Traditional soy sauce making.
Soy sauce has been made on Shodoshima for more than 400 years.
There were 400 soy-sauce-makers on the island 200 years ago, making it one of Japan’s major soy-sauce-producing regions. Today, there only 20 soy-sauce or tsukudani manufacturers on the island. They still make the soy sauce in the traditional ways.
Yamaroku Shoyu is one of the island’s soy-sauce makers that accept visitors into their working space, where they prepare and store their “moromi”– unrefined soy sauce.
We were showed around by this very kind staff member, to the area of the giants barrels that are 400 years old, and holds the soy sauce between 2-4 years. Small micro organisms are a vital part of making their special sauce, hence we were not allowed to touch anything in the rooms to not disturb the natural processes.
We were showed around by this very kind staff member, to the area of the giants barrels that are 400 years old, and holds the soy sauce between 2-4 years. Small micro organisms are a vital part of making their special sauce, hence we were not allowed to touch anything in the rooms to not disturb the natural processes.
After we had a small tasting of their different sauces and ended up buying several bottles home with us (wholesale price).
They are open daily 9AM – 5PM and the address for this little place is: 1607 Yasuda-Ko Shodoshima-cho Shozu-gun, Kagawa
The streets around the factory are tiny (it’s located in the middle of a charming residential area, so if you arrive by car (like us), leave it at the parking lot by the small river 200 meters before the venue…
hee bune diaries 