Discover a Heritage of Fermentation on Shodoshima: Soy Sauce Brewery Tour and Tasting

Discovering the Legacy of One of Japan’s Leading Soy Sauce Regions: Shodoshima

Rising from the Seto Inland Sea, Shodoshima enjoys a warm, temperate climate with comparatively less rainfall. Its eastern side is blessed with a natural harbor and has long served as a maritime hub connecting regions across Japan. Soy sauce production on the island began about four centuries ago. Originally known for salt production, islanders sought to diversify into new industries after the market for salt became oversaturated with supply. In the process, they developed a fermented seasoning then considered a mere precursor to miso. Over time, this gradually evolved into the soy sauce loved and enjoyed the world over today.

Because the island’s rice agriculture was limited, soybeans and wheat brought by ship became staple resources, utilized to develop shelf-stable, highly preservable umami-rich seasoning. The mild climate of the Seto Inland Sea proved ideal for fermentation, allowing soy sauce brewing to flourish as a sustainable industry. This fermentation-centric food culture continues to this day on the island, nurtured by nature and human ingenuity alike.

Your Guides to Understanding Soy Sauce: Sommelier and Chef

The two guides for this experience are Keiko “Kelly” Kuroshima, Japan’s first soy sauce sommelier, and Hitoshi Kishimoto, head chef of the restaurant Koyomi and a noted culinary ambassador of Shodoshima. Kuroshima is a native daughter of the Hishio-no-Sato soy sauce district, born and raised, and she is deeply familiar with all of the island’s 17 breweries. She is also a licensed Shoyu Kanno Kensa-in (literally: “Soy Sauce Sensory Evaluator” – the equivalent of a licensed sommelier for soy sauce), with certified expertise to assess the quality and grade of soy sauces. As a professional evaluator, she analyzes differences in production methods and flavor profiles across Japan to evaluate each soy variety’s individual quality.

Kishimoto is a fellow Shodoshima native and a chef who makes it his business to research and innovate on dishes that combine local produce with soy sauce to bring out the best in both.

After touring the breweries guided by Kuroshima (or on occasion, Kishimoto), head to restaurant Koyomi for a talk, tasting session, and lunch. Using their own original explanatory materials, these guides explain differences in production methods and their effects on flavor and aroma, along with professional tips for harnessing the qualities of each type of soy sauce. Discover the profound depths of soy sauce that can only be understood by visiting its birthplace.

Where it All Begins: A Crash Course in Soy Sauce at the Marukin Museum

Hishio-no-Sato isn’t just the “soy sauce district” of Shodoshima by coincidence – this fact is intrinsically bound up in the identity of the area. The first half of the district’s name, “Hishio,” refers to the ancient fermented seasoning from which modern soy sauce is believed to have evolved – and the “no-Sato” part of the district’s name means “Village of.” It is an area lined with soy sauce breweries and production plants of tsukudani (processed foods produced by simmering in soy sauce). First, pay a visit to Marukin Soy Sauce – one of Japan’s five major soy sauce manufacturers– and visit the brewery’s soy sauce museum. Through exhibits here, visitors can learn all about the basic production process and how soy sauce has become so deeply embedded in the cuisine of Japan.

With newfound knowledge of soy sauce’s history and production process, tour Marukin’s wood barrel brewery – the largest stock of wooden soy sauce fermentation and aging barrels in Japan. Today, wooden-barrel production accounts for a single-digit percentage of domestic output, owing to the complex labor- and time-intensive process required to manage the natural yeast in them. Despite incorporating modern techniques, Marukin continues to preserve brewing traditions that have remained unchanged for over a century.

The Craft Philosophy of Shokin Soy Sauce

Move next to Shokin Soy Sauce, one of Hishio-no-Sato’s most iconic traditional breweries. Shokin uses wooden barrels and patiently nurtures its soy sauce over extended periods. Soy sauce requires over a year of fermentation and aging, during which seasonal temperature changes, along with the action of koji mold, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast, gradually refine its flavor to perfection.

Kuroshima has great praise for Shokin: “Shokin’s brewery is meticulously maintained and incredibly clean. Even the nearly 100-year-old wooden barrels are carefully tended every day to ensure the culture contains no unwelcome bacteria.” Wooden-barrel brewing reflects the living relationship that artisans develop with the invisible microorganisms they depend upon – a relationship that determines the resulting flavor, aroma, and finish. In this sense, soy sauce is raised, not made. Seeing the process firsthand is the best way to understand this.

Savoring the Five Tastes of Soy Sauce at a Local Restaurant

The brewery tours are followed with a tasting and lunch at restaurant Koyomi. Enjoy a talk on Japan’s main varieties of soy sauce before a comparative tasting of three varieties produced here on Shodoshima. Alongside the tasting, sample dishes prepared with each type of soy sauce, relishing the subtle differences in aroma and umami balance. With guidance from the sommelier or chef, discover how each soy sauce complements its fellow ingredients in a dish differently.

And of course, you can savor a variety of dishes crafted with soy sauce during the lunch course. Chef Kishimoto explains that soy sauce is not merely for adding flavor, but fundamental for determining the “fulcrum” of a dish. “In a course meal, I blend about five types of soy sauce to balance saltiness, sweetness, umami, aroma, and richness, and I design each dish so that the aroma of the soy sauce crescendos as it passes through the throat.” That’s why Kishimoto’s dishes are perfect for illustrating the delicate balance of flavors that Japanese cuisine is built upon.

Culinary and Cultural Insights through Soy Sauce

This Shodoshima soy sauce experience offers deep insights into the cuisine of Japan through traditional brewery tours, expert commentary, and indispensable experiential education that is tasting. Through the aroma of fermentation and the atmosphere of brewery-lined streets – and the passion of soy sauce artisans – it becomes undeniably evident that soy sauce production on Shodoshima is not only a proud industry, but also a cherished cultural legacy.

Tasting and pairing also reveal the central role soy sauce plays in the cuisine of Japan, and the power of its variations to transform the character of a dish. While mass production has standardized many flavors, Shodoshima continues to artisanally craft distinctive soy sauces with time and care. Visit for yourself, and discover the story of soy sauce as it can be told nowhere else.

*If opting for an afternoon start, the experience begins with a tasting and lunch at Koyomi, with the brewery visits coming after.