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Ise-Shima NP, Mie
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During the 1830 “Okage-mairi,” the Mie Prefectural Museum estimates that roughly 1 in 6 people in Japan made the pilgrimage to Ise. Oharaimachi was part of the approach to Naiku.
The white mochi represents a pale stone on the riverbed, while 3 ridges of sweet bean paste trace the Isuzu’s flowing water. Akafuku’s shop began in Oharaimachi in 1707.
The name is linked to the onshi guides whose homes once lined this approach. They welcomed pilgrims with lodging, kagura performances, purification rites and shrine talismans—spiritual guides and travel hosts in one.
Thick, soft Ise udon was a welcome meal after a long journey: by the late Edo period, shops served it even near Uji Bridge. Its hearty noodles were easy to digest, and visitors remembered this distinctive local bowl.
For the local first-of-the-month shrine visit, people traditionally rise early to give thanks and pray for the month ahead. Since 1978, Akafuku has welcomed returning pilgrims with a different seasonal Tsuitachi mochi each month.
Much of Oharaimachi’s old-looking streetscape dates from the Meiji era or later. Residents began organizing to preserve and revive it in 1979, aiming for a living neighborhood—not a frozen museum.
The historic-looking Okage Yokocho, set within Oharaimachi, opened on July 16, 1993. Its streetscape combines buildings relocated from elsewhere in Ise with recreated examples of traditional local architecture.
Many traditional Ise townhouses face the street with their triangular gable ends, creating a gently zigzagging roofline. The district’s preservation rules keep this distinctive form in new and renovated buildings.
A typhoon flooded the Isuzu River in 1877 and badly damaged Akafuku’s shop. The sixth proprietor’s wife, Chie, led its rebuilding; the present main shop retains the gable-fronted style of an Ise townhouse.
Akafuku says its name comes from “sekishin keifuku,” meaning a sincere heart rejoicing in happiness. The company preserves this as an origin story passed down by tradition, not as a documented account from its founding.
People once called this local dish simply “udon” or “su-udon.” The name “Ise udon” was standardized by the Ise noodles-and-dining association in 1972, giving a familiar everyday bowl its regional identity.
