Okazaki, birthplace of Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyota, a manufacturing mecca: A taste test between different traditional bean misos

This miso theme park brings together a miso factory, museum, store, and restaurant. Guided tours are available every hour, or every 30 minutes on weekends and national holidays, and offer a look at the museum’s displays reproducing the production processes of miso and the factory itself. One thing you definitely need to see are the nearly two-meter-tall and wide wooden vats which age the miso for more than two years through natural fermentation, creating a rich umami and refreshing acidity.
After your tour, satiate your hunger with udon noodles in a miso stew or a miso cutlet set lunch, available in limited numbers, as well as other local Aichi foods using bean miso.

Maruya Hatcho Miso is a long-standing miso producer with miso factories and warehouses lining the historic Tokaido Road running through Hatcho Town, Okazaki City. Using traditional bean miso production methods, it mixes only soybeans with salt as ingredients and ages each batch through natural fermentation over the span of two winters and two summers.
Tours through a storehouse used since the latter half of the Edo period (1603–1868) take place every 30 minutes and offer a glimpse of wooden vats nearly two meters tall and wide laden with conical piles over the lid as weights—something you’ll only see in a Hatcho Town miso factory!
Finding yourself a bit hungry after the tour? No problem. Taste konjak gelatin covered in the facility’s famous miso sauce and purchase Hatcho Miso, red miso, and deep-fried dough with a miso flavor.

These facilities make use of the former Okazaki Castle ruins. Okazaki Castle reopened in 2023 after restoration work, now offering digital displays and video to relay the allure of Okazaki Castle as well as its history and culture. For history buffs, the Iyeyasu and Mikawa Bushi Museum cannot be missed. Explore the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu (alternatively written as “Iyeyasu”) and the warriors, or “bushi”, which supported him via historical materials and a diorama theater.
If you begin to feel a bit tired, make a stop at the Kisho-an and Nanjo-tei Teahouses inside the park’s Japanese garden. On weekends only, you can enjoy an Ieyasu Roll garnished with Ieyasu’s hollylock family crest in addition to the normally available matcha green tea and Japanese confections.

Famous Toyota Municipal Museum of Art is regarded as architect Yoshio Taniguchi’s most shining masterpiece, just like the works of art it contains. The museum boasts a collection of artworks and designs mainly from the 20th century while also hosting distinct and unique rotating exhibits.
Just to the north of the art museum is Toyota City Museum, opened in 2024. This complex communicates the history, culture, and industry of the greater Toyota area. The impressive structure with an expansive wooden roof was designed by internationally active architect Shigeru Ban and acts as the perfect complement to the art museum next door.

Maruka Brewing lies in Toyota City’s natural farmland, where for four generations, it has produced miso, tamari soy sauce, and pickles. The directly operated cafe Haccosido opened in 2022 allows you to easily enjoy the miracle that is fermented foods. The lunch’s rich variety of items using lots of fermented ingredients such as tamari soy sauce, miso, pickles, and salted koji are raved about and definitely worth a taste.
From 8:00 am, rice steamed in an earthenware pot, pork broth soup, and side dishes come together as a morning combo, perfect for anyone looking to get an early start on the day.

Since the Noda Miso’s foundation, it has continued to produce rich miso through natural fermentation and aged in wooden vats for more than 18 months. A directly owned shop stands next to the factory, selling ten rare, fresh varieties of miso taken directly from the vats.
On the third Saturday of each month, the Miso School is held, letting you make your own miso with craftsmen inside the miso factory. What’s more, you can see the wooden vats and other aspects alive and well since the Edo period normally unavailable to the public.