Udon in Kitakyushu
Kitakyushu eats soft udon in the Fukuoka style, and claims a postwar invention: yaki udon, stir-fried udon, first made in Kokura.
Soupmap lists 142 udon places in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka. Most are in Kokurakita and Kokuraminami.
Kitakyushu, at the northern tip of Kyushu, shares the soft, gentle udon of the rest of Fukuoka Prefecture: tender noodles in a light dashi, topped with burdock tempura, fried fish cake or beef. Its own contribution is yaki udon, udon noodles stir-fried with cabbage, pork and a savoury sauce, finished with bonito flakes. The usual story is that it was first made at a small restaurant in Kokura shortly after the Second World War, when the buckwheat-and-wheat noodles used for yakisoba were scarce and the cook used dried udon instead. The city now promotes Kokura as the birthplace of yaki udon.
Udon shops are spread across Kokura, Moji, Yahata and Tobata, Kitakyushu's old districts, and many are cheap, fast and busy at lunch. The city's ramen is mostly tonkotsu, like Fukuoka's. If you're passing through Kokura Station on the Shinkansen, the area around it is the easiest place to try both. For the soft udon tradition, read Japan's three great udon, and the fight for third place, and see Udon in Fukuoka for the prefecture's capital.
By the Soupmap editors · Updated 29 October 2026
About udon
Thick wheat noodles, soft or springy depending on the region, served in a light dashi-and-soy broth or chilled with a dipping sauce.
Read in the journalJapan's three great udon, and the fight for third place Sanuki udon: a whole prefecture built on a bite
- Where
- Kokurakita 41 · Kokuraminami 37 · Yahatanishi 19 · Moji 10 · Wakamatsu 8 · Tobata 7
- Chains
- Sukesan Udon 21 · Inaba Udon 1 · Konpira Udon 1
- How we matched
- The record's category or name says udon. Not a menu check.
The list: the first 24 of 142
Soupmap selections come first, then independent places with the most complete records. This is an order of detail, not a ranking of bowls.
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Soupmap selection
The Kokura restaurant credited with inventing yaki udon in 1945, when its founder used dried udon in place of scarce yakisoba noodles. It still makes it with dried noodles, sauce and bonito flakes.
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About this guide
Built from Soupmap's catalog: our own selections plus open-data listings from Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap contributors. Open-data listings are reported locations, not independently checked; menus, prices, hours and current trading status are not verified. Styles come from shop names, so a place can serve more than its name says, or less.
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