing he noticed about the Udonuts was how “mocchi” or “chewy” they were. It’s a unique, addictive texture you can’t get from regular donuts, and it’s all due to the addition of udon flour.
▼ After trying the first of his three Udonuts, he could understand why they were so popular.
It was a treat to be able to enjoy the unusual doughnuts with an array of toppings, making this one of the tastiest sweets he’s had in a long time. With doughnuts this good, he has a feeling this specialty store might soon be expanding to include other locations, and might even rival doughnuts at convenience stores and specialty stores like Randy’s.
After making the trek to find them, Mr Sato now has his fingers crossed that the extra toppings will soon make their way to a branch much closer to home, like this one that first brought the Udonuts to Tokyo.
Store information
Marugame Udonuts-ya Kasugai Nishiyama-cho store / 丸亀うどーなつ屋 （丸亀製麺 春日井西山町店）
Address: Aichi-ken, Kasugai-shi, Nishiyama-cho 3-14-18
愛知県春日井市西山町3-14-18
Open: 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Website
Photos©SoraNews24
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