The role of regional foods and food events in rural destination development: The case of Bario, Sarawak

This chapter discusses how a regional food heritage and its food way have been used for successful regional development in Japan. The research context of this chapter focuses on Japanese udon noodle in particular, leading to the udon tourism phenomenon. The three most nationally recognised udon noodle regions in Japan include Kagawa, Gunma and Akita. Mizusawa udon is known to be slightly thicker than other regional udon noodles such as Sanuki udon, yet very smooth and firm. Furthermore, noodle dishes have long been the centre of Japanese food culture as a staple of Japanese cuisine. Sangkyun Kim and Ellis call the udon noodle one of the simplest, cheapest and humblest ordinary dishes in Japan’. It reflects the work of Timothy and Ron, which suggests that a familial patrimony associated with heritage cuisine, should be considered as one of the important markers of regional, ethnic identity and the most appealing parts of tourist experiences.