Udon Lunch on the Sakurajima Ferry, Kagoshima

 

Now this is a meal with a view. I normally do not have a meal on a ship unless its on a cruise, but there will be exceptions from time to time. 

Land ho!

When in Kagoshima, visiting the fabled Sakurajima volcano is an obvious must see. The volcano has been the symbol of the prefecture and has been the backbone of its agriculture, due to the soil from it. Its public bath industry is heavily reliant of it too, as the volcanic heat help create hot springs befitting a long afternoon soak after some walking. Well, since this is a food blog, and I do not want the TOG to be taken down, there will be no pictures of public bath houses for this time. So lets get back to the blog shall we? I was not planning to have my lunch on the ferry at the get go and was thinking of having some chow down on the island itself. But seeing that a lot of people do have their lunch there and local friends recommending it, I guess why not? And the dish was udon. 

Well, the front did say noodles. 

In the center of the ferry lies a stall that sell this classic noodle dish and you can see people line up for a bowl. I was kind of surprised how famous this is. But then again, its Japan and everyone here loves noodles. It was relatively simple in terms of the menu, where you can have udon on its own for 400 yen or with tempura at 600 yen. I opted for the extra fried goodies, obviously. 

Lunch is ready

It was a relatively simple dish of noodle, soup and tempura and what you would expect from a decent bowl. What I did not expect was the noodles. It was not very chewy and in fact broke quite easily. This gave it an interesting texture, which makes it stand out. 

Slurpy time

Its much firmer but not so pliable. Definitely different than what I am used to. The soup was mild and has the classic dashi plus mushroom flavour. it is not mind blowing but somehow warm, soothing and inviting. I did not drink the whole bowl, but I have seen many people who did. 

Golden, but soaked in broth

The tempura itself was ok, although it was a bit cakey. I did not expect much of it to be honest. Still, it gave some extra texture to the overall dish and did fill me up a little. So, go for it in any event. No regrets getting it. 

What a view

The best thing of this eating experience is that you can bring your bowl around the ferry and find the best view that suits your fancy. I did not do that as I want to avoid a spillage. But many ferry riders did it. So feel free to do so if you like. 

Sayonara! Shot taken from the pier in Sakurajima

The ferries between the mainland and Kagoshima are managed by Japan Rail and as such, they are quite affordable and reliable. One journey costs 200 yen and the ferries are really nice. They are spacious and comfortable. If you drove to get to the pier and that you would like to drive within Sakurajima, there is a vehicle carriage area as well. So if you are within that area, why not hop on a ferry and get some noodles?