Discover Miso & Koji’s Magic Touch at Osaka’s Oldest Miso Shop With a Tasting and Cooking Lesson

Osaka’s Oldest Miso Shop, Bringing Quality Miso to All For Over 200 Years

With a history of over 1,300 years, miso has long been treasured in Japan for its depth of flavor and abundance of health benefits, from aiding digestion to boosting the immune system. It now continues to gain recognition around the world in both traditional and modern cuisine. 

Daigen Miso still preserves its traditional legacy of over 200 years

As Osaka’s oldest miso shop, founded in 1823, Daigen Miso is no stranger to this vital piece of food culture. Driven by an unwavering resolve to bring truly delicious miso to the world, eighth-generation head Ikuko Muroi continues to ensure high quality products by maintaining close relationships with miso makers from all over Japan, who create small batches by gently aging superior ingredients.

Muroi is dedicated to quality ingredients, methods, and miso

Drawing on her expertise as a cook and certified sommelier in the fields of miso and fermented food, Muroi will help you to understand and appreciate miso like never before. 

Learn About, Taste, and Appreciate Every Facet of Miso

This experience begins with a personal lesson from Muroi on the basics of miso and its many varieties, followed by a tasting session that will help you to grasp its intricacies. Miso traditionally consists of just three ingredients: soybeans, salt, and koji, which are combined into a paste and then fermented over a period of six months to two or three years. “There is a full-bodied flavor, umami, and fragrance that cannot be physically made by human hands, but only through time,” explains Muroi.

Absorb Muroi’s passion for miso

Taste this for yourself by comparing five types of miso, which will vary depending on the season. Each will have a different flavor profile influenced by its salt content, the koji variety, and more. For example, brown miso - the most used and well known - is richer and more complex in flavor due to its longer fermentation and maturation period, while barley miso is slightly sweeter and also tastes of grain. 

Each miso has its own scent and flavor to discover (photo for reference only)

A tip to fully appreciate each type of miso is to first take in the scent, then taste a tiny piece by itself, letting the pure flavor spread through your mouth. Finally, dissolve it in warm dashi stock for a soup that will soothe your soul.

Make Your Very Own Miso Under Muroi’s Guidance

After sampling each delicious miso, it’s time to step behind the scenes and see how it’s done. From January to May, learn how to make your own miso, which you’ll also take home with you. While it may seem daunting, the process is simple yet satisfying. Muroi will walk you through every step, from mashing soybeans into a soft paste with a grinder to patting together small balls to pack into the miso container, where it will ferment. 

Making balls out of mashed soybeans combined with rice koji and salt

During all of this, savor the textures and fragrances of the ingredients specially selected by Muroi for their quality, like the organic Sato Irazu soybeans produced in Uonuma, Niigata, known for their soft but rich flavor, and traditionally cultivated koji from Yamagata combined with organic Sawa no Hana rice grown exclusively for farmers.  

With so few components in miso, good quality ingredients are vital

You can also add a special touch to your miso by taking it home in an Akita cedar miso oke tub, meticulously crafted with traditional techniques by a dwindling number of artisans. Not only is the tub beautiful with its fine grain and pleasing shape, but the wood also contributes a gentle scent that complements miso, making it a souvenir you’ll want to use again and again. 

Akita cedar enhances both the appearance and scent of your miso

Please note that this tub is only for guests making miso and availability cannot be guaranteed. Request yours when booking this experience (22,000 yen per tub, to be paid on site). 

Discover Koji Culture by Mixing Your Own Salt and Shoyu Koji

From June to October, become better acquainted with koji, one of the stars of the show. Use rice koji - rice inoculated with koji mold - to make shio (salt) koji and shoyu (soy sauce) koji, which you will bring home as a unique souvenir. 

Making shoyu koji by combining rice koji with soy sauce

Over the course of 10 days, the mixtures will ferment, softening into a porridge-like texture. The finished shio and shoyu koji are both perfect as a marinade to give meat and fish umami and a new depth of flavor, also tenderizing them thanks to enzymes that break down proteins and starches. 

Finished shoyu koji and shio koji

Incorporate Miso into Soup and Much More

Finally, expand your culinary horizons with a cooking session led by Muroi, who hopes that more people will appreciate miso’s magic touch beyond soup and ramen. Spread, mix, marinate, dip; the possibilities are endless. 

Making miso soup, a fundamental part of Japanese cuisine

Under her guidance, try cooking miso with a variety of ingredients to create a wholesome meal, beginning with miso soup. Of course, you’ll also have the chance to enjoy your freshly prepared meal, during which Muroi is happy to chat and answer questions, from the intricacies of how miso’s made to ways you can use it effectively in your home cuisine. You’ll even be able to take more of her expertise back to your kitchen with another gift: some of her very own recipes.

Work together with Muroi to create a wholesome meal using miso in many different ways (photo for reference only)

Take Home More Than a Container of Miso

Whether you’re a beginner or a koji connoisseur, this experience offers not just a physical souvenir, but also countless valuable insights into the world of miso with a true expert. Muroi’s greatest wish is for every guest to fall in love with miso and its many qualities: health benefits, long shelf life, and of course, its deliciously full-bodied flavor. Let her passion inspire you to incorporate miso into your own life. 

Reap the benefits of eight generations of miso making knowledge