This historic city also has one of the biggest and best Edo era traditional Japanese gardens in the country. Ritsurin-en (Chestnut Grove Gardens) has an enormous pond filled with the biggest and most ferociously greedy carp I have ever seen. While watching them wolf down their breadcrumbs I couldn’t help remembering the faces of the maniac Osaka day trippers slurping down their Sanuki udon with almost religious fervor. However, after trying Sanuki udon for myself I could understand their dedication.