Fermentation, Forests and Waters - A Journey Into the Living Legacy of Tradition and Community in Shiga and Nara

Continue your exploration of the Lake Biwa waters and of its fermentation practices in the town of Nagahama at Happy Taro Brewery, famous for its innovative craft doburoku (cloudy sake) brewing. Here you can learn how Nagahama’s mineral-rich hard water is paired with local rice and koji (rice culture - cultivated in-house) to create a range of effervescent and delicious drinks.

A highlight is peering into the bubbling vats of doburoku mid-brewing - a chance to see up close the living microorganisms at the heart of fermentation at work, and to learn of the precise and delicate nature of this biological process.

Happy Taro Brewing is not just another brewery though - their primary product is craft doburoku, created by blending and combining a range of innovative flavors with the traditional base drink. As you sit down for a tasting session following your tour of the facility, you may encounter tastes of hoppy craft beer, cheese, and matcha tea as you progress through the four tastings.

Any journey into the fermentation culture of the Lake Biwa area would be incomplete without confronting the intriguing dish of funazushi - fermented lake carp having been layered in rice for months. This unique dish has been produced in the Lake Biwa region for more than 1,000 years and is considered an ancestor of today’s sushi (hence the zushi in the name), allowing locals to preserve excess food and sustain communities, many hundreds of years before the invention of refrigeration.

You can jump into the history and strong flavors of this polarizing dish through a Funazushi and Local Sake Pairing Experience, where you can sample three different varieties of funazushi, each beautifully presented and paired with an expertly-selected choice of local Shichihonyari sake to complement it. A master guide will explain the production process and how the sake pairings result in a balanced melody of flavors, moderating the bold flavours in the dish. Diving into this ancient dish will be an unforgettable lesson in culinary history.

Machiya are traditional wooden townhouses home to merchants and artisans in pre-modern Japan. In Nagahama’s historical district it is still possible to experience the heritage and history of these quaint houses at Nagahama Jouka Machiya Hotel. Restored to a supreme level of luxury using local material, staying in the Edo-era (1603 - 1868) machiya rooms of this hotel is like stepping back in time, all while enjoying modern comfort and amenities.

As you wind down after a big day of sightseeing, be sure to investigate one of the private saunas offered by the hotel, which are located in a historic storehouse and are scented with local herbs and tea to create a calming experience. In the morning, you can awaken to a breakfast celebrating Shiga’s rich food history: red konnyaku, local fish and the fluffy Omi rice.

Nabesho Shoten has brewed soy sauce for the residents of Nagahama since 1869 from its home in the historic district, forming a continuing part of the local community as a supplier for local households and restaurants. Step inside, and you will first be greeted by the scent of umami emanating from the gigantic barrels in which fermentation occurs. Unlike industrial-scale producers, Nabesho Shoten still benefits from the use of wooden barrels, both respecting traditional practices while also coaxing unique flavors into their products.

Soy sauce production may be an unfamiliar process for many, however by partaking in a tour of this humble brewery, this artisanal fermentation process will become clear. A highlight of this experience is the chance to compare and contrast four different varieties of soy sauce in a tasting session. You may discover that there is more to this staple seasoning than first assumed, with a range of unique flavour profiles ranging from the thin usuguchi suitable for dashi soups, to thicker koikuchi dark soy sauce. Find your favorite and pick up a bottle in the store to bring home - shopping like a Nagahama local.

Located on the north-east of Shiga Prefecture, connecting the foot of the Ibuki Mountains with the rich waters of Lake Biwa, is the quaint town of Kinomoto famous for its traditional industries. Joining Biwako Backroads’ walking tour of these old streets will allow you to discover local temples and see first-hand the rich heritage in local sake, soy sauce brewing and cuisine, with many multigenerational producers having roots extending back more than a hundred years.

The highlight of the tour is the experience of pairing local sake with a fermented food-based meal prepared by local “Hakkou okans.” Participants will learn about the appeal of fermented cuisine while preparing a delicious lunch using fresh local vegetables and enjoying a glass of local sake together.

