Ippon-yari Squid and Omachi Shoyu

Fresh ipponyari goes well with soy sauce from Kyushu

About 10 minutes by car from Ashiya Port, we arrive in Takenami in the Wakamatsu district of Kitakyushu. It is an agricultural area surrounded by lush green fields. No one would suspect that a sake brewery was here, but a small road between two fields leads to a signboard that reads, “Omachi Shoyu.” Coming out to greet us is the head of Omachi Shoten, Masakazu Omachi.

“My great-grandfather founded the brewery in 1897 in anticipation of the coal mining boom, not far from what is today the Wakato Bridge,” says Omachi. The walls of his office are filled with award certificates from associations that judge soy sauce, with the earliest dating back to the Taisho era (1912–1926). “Our soy sauce has always been rooted in the community. Much of our product is used by local restaurants and has been for generations,” he says. We actually found out about the brewery from a restaurant in Ashiyamachi that has been using Omachi Shoyu for 70 years—Ajidokoro Daimaru. Owner Daiki Miyazaki said, “I use what my father did—Wakamurasaki from Omachi Shoyu.”

Miyazaki continued, “Omachi Shoyu has a smooth taste with a mildly salty edge. The salt content is low, so the umami and distinctive aroma come through. That’s Kyushu soy sauce.”

Omachi gave us a tour of the brewery. It is commonly known that a soy sauce brewery will have good bacteria in the air, such as lactic bacteria and yeast. Here, the walls and ceiling are black with the positive signs of fermentation. In fact, a rich, full-bodied shoyu aroma permeates the entire brewery.

Kyushu soy sauce in general is less salty and has both sweetness and umami flavor. Subtle differences in the balance make each brewer’s products distinctive. The soy sauce goes very well with freshly caught seafood such as ipponyari squid in how the sweetness and umami mesh with the tasty flesh. But in addition to sashimi, it is well worth trying Kyushu soy sauce to make delicious marinated and simmered dishes.