Private Soy Sauce Workshop and Factory Tour in Historic Kakegawa, Shizuoka

Step inside a working soy sauce brewery where time is measured in decades, not days. In Kakegawa, Shizuoka, this family-run brewery, founded in 1795, continues to produce soy sauce using wooden barrels, some over 100 years old, preserving a method now rare in Japan. Your visit begins with a guided tour through the brewery. As you move through the space, you will see how soy sauce is slowly fermented using techniques passed down through generations. The scent of aging wood and fermenting ingredients fills the air, offering a quiet sense of how deeply rooted this craft is. Staff explains the process in clear, approachable terms, helping you understand how flavor develops over time. After the tour, you will take part in two hands-on workshops. The first introduces soy sauce koji, an essential element in fermentation. You will mix your own batch using the brewery’s soy sauce, creating something personal to take home. Next, you will experience the shibori process, where fresh soy sauce is carefully filtered. Using simple tools, you will press and bottle your own raw soy sauce, gaining a closer look at a step rarely seen outside production. During the session, you will also taste three different types of soy sauce, each with its own depth and character. Staff will explain how each one is traditionally used, offering insight into how soy sauce complements different dishes, even though food is not served during the experience. This is a quiet, hands-on experience that connects you to a long-standing tradition. With the brewery scheduled to close temporarily for renovations after February 2026, it is a rare opportunity to visit a place where history continues to shape every drop.