Traditional Soy Sauce-Making & Brewery Tour in Hamamatsu

Take a deep dive into the world of shoyu (soy sauce) production in Hamamatsu, a historical castle town with a rich food culture and an abundance of nature. Learn how soy sauce is made at a family-run company with nearly 150 years of history and deepen your knowledge about this versatile Japanese pantry staple. After the tour, you will even get to try your hand at making your very own bottle of soy sauce!

Located halfway between Tokyo and Osaka, Hamamatsu is only a Shinkansen ride away from the hustle and bustle. Bordered by forested mountains to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the south, the Tenryū River to the east, and Lake Hamana to the west, the city is surrounded by nature in all directions. Hamamatsu’s unique location and pleasant climate have given birth to notable specialty products such as grilled eel, delicious seafood, and juicy mandarin oranges, as well as laid the foundation for exceptional shoyu making.

Start your experience with a nostalgia-inducing tour of Meijiya Shoyu’s wooden factory, a registered tangible cultural property that’s over a century old. After learning about the shoyu-making process, you can try soy sauce squeezing using special workshop presses made by the current owner. The soy sauce will then be pasteurized and bottled so you can take it home with you and store it at room temperature. You can also taste several types of soy sauce by dipping tofu in them!

What makes Meijiya soy sauce so unique is the soybeans and wheat used for making their products. Their “Kuradashi” soy sauce is produced from tea soybeans and wheat grown on their own farm, resulting in a mild-tasting soy sauce that is naturally thick and rich. Meijiya Shoyu also offers a wide variety of soy sauces, table sauces, miso, and even shoyu ice cream–a surprisingly tasty treat!

With so many soy sauce products to try, this tour is sure to satisfy any soy sauce lover!