Mizkan Museum ミツカンミュージアム 半田市
Vinegar, along with sake came to Japan in the 5th century. Handa on the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture boasts both sake and vinegar museums.
Vinegar
Vinegar was first produced from rice but in the early 19th century, the founder of the Mizkan vinegar company, Matazaenon Nakano, discovered a way to make vinegar from sake lees, a by-product of sake brewing.
Sake
Sake was already produced in Handa, a small town on the east coast of the Chita Peninsula, south of Nagoya city, so raw materials were in abundance.
The Mizkan Museum (previously the “Su-no-sato” Vinegar Museum) is located in one of the large, black, wooden buildings that make up Mizkan’s present-day production facility.
A visit to the museum is free and consists of a 30-minute video on the history and health benefits of vinegar (it reduces cholesterol) and then a 30-minute tour of the museum, which displays the manufacturing process used in the Edo Period and that in use today.
Vinegar was used in making nigiri sushi (hand rolled sushi), which was beginning to become popular in Edo (Tokyo). Edo-period sushi was about three times bigger than contemporary sushi and was sold at stalls to customers who ate it standing up or on the go. Nakano’s vinegar was transported by the boat-load up to Edo, guaranteeing the fortune of the family business and launching an international condiment conglomerate in the process.
The museum consists of 5 zones two of which can be entered without a guide (300 yen). The other zones can be visited as part of a tour (500 yen). Reservations for all visits must be made online (mizkan.co.jp/mim)
Mizkan Museum
2-6 Nakamura-cho
Handa-shi
475-8585
Tel: 0569 24 5111
Hours 9.30 am to 5 pm; closed Thursdays
Kunizakari Sake Museum Handa 国盛り、酒の文化館
Just across the road from the Mizkan Museum in Handa is the Kunizakari Sake Museum. The two liquids are historically Handa’s biggest exports and have an intimate connection as vinegar can be made from sake lees – a by-product of sake production.
The Kunizakari Sake Museum is free to enter and includes a guided tour of the building with exhibits of historic implements used in sake brewing and an explanation of the production process, a video promoting sake as an essential ingredient of Japanese culture and the best bit – a sake tasting session.
The museum is housed in a 200-year-old building and sake has been brewed on the premises since 1972.
A cedar ball or sugidama is hung outside the building and is replaced each autumn when the first sake of the year is produced.
Nishihon-machi 2-24
Handa-shi
475-8585
Tel: 0569 23 1499
www: nakanoshuzou.jp
Access
Both museums are a short walk east from either Meitetsu Chitahanda Station or JR Handa Station. Take a JR or Meitetsu train from Nagoya Station.