Marukin Soy Sauce Museum

It is a beautiful place full of aroma and history. You need to pay a small fee to enter the museum but you’ll find plenty of informations on the soy sauce factory process inside. Worth a visit if you’re in the neighbourhood. The soft serve could be a tiny bit more flavourful ! If you visit when there is a tourist bus incoming, it can be crowded inside.

Here, Moromi is presented as the true essence of soy sauce. It is not just a detail. The heart. The explanation is straightforward. If this stage is not handled carefully, all the previous steps become meaningless. Even high-quality soybeans and wheat cannot compensate for this. Moromi is presented as a living entity. Koji and salt water are combined and left to work slowly and relentlessly. It is thick, unsettled and full of movement. It becomes clear how much is decided during this time. Flavour. Aroma. Colour. Almost all of it. The museum makes you realise that soy sauce is not just about the ingredients. It is made through balance. Temperature. Stirring. It is made by the quiet judgement of people who can read the bubbles, smell and texture. Here, soybeans and wheat cease to be mere raw materials. They are transformed into something entirely different. A concentrated form of depth. After walking through this place, soy sauce no longer feels simple. You realise that there are no worthwhile shortcuts. This understanding stays with you.

We were disappointed in this museum. There is no interactivity at all, just exhibition items. We were hoping to be able to see the soy sauce production but there is nothing like that here. The soy sauce soft serve ice cream was tasty tho.

Did not enter for the museum but paid for soy sauce ice cream. It was alright. It isn't that salty. Not a ice cream fan but would try it again.

Short and simple museum, but very good value as you get a complimentary bottle of soy sauce plus 100¥ discount for the shop. The soft serve soy sauce ice cream is really good. Worth walking up the road to the nearby sake brewery and bakery, they're really good.

Nice to stop by if you are in the island - it’s interesting to know how soy sauce has been made in old days. Soy sauce ice cream is sold at the small shop next to the museum which seems to be more popular than the museum itself. Some souvenirs are also available. Free parking available and the whole area smells like soy sauce.

A great way to find out how soy sauce is made! In the museum there were English explanations under the Japanese, so even though I can read kanji fairly well I felt like I understood the process better 😉 We couldn’t tour the factory but we did see the vats of beans and malt percolating. And the smell was something else!!

Learned a lot about soy sauce in this museum! Good smell everywhere and delicious soy sauce ice cream is a must for the visit:)