Fukusuke

As a fringe udon lover, I have been wanting to try Ise udon for a long time, so when I visited Mie Prefecture on a business trip the other day, I decided to go on an Ise udon eating tour. The first restaurant I went to as my Ise udon debut was called Fukusuke, located near the Inner Shrine of Ise Jingu. It is said to be a replica of Doburoku, a restaurant so popular in the Edo period that it was said, “If you don’t eat it while you are still alive, you will die and be scolded by Enma”. This means that we can enjoy udon similar to that eaten in the Edo period (1603-1867), which makes us feel as if we can go back in time to the Edo period. With this in mind, I headed to the restaurant after paying a visit to the Inner Shrine of Ise Jingu…

Well, the atmosphere is certainly like that of the Edo period… Ise Udon specialty restaurant “Fukusuke” in Okage Yokocho is such a restaurant…

The Ise Udon specialty restaurant, Fukusuke, is located in Okage Yokocho, which is connected to the street called “Oharaimachi” stretching from Ujigawa Bridge at the Inner Shrine of Ise Jingu to the direction of Sarutahiko Shrine. This Okage Yokocho was built by the famous Akafuku in 1993 as a place where visitors can experience the life and culture of Ise. I found out that Fukusuke was also established in 1993, so it must have been opened in conjunction with the development of Okage Yokocho. So, I wonder if the udon recipe from Doburoku still exists and if it is not a reproduction of the original recipe.

I guess I was expecting a little too much from that part, but that aside, Fukusuke‘s restaurant is a wooden building that looks like something out of a period drama, and according to the Tabelog, it seats a total of 68 customers. However, the store is open, with no doors or walls separating the inside from the outside, so it was cold inside on this day when the temperature was low! I guess that’s what it’s all about, enjoying the atmosphere of the Edo period.

This is certainly different from other udon noodles… How was it to actually try Fukusuke’s handmade Ise udon?

There is a counter for ordering as entering Fukusuke‘s restaurant, so order and pay the bill here before taking a seat. On this particular day, I ordered a limited quantity of handmade Ise udon noodles (price: 800 yen including tax), which are handmade by artisans. After paying the bill, they gave me a wooden tag like the one below, which I took to my seat and put on the desk…

Just a few minutes after taking my seat, the handmade Ise Udon noodles arrived in front of me…

The noodles are thicker than Sanuki Udon noodles and covered with a black broth that looks like tamari soy sauce. Except for the fact that the noodles are very thick, it is really just simple udon noodles with chopped green onions on top. But I heard that it takes about an hour to boil these noodles from the raw state. You can imagine how much time and effort goes into making this bowl of udon, can’t you?

Let’s have some udon right away… As the rumor says, the noodles are very soft and fluffy, but I feel that the quality of softness is different from Hakata udon. I can’t really explain it in words, but I feel that even though the texture is soft and fluffy, it has a kind of tension to it… What surprised me personally was that even after boiling such heavy noodles for an hour, when I lifted them with chopsticks, the weight of the noodles did not break them, but they stuck to the surface of the bowl. This is the skill of a craftsman.

The black dashi broth that was poured over the udon noodles was a little sweet, and had a kombu and dried bonito flakes flavor. Contrary to its appearance, the taste is mild and surprisingly easy to eat. And as a table-top seasoning…

If you sprinkle some chili peppers on the table, the sweet broth will be stimulated and the taste will be changed. Even after finishing the udon, there is a delicious flavor that allows you to enjoy this flavor change and drink up the broth to the last drop.

After enjoying the udon to the end, I put the bowl away on the dish return table in the corner of the restaurant and left the restaurant. I was glad I chose Fukusuke for my Ise udon debut…. The store, including its surroundings, still feels new, but as the years go by and it gets older, it will have a more Edo period-like atmosphere. Until then, I hope the shop will continue to operate as it is…と思います。

Examples of other menu items at Fukusuke (prices include tax)

• Matsuzaka beef Ise udon 1,200 yen
• Tempura Ise Udon: 1,100 yen
• Tororo Ise udon: 900 yen
• Mekabu Ise udon 780 yen
• Tsukimi Ise udon: 700 yen

Ise udon noodles to take home are also available…To get to Fukusuke, take the Mie Kotsu Bus from Ise-shi Station on the JR Sangu Line (Kintetsu Yamada Line) to the Jingu Kaikan-mae bus stop on the Geku-Naiku (government office building) Line…4 minute walk.

Fukusuke also sells Ise udon noodles to take home in a corner of the store…

Price: 700 yen (tax included) for two servings with sauce. The noodles are already boiled once, so there is no need to boil them for an hour at home. The shelf life is only 6 days, but I think it would be a great souvenir from a visit to Ise. Especially if you feel that “Akafuku is the only souvenir from Ise…”, why don’t you buy Fukusuke‘s Ise Udon as a souvenir?

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…