If you want to eat oden in Matsuyama City, start here! 8 local favorites by station

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Kamesoba Jun is an izakaya loved by Matsuyama locals, known for its cheap and tasty specialty, kamesoba. It is about a 5-minute walk from Okaido Station.

The red noren (shop curtain) is the landmark. The clean interior has counter seats, tatami lined zashiki (Japanese-style floor seating), and table seating.

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Oden is a home style dish in which ingredients like daikon radish and boiled eggs are simmered slowly in dashi broth.

A popular ingredient is tofu. It is simmered in the oden broth as one large square block. It is best enjoyed with the special karashi miso (spicy mustard miso).

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The signature Kame Soba is a yakisoba (Japanese stir-fried noodles) that carries on the flavor of a popular restaurant called Kame. They stir-fry thick, chewy noodles and top them with plenty of katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and chirimenjako (dried young sardines and other small fish).

It is said to offer a unique flavor and texture, quite different from typical yakisoba.

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Suginoko Matsuyama is a sister restaurant opened in 2011 in Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture, by the owner who honed his skills at a popular oden restaurant in Nara Prefecture. It is about a 5-minute walk from Okaido Station.

The restaurant also has zashiki (tatami seating) for groups, so you can relax and enjoy oden.

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Their signature oden (Japanese hotpot dishes simmered in broth) is known for its light taste, made with dashi (Japanese soup stock) and salt instead of soy sauce. The broth is clear, and the flavor soaks well into the ingredients.

The round kuruma-fu (wheat gluten cakes), made from wheat gluten, is said to soak up plenty of broth and have a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

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They also offer unusual items like “avocado” and “tomato,” simmered in rich oden broth. The broth also goes well with oden and rice.

The alcohol menu is also extensive, with a focus on Japanese sake. You can also drink “Japanese sake with shochu, oden broth” made with oden broth.

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Oden Izakaya Shogetsu is on the second floor of a building down a side street off 2-chome in Okaido, the arcade-lined central area of Matsuyama where shops stand side by side. It is about a 3-minute walk from Okaido Station, and this izakaya centers on oden (Japanese hot pot dish).

The place has a bright atmosphere and is said to be easy to drop by casually.

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One of the signature oden dishes is "ginjo oden". It features a clear soup based on dashi made from bonito flakes and kombu kelp, with an added beef broth for extra umami.

Daikon radish and rolled cabbage are simmered in the amber colored broth, and people say the ingredients add their own umami, making it very tasty.

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They also serve mara oden (spicy oden), which combines house-made chili oil with a cloudy broth made from tonkotsu (pork bones) and other ingredients. It has a gentle heat and goes well with alcohol.

Not only warm oden, but also hiyashi oden (chilled oden) made with cooled dashi broth is available in the hot season.

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Odenya Takeshi Matsuyama Okaido Ten is the Matsuyama Okaido restaurant of Odenya Takeshi, which has restaurants across Japan. It is about a 6-minute walk from Okaido Station, located on the Kaku of the intersection of Okaido and Sanbancho-dori.

The space is bright and casual. At the counter seats, you can see the large oden Hot Pot right in front of you.

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They offer two kinds of oden broth: ago-dashi (flying fish stock) and tori-dashi (chicken stock). There is also a wide variety of ingredients.

The ago-dashi features a clear soup made with stock from flying fish. Dashi-wari, which mixes the flavorful broth with Japanese sake, is also popular.

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The "tori-dashi (chicken stock)" is known for its cloudy white soup made from chicken bones. Popular items include tomatoes, rolled cabbage, and potatoes.

They also serve creative dishes that pair the oden chicken stock with Camembert cheese or garlic toast. It seems you can come across some surprisingly original oden here.

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Hyota is about an 8-minute walk from Matsuyama-shi Station. It is near Shiroyama Park, a large park in central Matsuyama built around the ruins of Matsuyama Castle.

Inside, there are counter seats and zashiki (tatami seating where you remove your shoes), making it easy for families and groups to visit. The restaurant is open for both lunch and dinner.

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The oden (Japanese hot pot dish) is simmered in a slightly sweet dashi broth and is known for including meats such as Horumon and motsu (offal) among its ingredients. They simmer it until it becomes so tender that it falls apart.

Adding a little karashi (Japanese mustard) when eating it brings out the umami even more.

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The signature Chuka Soba (Chinese noodles) is their ramen. It has a soy sauce based soup, and its standout feature is the hint of sweetness. The mildly sweet soup is topped with thick cut chashu (braised pork).

It seems that most people order the ramen and oden (Japanese stew dishes).

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Yamamoto Hyotaro Shoten is an izakaya (Japanese pub) located a 5-minute walk from Matsuyama-shi Station, near the Yanai-machi 3-chome intersection. Sitting a little away from the busy downtown area, it has a hidden gem kind of atmosphere.

The seating is mainly at the counter, making it easy to visit even on your own. It is said to have the perfect atmosphere for small groups to relax and enjoy conversation.

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For the oden (Japanese one-pot dish), the ingredients are simmered in a clear broth. The lightly salty broth soaks into ingredients like daikon radish, eggs, and atsuage (deep-fried tofu), and people say it tastes great.

It also comes with karashi (Japanese mustard), spicy grated daikon radish, and miso with a hint of yuzu, so you can enjoy changing up the flavor little by little.

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The old style cooking method known as genji-yaki (primitive hearth grilling), which simply grills fish, meat, vegetables, and other ingredients over charcoal, is also popular. It is said to cook the ingredients up nice and plump thanks to the far infrared effect.

They use seasonal ingredients for the items in their genji-yaki and oden (Japanese hot pot). It seems you can enjoy different ingredients every time you visit.

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Hinode Shokudo has been loved by locals since opening in 1950, and has continued operating for three generations. It is located on the west side of Matsuyama City, near Iyotetsu San-nishi Station.

The interior has a homey feel, with well-worn table sets lined up inside. It is open only during lunchtime hours.

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On the counter, there is a dedicated oden pot, and you take out what you want to eat in a self service style. The ingredients are skewered, so they are easy to pick out.

The soup has been topped up since the restaurant first opened, and its signature is a dark broth that looks like strong soy sauce. Even the daikon radish turns black.

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Okonomiyaki (savory Japanese pancake) is also popular. You can choose fillings such as udon, yakisoba, meat, or seafood, and have it cooked for you.

Many locals also seem to wait with oden (Japanese hot pot dishes) while dishes like okonomiyaki and Rice bowls are being prepared.

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Oden to Shuko Takiya is an izakaya located on the second floor of a renovated building in the Yanai-machi Shotengai (Yanai-machi shopping street). It sits in the southern area of central Matsuyama, about a 4-minute walk from the nearest station, Ishitegawa Koen Station.

With only U-shaped counter seating, it also offers the lively feel of a yatai (street stall).

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The oden (Japanese hot pot dish) comes with a wide variety of ingredients. Each one is carefully prepared with a lot of work, and the broth soaks in well, making them very tasty.

Along with standard items like daikon radish and eggs, they also pair dashimaki tamago (rolled omelet) and cream croquettes with the oden broth.

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In winter, they also offer seasonal limited ingredients like oysters and soft roe, and in spring, bamboo shoots and fresh new onions. It sounds like you will want to try all kinds of them.

They also serve dashi-wari with Japanese sake and oden broth, so you can enjoy a warm drink full of umami.