Private day trip · Day trip from Tokyo
Chiba: Koji, Soy Sauce & Sake Brewery Customizable Tour
Soy sauce, sake and miso are all made by the same microscopic mould. Spend a day in Chiba following koji through three different producers, and taste what it does to each one.
Private · your group only◆10 hours◆Up to 6 guests◆Pickup included
Road-day snapshot
This is your private tour, so the route is flexible: tell us if you want to skip a stop, stay longer somewhere or add a place nearby.
The experience
A private journey, thoughtfully paced
Japanese food has a secret ingredient and it is a fungus.
Aspergillus oryzae – koji in Japanese – is a mould that Japan domesticated. Grown on steamed rice or soy beans, it produces enzymes that break starch into sugar and protein into amino acids. Those sugars feed the yeast that makes sake. Those amino acids are what your tongue reads as savoury depth. Soy sauce, miso, mirin, rice vinegar, sake and shochu all start with it. Japan named it the national fungus.
Nobody explains this to you when you eat. This day does, by taking you to three places where the same organism is doing three different jobs.
Chiba is where to do it. The Noda and Choshi area has been making soy sauce at scale since the Edo period because it had the soy, the wheat, the salt and the rivers to move it, and the breweries are still there.
We start at a soy sauce brewery: the koji room, the great cedar vats, the smell that gets into your clothes, and a tasting where you compare a mass-market bottle with a two-year barrel-aged one and discover they are not really the same product. Then a sake brewery, where the same mould is used for the opposite purpose – sugar for the yeast rather than savour for the tongue – and you taste the difference between a rice polished a little and a rice polished a lot.
Then the wet senbei. Choshi's nure-senbei is a rice cracker that is dipped in soy sauce while still hot, so it comes out soft instead of crisp, which horrifies people who think they know what a rice cracker is. You eat one fresh off the grill, which is the only way it is any good.
By the end you have followed one organism from a wooden tray of rice through to something in your hand, and you will read a Japanese label differently for the rest of your trip.
Brewery tours depend on the producers' own schedules and some do not run on weekends or during peak production. We confirm your date with them in advance. If a brewery cannot take us on your date you can take a full refund of your booking, guaranteed, or we substitute another producer of the same kind, but only if you prefer that.
Your private van, driver-guide and the whole day are yours alone. No other customers join. Pickup and drop-off anywhere in Tokyo's 23 wards.
Choose with confidence
Is this the right journey for your group?
Excellent fit if
- One mould, three producers: soy sauce, sake and wet senbei
- See the koji room where the mould is grown on rice
- Taste a supermarket soy sauce against a barrel-aged one
- Eat Choshi wet senbei straight off the grill, still soft
- Learn why Japan named a fungus its national microbe
Said plainly
Brewery visits depend on the producers' own schedules and some do not run on weekends or in peak production. We confirm your date and tell you before the tour. If a brewery cannot take us on your date, you can take a full refund, guaranteed. We can substitute another producer of the same kind, but only if you prefer that. The brewery visits and all tastings are included in your tour price. Nothing to pay on the day for them. Sake tasting is for adults only. There is no problem at all if you do not drink alcohol - tell us and the sake brewery visit stays a visit, with the soy sauce and senbei tasting unaffected. Breweries have wet floors, high steps and strong smells. Closed shoes are needed. Some rooms are not step-free. Soy sauce and senbei contain wheat and soy. Tell us about any allergy before the tour. Photography inside koji rooms is sometimes not allowed, to protect the culture. Your guide will tell you where. Lunch is not included, about 1,500 yen per person.
Your day
Suggested itinerary
Times are approximate. Your driver-guide adjusts the order for traffic, weather, opening hours and the best light.
One mould, three producers: soy sauce, sake and wet senbei
See the koji room where the mould is grown on rice
Taste a supermarket soy sauce against a barrel-aged one
Eat Choshi wet senbei straight off the grill, still soft
Learn why Japan named a fungus its national microbe
What is covered
What you see is what you pay
Ours — included
- Private air-conditioned van for your group only
- English, Hindi or Urdu speaking driver-guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off within Tokyo's 23 wards
- Fuel, expressway tolls and parking
- Bottled water
- Soy sauce brewery visit and tasting
- Sake brewery visit and tasting
- Wet senbei grilled fresh at the shop
- Route planning and local advice for the whole day
Yours — paid on the day
- Lunch and other food, except the bottled water and the tastings we provide
- Bottles or gifts you choose to buy at the breweries
- Gratuities - never expected, never required
Good to know
Before you book
Languages
English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi
Pickup
Pickup and drop-off at your Tokyo hotel or accommodation (23 wards).
Group and vehicle
Private for up to 6 guests. Enter adults, children, infants and child seats separately at booking.
Dietary and mobility needs
Halal, vegetarian, allergy, walking or other practical requests go in your booking notes and are planned before the day.
Questions
Frequently asked
Can we change the route on the day?
Yes. It is a private tour in our own van, so your driver-guide can skip, extend or add stops where time allows.
Is the price per person?
No. The price is for your whole private group of up to 6 people, including the van, fuel, tolls, parking and your driver-guide.
What is the cancellation policy?
Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for an automatic full refund to the original payment method. Within 24 hours, contact us directly so we can help. If a typhoon or official weather warning stops the trip, we offer a new date or a full refund. For a GetYourGuide booking, the terms shown on that booking apply.
Somewhere else in mind?
Any destination in Japan
If this route is not exactly what you need, tell us the destination, dates and group. We confirm the plan and the exact price before any payment is taken.
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From¥88,000
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