In Japan, fermentation is more than just a culinary tradition, it’s a way of preserving health and longevity that contributes to the famously long lives of many Japanese people. It has been passed down for generations, making it a part of Japanese culture and the key to Japanese cuisine. As a Japanese living in the States, I’m sure it wasn’t the easiest to find fermented food like miso, nattō, and tsukemono pickles, but my mom would always have them in the fridge, making them very familiar to me.
Wellness is one of the interests for travelers who come to Japan, and I had the privilege to arrange a lecture on fermentation for two groups of visitors who came to learn about the traditional Japanese diet, longevity, and all things wellness. I joined them for the lecture and was surprised at how meaningful fermentation is and how little I knew about it.
Fermentation is the process in which a substance breaks down into a simpler substance, typically done by bacteria, yeasts, or other microorganisms. Coffee, bread, cheese, yogurt – these are just a few examples of fermented food.
In Japan, fermentation began with making sake from rice, with records dating back 1,200 years. Sake, also known as rice wine, is made by fermenting rice with koji mold, which acts as the major source of fermentation in Japan. Koji is something special to Japan and is so important in the country that it was designated as the National Microorganism of Japan in 2006. (Japan is the only country in the world to have a National Microorganism!)
As the food culture evolved, the Japanese people started using koji for preservation reasons to ferment other foods such as soybeans, fish, and vegetables, and thus fermentation became a century-old tradition that has shaped the flavor, nutrition, and identity of Japanese cuisine.
You can find various fermented food, drinks, and ingredients here in Japan. Here are just a few that are used and eaten almost daily by locals.
Miso – made by fermenting soybeans + koji + salt. It is rich in probiotics and minerals, and helps support digestive health, which is a reason why it’s a staple in the Japanese diet. It is used as a seasoning, with the most well known dish being miso soup.
Shoyu or soy sauce – made by fermenting soybeans + koji + salt + wheat + water. It is rich in umami which allows you to use less salt or other seasonings, and also contains essential amino acids. (I would note that it is high in sodium and contains gluten.) Shoyu is also used as a seasoning; it is the key ingredient in teriyaki sauce, and also flavours sushi.
Nattō – made by fermenting soybeans + bacillus subtilis (a bacteria). It is packed with vitamin K2 and enzymes that support heart and bone health, and studies announced that high consumption lowers mortality risk. Locals eat it on rice. It has a distinct smell and strong flavor, and becomes very sticky when stirred.
Sake – made by fermenting rice + koji + water + yeast. It is full of amino acids (the most of all alcoholic beverages in the world) and other organic substances that activate skin cells and help prevent skin cell aging.
When you visit Japan, you can find dishes that use fermented ingredients and food at Japanese restaurants. But if you would like to take a step further, there are local regions that are tied to specific fermented food, where traditional preparation techniques are still being practiced today. I had the privilege of taking my guests to a few of them, as well as visiting others with local guides on training sessions we’ve organized. Here’s a quick peek into those places!
A very small town in Wakayama Prefecture, Yuasa is known to be where shoyu making began in Japan. It was in the mid 1200s when a Zen monk brought home a special kind of miso from China and stored it in a wooden barrel. One day, they found a tasty “juice” at the bottom of the barrel, which later became to be known as shoyu and became the center of Yuasa’s industry. There are only a few breweries left today, and of those breweries, there are two that offer free tours inside. Kadocho Soy Sauce Factory, founded in 1841, has the longest history. Because yeast that has formed inside the barrel is vital to shoyu production, they have been using the same barrel for 184 years. You are able to step inside one of their breweries that was built in 1866, as well as a small museum which exhibits the different tools used during production. Yuasa Soy Sauce also offers free guided tours of their brewery, as well as a hands-on shoyu making experience using plastic bottles that you can take home and use to continue brewing yourself. The town itself is designated as a historical ward, so you can go on a trip back in time while walking down the streets!
