Making Soy Sauce in Wakayama - Japan

My weekend at Mt Koya had been short -- I don't remember much about it. I looked through the notes from my journal but I didn't write anything substantial. In hindsight, I guess 21-year-old me didn't truly appreciate everything that I was able to experience while it was happening. For this post, I had to do some research on the  soy sauce factory in Wakayama I had the opportunity to visit during my study abroad. Turns out, over 700 years ago, a small town in Wakayama called Yuasa was the birth place of soy sauce!

Soy Sauce Factory - Yuasa Shoyu  湯浅醤油

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We were able to see how soy sauce was made by taking a guided tour (in Japanese) through the facility, where we learned about their fermentation process (which traditionally takes about 1-2 years) and all the different tools involved. The vats were huuuge:

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We were then also allowed to mix the huge vats of fermenting soy sauce and try samples of varying grades, starting from the lowest grade (5 bucks a bottle) to the most expensive grade (around 50 bucks a bottle). The difference between the 5 dollar bottle and 50 dollar bottle seemed minimal to me, but I'm no connoisseur. My tastes buds lack that sort of sophistication, haha.

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It was an informative and fun tour, and we each received a small bottle of the cheaper grade soy sauce for free as a souvenir.

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One of my classmates saw that there was soy sauce ice cream in the gift shop, and didn't want to pass up the opportunity to try. I can only say it tasted creamy with a hint of saltiness, but otherwise it wasn't anything to rave about. Still worth the experience though, and glad I tried!

Visitors also have a chance to take a soy sauce making workshop for 300 yen, where they can brew up their own small batch of soy sauce to bring home for fermentation.

Featured Photo: Yuasa Shoyu Factory

Yuasa Soy Sauce Co,.Ltd. Yuasa 1466-1. Arida-gun Wakayama JAPAN 643-0004 Hours: 9:30am - 4:00pm Price: Tours are free!