Saraya Handmade Udon — Aiming for a flavor everyone will love. An udon shop in Mabi starting over.

Interview with Yuki Shibata, owner of “Teuchi Udon Saruya”

Nine years of owning his own shop: How he got started in the udon business

What inspired you to start an udon shop?

Shibata

When I was 20 (2001), udon was booming. I had always liked eating udon, so I went to Kagawa to try Sanuki udon.

The people at a noodle-making shop I happened to visit asked me, “Would you like to try stepping on the udon dough?”

It was a real revelation to step on udon dough for the first time.

I thought then, “So this is what udon in Kagawa is like. Udon is great, and it really suits me.”

When did you open your own shop?

Shibata

Exactly 10 years later, when I was 30 (2011).

Actually, I wasn’t set on opening in Mabi. I spent three or four years looking around Kurashiki and Soja, among other places, and then found a rental shop in Yata, Mabi, where I decided to open.

Reopening after being affected by the July 2018 Heavy Rains

Then your shop and home were both affected by the July 2018 Heavy Rains. Could you tell us what led you to decide to reopen?

Shibata

After the disaster, we gathered for a briefing about group subsidies, and I had a chance to talk with other restaurant owners. We talked about all sorts of things.

Of course, I could have quit the udon business and done something completely different. But I heard from owners of various shops that they were going to reopen.

I thought, “I can’t just quit like this…”

Yakiniku Tenryu, for example, started selling yakiniku lunch boxes from a garage on the grounds of its disaster-damaged shop.

When I learned that everyone was starting with what they could do, wherever they could, I thought, I had to stay positive too.

First, I thought, let’s start with what we can manage.

There were issues such as permits, so I reopened in a temporary shop on my home property, where it was easier to make arrangements. That was in September 2018.

Could you tell us about the challenges and good things that came with operating the temporary shop?

Shibata

When we were at the temporary shop, there was hardly any profit after paying for the noodles and the container-house rent.

I felt bad that we weren’t making handmade udon, but I’m glad we did it.

All the customers were really happy.

It was also good that more people learned about the shop through its temporary location.

[Temporary shop] Teuchi Udon Saruya — An udon shop operating from the owner’s home in Mabi, with the goal of returning to “everyday life”

Most of the urban area of Mabi, Kurashiki City, was flooded by the July 2018 Heavy Rains. More than three months after the disaster, recovery work is progressing, but naturally…

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Starting afresh at a new location in April 2020

It’s in a great location, very close to Kibinomakibi Station.

Shibata

A very kind person rented us the land, and we were able to resume business here.

As an aside, a scone shop called Kokomaru opened on the first floor of Life Town Mabi in August 2020, and the two businesses have brought in more customers.

There’s also Pan Porto nearby, and I hope we can help liven up the area around Kibinomakibi Station and work hard together.

Saruya’s udon, made to suit customers’ tastes

What do you keep in mind when making udon?

Shibata

I pay particular attention to the soup for kake udon. Getting the salt balance right in the dashi is difficult. I’m careful about how much salt I use.

I don’t want people to find it too salty, so I aim for just the right balance.

I make it clean and refreshing, to suit the tastes of a broad range of customers.

And when people think of Saruya, they can’t forget the huge shrimp tempura that fills the bowl.

Shibata

Taste matters, but so does appearance, so I make the shrimp tempura with a strikingly thick coating.

I add salt to the batter to make it delicious. I want people to enjoy eating the coating too.

Bukkake udon is popular in summer, and kitsune udon in winter.

In 2020, during the period of voluntary restraint due to COVID-19, takeout udon was also popular.

The noodles are a different thickness from before. Have you changed how you make them?

Shibata

All the machines we used to make noodles were damaged in the disaster and became unusable, so we now use new machines and our method has changed.

The soup’s flavor has hardly changed, but I’m still experimenting with the noodles.

Actually, I like firm noodles myself. But there are many older customers here in Mabi, so I thought that might not suit them. I make the noodles a thickness and firmness that are easy to eat.

Everyone has different preferences, so it’s hard to make something everyone will call delicious, but I aim for a flavor that seven out of ten people will enjoy and call “delicious”.

2020, the year business resumed: How he feels now

You reopened at a new location in April 2020, and it’s now been about six months as of October 2020. Looking back, how do you feel?

Shibata

It’s hard to believe we’ve come this far from where we were… There were various options, but I think I made the right choice.

After being affected by the July 2018 Heavy Rains, I had nowhere to turn for emotional support.

But from April 2020, I was finally able to make the noodles myself at my own shop and serve them to customers.

I found a clear purpose: making udon and making customers happy. My lifestyle has finally returned to normal, and I feel like I’m living a proper life again.

I’m truly fulfilled now.

Looking ahead

Could you tell us how you’d like to continue running the shop in the future?

Shibata

I think customers would come if we opened in the evenings too, but I don’t want to overdo it and damage my health. I plan to keep operating within what I can manage now. As long as I can make a living, that’s enough.

My business hours or style might change in the future.

Adding lots of different menu items doesn’t suit me. There are certainly things to improve, and I’ll keep working on them, but I want to preserve the flavor we have now.

If there’s anything I can do to contribute to Mabi through udon, I’d like to take part actively.

From the Writer

The udon from Saruya, which the writer used to eat regularly, is back.

It is truly wonderful when a shop you used to visit all the time reopens amid the routines of everyday life.

“People eat what I make, tell me it’s delicious, and that becomes my livelihood.

I’m so glad I opened this shop,” Shibata said during the interview. Those words left a strong impression.

The broth in the udon served by the hardworking owner of Teuchi Udon Saruya gently warms both the stomach and the heart.

Why not enjoy some delicious udon in Mabi, where recovery is progressing?

Teuchi Udon Saruya Information

Name	Teuchi Udon Saruya
Address	1117-44 Yata, Mabi-cho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture
Contact	086-697-1124
Parking	Available
Hours	11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (closes when the noodles sell out)
Closed	Mondays and irregular days
Payment methods	Cash PayPay
Reservations	Not accepted
Seating	30 seats Counter: 4 stools Three tables seating six
Smoking	Non-smoking (smoking permitted only in designated areas)
Restroom	Western-style toilet
Website	Saruya: Official Instagram

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