Note: Due to the time of year, some of the experiences differ from the regular plan. For more details and application, please refer to their website.

Omi Hachiman’s canal-lined streets on the eastern side of Lake Biwa hold a rich range of fermentation traditions, as can be experienced at the Hori Cafe, which allows guests to participate in these traditions in a hands-on activity. This restaurant specializes in iizuke - a food preservation technique which utilizes local rice to ferment and sustainably preserve food such as fish, meat and vegetables. As part of this fermentation experience, participants are guided through the process of setting vegetables and a cut of the famous Omi Beef into the pre-cooked “ii” Omi rice, where they will ferment in naturally probiotic lactic acid bacteria. The Rice was originally discarded, but due to many nutritional values, it has gained popularity in recent years.

Following this experience and still at Hori Cafe, guests can also enjoy a lunch highlighting iizuke flavors of pickled rice, all while savoring the view of the beautiful Omi Hachiman canals from the terrace. This sustainable meal, made possible through utilizing excess rice which would have otherwise been discarded, represents the continued celebration of this fermentation tradition and the resilience of the practitioners who keep it alive today, and serves as the perfect embodiment of fermentation history in Lake Biwa.

Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword at Miroku Nara - it’s a key part of the design of this boutique hotel, part of The Share Hotels which are renowned for pursuing both environmental and cultural sustainability and to coexist with the community. The connection between Miroku Nara and Nara’s heritage is celebrated both inside and outside this majestic hotel - even the lobby incorporates segments of Edo-era Nara trees and overlooks parkland roaming with the famous wild deer of Nara, and features a remarkable table made from a single piece of Yoshino Cedar.

Guests who stay have the option of seven distinct configurations of room, each with its own creative character and atmosphere. For example, basement rooms utilize bare Yoshino cedar logs from Nara prefecture and a dark color scheme to create a unique natural, warm and earthen atmosphere, while the top-floor suites and mountain-view rooms embrace a bright feeling of spaciousness. Don’t leave without trying the beautiful breakfast, available in either western or Japanese styles, with each presented as if they are works of art themselves.

Washi (Japanese paper) is a widely utilized sustainable material with a long heritage, with applications across the arts, home design and many household items. The craftspeople at Yoshino’s Ue Washi Paper Studio are some of the few remaining guardians of this old industry, still preserving traditional production methods which have flourished and been preserved in Yoshino, Nara for more than 1,000 years.

The root of washi is in the kozo tree, which is remarkably transformed from stringy bark fibres into a strong material. The craftspeople of Ue Washi Paper Studio will show you each step of this multi-month process, which all takes place in their humble workshop. You can experience the final step of the process in-person - sweeping the fibres into a frame which is pressed and dried, creating a piece of Nara culture to take home. This opportunity to spend a day with some of the few remaining craftspeople and witness the connection between this product and the surrounding natural environment is a rare and precious opportunity which should not be missed.

Community sustainability is at the heart of Yoshino Cedar House, an accommodation and shared community space run by locals. Designed by Go Hasegawa in a collaboration with Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and created in 2017, this architecturally designed space is crafted from Yoshino cedar and cypress lumber - a showcase of the vibrant lumber industry which has supported Nara for hundreds of years. This synergy between technology and culture has revitalized the local community. You can see this industry in action by stepping into a Yoshino Chuo Sawmill, sustainably processing farmed cedar and cypress into the high-quality wood destined for Nara and beyond. As you are guided by a local through the grounds of this multigenerational business, you will be introduced to wood which forms the base of temples, houses and local businesses, and witness the efforts of the proud workers in keeping this community alive.

Yoshino is the perfect conclusion to this journey into the history, communities and traditional industries of Shiga and Nara prefectures. The wood from this saw mill itself is still today being used to produce soy sauce barrels, keeping alive the culture of fermentation which sustains these traditional communities.