Seniors aged 60 and over pay ¥100 less than the listed price, and children aged 6 and under can share from an adult portion at no charge.
Ajino Mingei (味の民芸), the Japanese-style family restaurant chain known for noodles that are pulled rather than cut, is running an all-you-can-eat udon event for two days only. It is the second round of the year, staged for the chain’s 50th anniversary, and the format is simple: one set price, 90 minutes at the table, and as many baskets of hand-stretched udon as you can get through.
The deal at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Event name | Hand-stretched udon all-you-can-eat, round 2 (手延べうどん食べ放題第2弾) |
| Dates | Sunday 27 September and Monday 28 September 2026 (two days only) |
| Start time | From 11:00 |
| Time limit | 90 minutes per table |
| Last entry | One hour before each restaurant’s order-stop time (varies by location) |
| Price | ¥2,070 including tax, for the set with a large shrimp tempura |
| Restaurants | 50 Ajino Mingei locations across Japan |
| Operator | Ajino Mingei Food Service, part of Sagami Holdings |
Everything above comes from the operator’s own announcement on 7 September. Anything that is not listed there, including reservations, seat availability and the exact order-stop time at your nearest branch, is worth checking with the restaurant directly.
What is included, and what is not
The set is officially a large shrimp tempura with unlimited udon. Read that in the right order, because the distinction matters at the table.
The hand-stretched udon itself, served basket by basket for 90 minutes.
The tempura. The large shrimp comes with the set, but refills of tempura are not part of the offer.
Drinks, side dishes and rice items are not described in the announcement. Assume they are ordered separately.
Seniors, small children and group visits
Two concessions are built into the pricing, and both of them reward going as a family rather than alone.
| Who | What applies | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Adults | ¥2,070 including tax | The standard price for the set with the large shrimp tempura |
| Seniors aged 60 and over | ¥100 off the listed price | A senior price is applied; be ready to confirm age at the restaurant |
| Children aged 6 and under | Sharing from an adult portion is free of charge | No separate order needed for a small child who eats from the shared noodles |
Nothing in the announcement mentions a price band for primary-school children, so if you are bringing a child aged 7 or above, ask at the restaurant how they are counted.
Timing rules that decide whether you get in
Service starts at 11:00 on both days, and each table gets 90 minutes. The part that catches people out is the cut-off: last entry is one hour before the order-stop time at that particular restaurant, and order-stop times are not the same everywhere in the chain.
In practice that means an evening visit is the riskier plan. If your local branch stops taking orders relatively early, the last window for this event closes an hour before that, not at closing time. Ringing ahead on the day to confirm the order-stop time, and whether seats are still being taken, costs a minute and saves a wasted trip.
Why the noodles take over 30 hours to make
Most udon you meet in Japan is cut udon: the dough is rolled flat and sliced with a blade. Ajino Mingei uses the hand-stretching method, tenobe (手延べ). Flour, water and salt are kneaded into a single long rope of dough, and that rope is drawn out little by little, over many separate passes, until it is noodle-thin. From mixing the dough to finished noodles, the process takes more than 30 hours.
Because no blade is involved, the surface stays smooth rather than squared off, and the noodles slide rather than catch. The company’s own shorthand for the contrast is that hand-cut udon is the assertive, thick-and-chewy style while hand-stretched udon is the softer, smoother one, a distinction summed up in the old pairing of the Sanuki style and the Bitchu style.
The practical consequence for an all-you-can-eat sitting: these noodles go down easily, which is exactly why the recorded totals below are as high as they are.
The dashi is half the reason to go
The stock is drawn fresh at each restaurant every day, without additives, using Rishiri kelp from Hokkaido together with dried bonito, round herring and mackerel flakes. That base white dashi is then finished with the chain’s own kaeshi seasoning to produce two things you will actually taste at the table: the golden dashi that the noodles sit in, and the dipping broth served on the side.
It is worth pacing yourself with the broth as well as the noodles. In a 90-minute sitting, the seasoning is usually what your palate tires of first.
Finding a restaurant
The event runs at 50 Ajino Mingei restaurants. The chain is centred on the Kanto region and extends west as far as Okayama, where the company was founded in 1976 and where it now marks its 50th year. That geography is the first thing to check: if you live outside that footprint, there may be no participating branch within reach.
The restaurant list, opening hours and access details are on the official Ajino Mingei website. Day-to-day updates are also posted on the chain’s official X account and Instagram account, and there is a YouTube channel if you want to see the stretching process before you go.
If the nearest branch involves a train ride, it is worth pairing the trip with a discounted ticket. Our guides to the Aki no Norihodai Pass for three days of JR local trains and to half-price Shinkansen fares under the Tokudane Special 28 both cover routes across the Kanto area and beyond.
The record to beat
The chain keeps count. The all-time high across its all-you-can-eat events is 52 baskets, set back when the event ran without a time limit. Under the current 90-minute rule, the best anyone has managed is 30 baskets.
| Format | Best recorded total | Note |
|---|---|---|
| No time limit (past editions) | 52 baskets | The all-time chain record |
| 90-minute limit (current format) | 30 baskets | The mark that applies to this event |
Treat those figures as trivia rather than a target. The realistic goal for most people is to enjoy the noodles at their best temperature, which means ordering the next basket before you finish the current one rather than stacking them up.
Questions people ask before going
- Q. How much does it cost and what do I get?
- A. It is ¥2,070 including tax for a set that comes with a large shrimp tempura and unlimited hand-stretched udon for 90 minutes.
- Q. Is the tempura all-you-can-eat too?
- A. No. The large shrimp tempura is part of the set, but the tempura is not unlimited. Only the udon is.
- Q. When exactly is it running?
- A. On two days only, Sunday 27 September and Monday 28 September 2026, from 11:00 at participating restaurants.
- Q. Until what time can I join?
- A. Last entry is one hour before the order-stop time at each restaurant, and that time differs by location, so check with your nearest branch on the day.
- Q. Is there a discount for older diners?
- A. Yes. Diners aged 60 and over pay ¥100 less than the listed price.
- Q. What about young children?
- A. Children aged 6 and under can share from an adult portion at no charge.
- Q. How many restaurants take part?
- A. Fifty Ajino Mingei restaurants nationwide, a network centred on the Kanto region and extending west as far as Okayama.
- Q. What makes the udon different from ordinary udon?
- A. It is made by the hand-stretching method rather than cut with a blade, and the process from dough to finished noodle takes more than 30 hours, which gives the noodles a smooth surface and an easy texture.
Worth knowing before you go
Ajino Mingei is operated by Ajino Mingei Food Service, a group company of Sagami Holdings. Sagami takes part in the United Nations World Food Programme Red Cup Campaign, donating a portion of sales at its Sagami and Ajino Mingei restaurants to school meal support for children around the world. It is a small detail, but a nice one to know while you are working through your third basket.
If you are collecting limited-time food offers this month, two others are running in parallel: the GODIVA Buy One Share One promotion and, for a cheap day out rather than a meal, the ¥300 bathhouse coupon valid at 383 sento in Tokyo.