Fermentation Experience at Japan’s Fermentation Theme Park
Nov 12,2020
Nov 12,2020
OH!!! ~Fermentation, Health, Food Magic~, a fermentation theme park, opened in Hanno, Saitama, in October 2020. Located at the foot of Mt. Tenran and within the grounds of the Nonin-ji Temple, the spacious park encompasses some 9,900 square meters. Its concept is to offer fermentation experiences so amazing that visitors will exclaim ‘Oh!’ as they enjoy the magic of food.
Naturally, we had to visit this fermentation theme park, where you can taste, learn about, and experience the power of fermentation, all while surrounded by lush nature.
The Pickles Corporation, a pickles producer, is the company behind OH!!! ~Fermentation, Health, Food Magic~. The OH!!! idea was to showcase a lifestyle that blends Japan’s traditional fermented foods with modern-day living.
While the company refined the concept, the spacious verdant grounds of the Nonin-ji Temple became available. The company decided to build the park here, deeming the city of Hanno, which declared itself a Forest Culture City, and the solemn and tranquil atmosphere of Nonin-ji Temple and its over 500 years of history an ideal setting for a fermentation theme park. Onaka Shinji, president of OH Corporation, the park’s operator, happily tells us that “fermented foods are truly food magic”.
“I love fermented foods,” says Onaka Shinji, president of OH Corporation
“The power of microorganisms enriches the umami flavor, sweetness, and aroma of ingredients as well as lengthens their shelf life. The fermented foods that people have developed over centuries are also gaining attention because they increase the nutritional value of food and aid digestion as well as improve gut health and boost the immune system.
At our park, we want visitors to experience first-hand the charms of fermented foods that are both delicious and promote good health, and to have them discover surprises and wonders like ‘I never knew this was also a fermented food’ or ‘Fermentation makes food taste this much better’.”
The park includes restaurants and cafés that focus on fermented food as well as workshops and other events where visitors can try their hand at making their own fermented foods. The emphasis on experiences is a point of differentiation at the OH!!! theme park.
“Fermented foods such as pickles, miso, and soy sauce are widely available at supermarkets and other places. But for our park, we wanted people to do more than simply buy and eat fermented foods. When people understand the processes behind how these foods are made, they can better appreciate just how amazing fermentation is. Based on this idea, we are planning many workshops where visitors can learn about fermentation using all five senses. We would be thrilled if the park helps bring fermented foods closer to people. We want to communicate the awesomeness of fermented foods from here in Hanno to the world.”
OH!!! includes fermentation-themed restaurants and cafés as well as specialty boutique that sells a well-curated selection of fermented foods from around the country.
Femy is a restaurant with a unique combination of wood-fired cooking and fermentation. Its wood-fired ovens use wood from trees felled to thin out forests in the local Hanno area. Cooking over a wood flame lends a smoky aroma to grilled meat and fish, which are then served with fresh local vegetables in creative fermented dishes.
We spoke with the head chef, Kawai Mikio, about the restaurant’s concept and what makes it special.
“We take pride in making all our seasonings from scratch, such as our koji [rice malt] sauce used in dressings and desserts. One of the most popular is our original, richly flavored craft cola, which we formulated with fermentation as the central idea. This fermented drink is a blend of more than 20 spices and other ingredients, including ginger, vanilla, yuzu citrus from Chichibu, sudachi citrus peel, and kuromoji spicebush fruit. (The wood from kuromoji shrubs is also used to make toothpicks. It lends the drink a cool, refreshing sensation.) We recommend having the drink as a spritzer, mixing it with white wine and soda for example.”
Femy’s fridges are lined with seasonings and sauces made by the head chef
Femy’s original craft cola is refreshing even to look at
By incorporating traditional fermentation and aging methods with cooking techniques that bring out the full flavor of seasonal ingredients, the restaurant is gaining a reputation for serving delicious, comforting meals.
Kawai Mikio, head chef at Femy
The theme park also features the Piene Café, a fermentation-focused deli that offers many varieties of vegetable koji amazake [a sweet drink made from koji] that give you all the flavor of vegetables, lactic acid bacteria, and rice koji, and a specialty boutique with a carefully curated assortment of fermented foods from all regions of Japan.
The boutique has an area called the Hanno Marché that sells locally grown fresh vegetables and other specialties from Hanno. The large terrace is a space where you can relax and take in the lush greenery and seasonal vistas.
You can enjoy a wide variety of rich, colorful vegetable koji amazake drinks in the café
The specialty boutique has a vast assortment of delicious fermented foods from all over the country
The Pari-Shaki Laboratory [Crisp & Fresh Laboratory], housed in a traditional warehouse-style building, is where fermentation workshops and events are held. On our visit, we joined a workshop where we made our own gohan ga susumu kimchi, an original kimchi recipe designed to go perfectly with rice. Using factory-direct yannim (meaning mixed seasonings in Korean) as a base, workshop participants add seasonings to create their very own, one-of-a-kind kimchi.
You can customize your kimchi to suit your tastes
There are over 20 types of seasonings you can choose from, such as chili peppers for a spicier flavor, a pear-based paste to bring out a mellow sweetness, or shiokara [fermented fish viscera] to add more depth to the flavor. The workshop teaches you how to make kimchi while having fun, and you can take home your finished kimchi as a souvenir, complete with a photo label of yourself.
Other workshops planned include miso making, preparing nukadoko rice bran beds, and craft classes led by local artisans. The park is also working in collaboration with the adjoining Nonin-ji Temple to put on events combining zazen meditation and sutra-copying with fermented foods.
Ringed by trees, the park features a plaza and a pond, offering a relaxing, soul-soothing atmosphere even just for a stroll. A 15-minute walk takes you to the summit of Mt. Tenran, the symbol of Hanno, while Hanno Central Park lies just across the road and the Hanno riverbank a little further down, making the park an ideal spot for a weekend outing.
Fermentation is the wisdom of our Japanese ancestors that has been passed down for generations. At the park, you are sure to make new discoveries about fermented foods that will make you exclaim “Oh!”.