Maruya Hatcho Miso — Attraction in Okazaki

There are 2 miso factories in the area if i'm not wrong but i chose this as it's closer to the train station and gut feel i guess.. But i did not regret one bit of visiting this factory!

My mom and i were incredibly blessed that even though we went "unannounced" and hence did not know there's no English-speaking guide, there was a group of Taiwanese tourists who were on their way to the same place. So the staff whom i spoke to earlier told me there's only a Jap-speaking guide in the next time slot, came up to me to ask if I could speak Mandarin and if so i could join the tour group instead, which my mom and I did.

What happened was: the President of the company was supposed to receive the Taiwanese tourists, who had a tour guide who's bilingual in Mandarin and Jap. But because the group was late due to traffic, the President came up to chat with my mom and me while waiting for the Taiwanese. He's very personable, and someone who takes pride in his work and community-centric in the sense that he believes in enriching the community he's in - just on that I will salute to him because it's not common for someone who cares about his community when you have a biz to take care of these days. I suppose this is the beauty of family-biz too.

Anyway we chatted on a personal level, which I was rather surprised because where i came from, we don't really talk to people whom we first meet about our thoughts, ambitions or hopes for the future. Yes President is aged, but he speaks very good English as he used to live in Germany when he was in his 20s. He gave us a tour of his miso factory after the Taiwanese group came; and even after they left, he continued to chat with my mom and I for close to an hour. Yes we were behind schedule for our next sightseeing spot that day but I was not upset at all. It was time well-spent.

Why am i telling you so much about this encounter? Because it's the first time i sense the owner of a place sees us as more than just customers or tourists to be "trapped" but shared with me so much about his close to 50 years of experience in the company which was passed down by his parents - his pain, his journey, him picking himself up and his resolution to make the community around this factory a better place.

FYI he was awarded an award just last month - first fermentation master in Japan (if i don't remember or understand him wrongly). This is a level above just any fermented produce/products like miso or wine or pickles etc. So this is very commendable and I'm so glad that his hard work has paid off.

I hope more people will come to appreciate the traditions which his ancestors have held on to and continued till this date.

I seriously didn't expect such a reception from such a small place but when you realise what you're buying/eating is safe because it's so close to farm and organic because of the person who's doing it is so convicted to his products and wanting only the best for his customers, even if it means he might have lost the mass market share, you want to help him. Simply because he has integrity and has a strong backbone (if you know some of his stories guarding his miso).

This is one of the most memorable experiences i have had in my travels in my entire life.

There may be many red miso in the mkt using his name or his region's name but his and his neighbour (there's another miso company close to his) are the real McCoys (according to the President and i have no reason to doubt). So pls try to support if you can! Moreover it was an eye-opening and very educational tour for us!...

We are very privileged to see one of Japan's oldest miso factory, and to understand the miso making process.

We wish to thank the company and staff for doing their best to explain to us in English. We also want to appreciate one of the staff, Hana, for going out of her way to make us welcome, as we speak limited Japanese. As an appreciation, we took a picture with her and converted to anime picture. We hope she likes it.

We are still enjoying the products from Hatcho and hope we can visit again. However regret that a star was lost because we got a lady guide who was quite sarcastic to non-Japanese guests during the...

I debated between this place and the neighboring Kakukyu, but I’m glad I chose this one. It felt more homey and hospitable. There were only six of us on the tour (offered every 30 minutes), and the guide was excellent, walking us through their factory and the very traditional process of making their special Hacho miso.

The tour is free and includes a tasting of miso dengaku and a small souvenir miso at the end. Highly recommended if you’re interested in traditional Japanese food production!

Note: The tour is conducted only...