Spiced Roast Chicken Leg "Marugame Honetsukidori", Sesame-Oil "Shodoshima Somen" & Iron-Pressed "Imabari Yakitori" (Kagawa & Ehime)

If Sanuki Udon reigns as the daytime culinary king of Kagawa Prefecture, the undisputed sovereign of Kagawa's evening dining scene is **Marugame Honetsukidori** (*Spiced Bone-in Roast Chicken Thigh*), invented in 1952 in Marugame City by the founders of the iconic restaurant *Ikkaku* after seeing a whole roast chicken leg in a Hollywood movie. Whole bone-in chicken legs are generously seasoned with a fiery blend of garlic, cracked black pepper, and salt, then blasted in high-temperature ovens at over 300°C until the skin blisters to a golden crunch while sealing in the savory juices. Diners choose between two distinct textures: **Oya-dori** (mature laying hen prized by locals for its firm, springy chew and intensely concentrated chicken umami) or **Hina-dori** (young broiler chicken that is succulent and fall-off-the-bone tender), traditionally accompanied by crisp raw cabbage leaves and plain rice balls (*Omusubi*) meant for dipping directly into the spiced pan drippings. Also in Kagawa Prefecture on Shodoshima Island thrives a 400-year-old noodle-making tradition dating back to 1598 and celebrated as one of Japan's Three Great Somen Noodles (*Nihon Sandai Somen*): **Shodoshima Te-nobe Somen** (famed under the *"Shima no Hikari"* hallmark). Unlike other regions that coat their wheat dough in cottonseed or vegetable oil during the hand-stretching process, Shodoshima artisans brush the strands with **100% pure toasted sesame oil** (*Goma-abura*) before sun-drying them in the crisp Seto Inland Sea winter breezes, preventing lipid oxidation and imparting a nutty aroma and silky-firm bite. Crossing into Imabari City in neighboring Ehime Prefecture—a shipbuilding port boasting one of the highest concentrations of yakitori shops per capita in Japan—travelers encounter the sizzling spectacle of **Imabari Yakitori**. Because impatient shipyard workers in the 1960s disliked waiting for skewered chicken to roast slowly over charcoal, Imabari chefs ditched bamboo skewers altogether and began searing chicken skin (*Kawa-yaki*) and cuts directly on a scorching flat iron griddle (*Teppan*) while crushing them from above with a heavy cast-iron press—rendering out excess fat in seconds to create addictively crispy, caramelized bites drizzled with sweet-savory soy tare.