Kamebishiya

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Kamebishisoy sauceHiketasince 1753mushiro-koji

Kagawa · Higashikagawa

34.2285°N, 134.4036°E

Kamebishiya isn't trying to be a destination restaurant, which is exactly why it's worth the detour.

Kamebishiya has brewed soy sauce in Hiketa since 1753 and is the only maker in Japan still using the mushiro-koji method — culturing the koji mould on woven straw mats laid out in a room, rather than in the mechanically turned drums the industry moved to. The room is kept at the right temperature by opening and closing it, and the mats are turned by hand.

What comes out of it is aged in cedar vats for anywhere from two to twenty years, which is why the darkest of their products is close to black and tastes more of dried fruit than of salt. The buildings are the original brewery with red-ochre lattice fronts, on the Hiketa street three minutes from Izutsu Yashiki, and there is a shop and an udon restaurant using the sauce.

What to know before you go

When to go

Year-round

Serving hours

Set by the business — confirm before travelling

Closed: Confirm rest days before travelling

Time to allow

45–60 minutes

Cost

Free to enter the shop | Products priced individually | Brewery viewing by arrangement

Finding the spot

Directions

Hiketa 2174, Higashikagawa, about a short walk from Sanshu Izutsu Yashiki and a short walk from Hiketa Station on the JR Kotoku Line. A shop and an udon restaurant operate on the premises. Opening hours and rest days are set by the business — confirm before travelling, and arrange brewery viewing in advance.

Beyond the guidebook

**Ask about seeing the koji room.** The straw-mat method is the reason this brewery matters and viewing needs arranging rather than assuming. **Buy the long-aged one.** Two to twenty years in cedar. The oldest is nearly black and tastes of dried fruit — nothing like supermarket soy sauce and priced accordingly. **Eat at the udon restaurant.** On the premises, using their own sauce, which is the cheapest way to taste the difference. **It is the last one.** Every other producer in Japan moved to mechanical koji drums. That is a statement about industrial history as much as about flavour. **Three minutes from Izutsu Yashiki.** The two Hiketa sites are effectively one visit and both are on the same short street.

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