Nipponia Tawaramoto Maruto Shoyu

This place was truly a special experience. I came because of my love of fermentation and got way more than I could have imagined from it. We stayed for one night and enjoyed a lovely tour, dinner, and breakfast by the owner and learned all about soy sauce. He was clearly ready for us when we arrived, and he took great care in explaining the history and how soy sauce is made while giving us a tour of the grounds and our room. The room itself was quite private and cozy feeling. The whole neighborhood around it is also quiet and peaceful.

Super authentic place! The food was superb and their homemade soy sauces and soy salts (all made in their revived factory) are delicate and full of umami flavors. The hosts were lovely and we felt welcomed despite the slight language barrier, nothing that Google translate couldn’t solve though. This is a destination location. You are in the midst of a small town in the countryside. We loved the distance from the center since it was quiet. And far away from the crowds of tourists. They offer complementary electric bikes so visitors can ride around. We visited during the Sakura blossoms and we rode the bikes all the way to Todai-ji Daibutsuden the cherry trees made the ride special (it took about 80min in each direction- note that the battery won’t last all the way so be prepared to pedal part of the way and keep the assist power for the hills). As I said this place is unique because the soy factory has been in the same family for 18 generations!! There is a story behind the revival of the place. The owner gives tours in Japanese while non-Japanese speakers look at a translation on a tablet they provide. We highly recommend visiting this gem of a place for a one of a kind experience! Thank you for hosting us and feeding us great food.

One of the best hotel stay experience I ever had! Highly recommend all to book the dinner package along with the hotel stay. Dinner: Every single dish has their own soy sauce incorporated in it - from sashimi, to fish, vegetable, meat and even dessert. Room: So well maintained, no dusty corner and the fresh smell of tatami. No mouldy wood at the toilet.