Dashi Workshop and Katsuobushi Factory Tour in Makurazaki

Organized by Kuzuoka
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Highlights
Experience Details
Experience Location
Duration
2.5 hours
Number of Guests
2 - 5 guests
Accessibility
Family-friendly
Language
Japanese, English
Other
Pescetarian
Dashi soup stock is a crucial ingredient in Japanese cuisine. See how skipjack turns into katsuobushi (dried bonito) and then into dashi soup stock, during this dashi workshop and factory tour.
Highlights
Tour a katsuobushi factory in Makurazaki City, known as “Katsuo Town” and see how dried bonito is made
Join a dashi making workshop, where the dried katsuobushi is made into dashi soup stock
Taste different variations of dashi
Miso soup making experience
For each guest that attends this experience, byFood will donate
10 meals
Experience Details
Makurazaki City, located in sunny, sub-tropical Kagoshima, is famous as Japan’s main producer of katsuobushi, dried skipjack tuna. This ingredient is an essential component to dashi soup stock, which is found in a range of dishes from soba to okonomiyaki (savory pancakes). What seems like a very basic ingredient is actually the backbone of Japanese cuisine, and the production of katsuobushi is a long and laborious process. During this katsuobushi tour, visitors will see how skipjack tuna transforms into katsuobushi, an ingredient that curiously resembles a petrified piece of wood. The tuna is first cut and boiled, then the bones are individually removed by hand, it is smoked in a special chamber and sanded down, before being fermented and dried in the blazing sun. After this tour of the processing facilities, guests will go to the main store of the katsuobushi producer for a dashi workshop. Guests can get in on the action, shaving the katsuobushi by hand using a special grater, then see how dashi soup stock is made from it. There are different types of dashi, based on katsuobushi, kombu (kelp), shiitake mushrooms, or even a combination of the three. Visitors will get to try a couple different types of katsuobushi-based broths and taste the difference that small tweaks to the recipe can make. While katsuobushi is an ingredient that is rarely seen in Japanese cuisine (except atop a takoyaki or okonomiyaki, and sometimes, tofu), it is ever-present in a variety of dishes, especially soups and nimono (simmered dishes). Learn about this invisible ingredient which is essential in Japanese cuisine, and find out why it is such an important pantry item in kitchens across the nation.
Inclusions
Tour the katsuobushi factory
Dashi making class
Katsuobushi senbei
Souvenir: shaved katsuobushi to take home
Meeting Point and Meeting Time
The meeting point is Nakahara Suisan Makurazaki Dashi Main Office (中原水産(株) 本社) located 3 minutes on foot from Makurazaki Station
Remarks
Please be on time for this experience
Cancellation Policy
Cancel your booking at least 2 days before the experience start time to receive a full refund minus a 3.2% transaction fee. Guests who fail to cancel their booking after this cutoff time will be charged the full price of the experience. Read more about our terms of service.

Experience Location

Makurazaki is a port city in Kagoshima, located on the southernmost point of the Satsuman Hanto Peninsula. Known as “Katsuo Town,” the city is Japan’s highest producer of katsuobushi, dried and fermented skipjack tuna, which is one of the main ingredients of Japanese cuisine. Attractions include the Makurazakinagisa Host Spring and Hinokami Park which overlooks the East China Sea, and has a great view of Tategami-Iwa (literally, “Standing God Rock”) which locals say resembles a katsuobushi.
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2024
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Earliest available date: March 27, 2024
from
¥ 8,250
per guest
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Please note that the time is in Japan Standard Time.
Free cancellation (2 days notice)
For each guest that attends this experience, byFood will donate
10 meals