The Homeland of Sanuki Udon: Unconsolidated Placemaking Processes in a Food Tourism Destination

This chapter examines how a regional signature, staple food product is produced and promoted as a tourism resource through placemaking processes. It focuses on the three axes of top–down, bottom–up, and general media production regarding the food tourism of Sanuki udon noodle in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Using on-site and online interviews and archives as the primary and second data, the chapter reveals how the region under investigation turns its unique local food into a tourism resource and creates a food tourism place. As a result, the local public and private sectors have capitalised on the udon noodle as a symbol for the region's food-based destination image and as a significant tourism resource to create a unique tourism experience. Additionally, udon-themed media programmes which are independent of the two sectors above are revealed, illustrating the concept of combining food tourism with media tourism.