When you visit Yuasa, Kinzanji Miso is a must try. This is the miso that the Zen monk brought home from China and became the origin of shoyu, and is fermented for a surprising 810 months! It’s a type of miso that is mixed with eggplants, cucumber, ginger and other vegetables so it’s more enjoyable as a side dish rather than a seasoning (it goes very well with rice or as a vegetable dip.)
Kadocho Soy Sauce Factory: https://www.kadocho.co.jp/index.htm *Only in Japanese.
Yuasa Soy Sauce: https://www.yuasasyouyu.co.jp/yuasa_gb_front.html
Shodoshima is a small island in Kagawa Prefecture that you can access by ferry from Takamatsu Port (about an hour ride.) Because of its mild climate, it is perfect for fermentation, thus shoyu production prospered during the Meiji period. It was home to more than 400 shoyu breweries at the time! That number has decreased to 22 today, but Kagawa Prefecture still ranks #5 in shoyu production in Japan.
Shodoshima uses the same traditional technique as Yuasa does – they fermentate microorganisms inside a wooden barrel, which gives each brewery its own distinct taste.
There is an area in Shodoshima named “Hishio no Sato”, or home of soy sauce, which is home to 20 shoyu breweries and tsukudani (a traditional preserved food which uses small fish, shellfish or seaweed cooked with soy sauce and sugar) factories. One shoyu brewery to visit here is Yamaroku Shoyu; the 150-year history of which led to its cellar being designated as a tangible cultural property. They offer free tours inside which are reservation free, which isn’t something that many breweries can do as the fermenting process is delicate and needs great care. When you do visit, please make sure you haven’t eaten nattō, because nattō kills the yeast fungus and lactic acid bacteria necessary for making shoyu. You can also enjoy shoyu sweets in the area, like shoyu ice cream and shoyu pudding!
Yamaroku Shoyu: https://yama-roku.net/
Known as Nada Gogo, the largest sake producing region of Japan consists of five areas scattered across Kobe and Nishinomiya. The region is rich in water, rice, and refined production techniques, which are all necessary to produce high quality sake. The region’s techniques, which have been passed down since the 1300s, produce sake known for its crisp and dry taste.
Of the five areas, I recommend visiting the Mikagego area in particular. It is home to many different sake breweries so you can find the perfect sake for you! If you’d like to know the history behind sake brewing, as well as taste one of the major sake brands, visit Hakutsuru Brewery, which has a museum that exhibits everything related to sake brewing, or join a free brewery tour in English at Kiku-Masamune Brewery to learn the history and tradition the area is famous for. For a more modern twist on the tradition, visit Kobe Shushinkan Brewery (their official sake brand is Fukuju.) It is one of the traditional breweries, and they renovated their brewery so that visitors can see the brewing process through a window. You can even pair their sake with traditional Japanese style cuisine at their restaurant. If you’d like to taste as many sake brands as possible at once, visit Nadagogo Sakedokoro. Open on Fridays and weekends, the venue offers tastings from 26 breweries of Nada, as well as local fermented food and other sake related events.
Hakutsuru Brewery: https://www.hakutsuru-sake.com/global/us/
Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewery Museum: https://www.kikumasamune.co.jp/kinenkan/en/index.html
Shushinkan: https://enjoyfukuju.com/en/tour/
Nadagogo Sakedokoro: https://nadagogo.com/ *Only in Japanese.
You can also find fermented food at local markets throughout Japan. Just to name a few are Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo, Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Kuromon Market in Osaka, and Ohmicho Market in Kanazawa. In each place, you will find shops that specialize in fermented food in between the food stalls!
There are many more fermented foods in Japan that I wasn’t able to introduce above. It is difficult to see which Japanese dishes use fermented food, but when you visit Japan, do taste your way through and enjoy the tradition!
Credits for images that don’t belong to WaWo Japan Travel can be viewed by hovering over the desired image.
<Author>
Saori Futsukaichi
Travel Consultant at WaWo Japan Travel
