MIM: The mizkan museum of Tradition and Digital Innovation
Apr 03,2025
Apr 03,2025
Open the refrigerator or kitchen cupboard in many households, and you’ll likely find products bearing the familiar Mizkan logo. And along the Handa Canal in Handa, Aichi, you can spot a row of buildings emblazoned with the Mizkan logo. Mizkan began making vinegar in Handa in 1804. Today, it’s home to the Mizkan headquarters, and nearby is the interactive Mizkan Museum (MIM), buzzing with visitors. We visited MIM, which reopened in March 2024 after a renovation and is acclaimed for its digital-driven exhibits that entertain both kids and adults.
The brewing industry has long thrived in Handa, Aichi. Numerous saké breweries and soy sauce brewing storehouses once lined the Handa Canal. Many historical buildings, as well as the waterscape with black-sided storehouses, are now preserved here. Mizkan’s headquarters and the MIM, which we visited for this article, are also located along the canal.
MIM curator Hibino Yoshihisa
On entering the museum, we were greeted by MIM curator Hibino Yoshihisa, our guide for the day. Before beginning our tour, we first installed the MIM app as suggested by Hibino. He explained that having this app would unlock various interactive experiences throughout the museum. Excited, we proceeded inside.
Installing the MIM app on your smartphone allows you to access various collectable images and information throughout the museum, giving it a sense of an orienteering adventure
The first area Hibino showed us was Earth’s Storehouse. The exhibits in this area highlight saké-lees vinegar production in the Edo period (1603 to 1868) as well as Mizkan’s dedication to vinegar making in modern brewing production.
The Earth’s Storehouse area shows how saké-lees vinegar used to be produced
“Mizkan was originally a saké brewery. In saké brewing, a lot of saké lees remain after the production process. Our founder, Nakano Matazaemon, began using the saké lees to make saké-lees vinegar (which is also known as red vinegar). In the 1800s, during the late Edo period, Edo [now Tokyo] experienced a huge sushi craze. Nakano went to Edo to promote and sell his vinegar as the perfect match for sushi, which ended up becoming the catalyst for hand-formed nigiri-zushi spreading nationwide.”
The first room in the Earth’s Storehouse area contains exhibits giving a real sense of how saké-lees vinegar was produced from saké-lees in the Edo period. Some of the beams, pillars, and tools on display were actually used back then.
“In the day, saké-lees vinegar production began by aging the saké lees for about three years. After three years of maturation, water was added to the saké lees to dissolve it into a thick paste. The paste was then poured into bags, laid into box-shaped presses, and squeezed tightly.”
A press from Edo times uses the mechanical advantage of levers to squeeze the saké lees
The liquid forced out of the saké lees still contained a significant amount of saké.
“The liquid was warmed to a temperature suitable for fermentation and poured into brewing vats. The vats would be about half full of vinegar from the previous batch that contained active living acetic acid bacteria. Adding the new liquid to the previous vinegar transformed all the liquid into vinegar over the course of a month. Afterward, the vinegar would be transferred to storage vats, where it would be aged for another two to three months to further mellow its flavor and aroma. Finally, the vinegar would be filtered and shipped.”
At the time, the sushi rice popular in Edo was seasoned with just rice vinegar and salt, as sugar had not yet become widespread among the populace. In this context, when Mizkan brought its saké-lees vinegar to Edo, it gained a sterling reputation for how well it went with sushi, because of its distinct umami flavor and sweetness.
Although Mizkan’s main vinegars these days are rice vinegars and grain vinegars, it continues to produce saké-lees vinegar. Known as red vinegar, it is preferred and used by some sushi restaurants.
Beneath the large vats lies a modern brewing facility. “Kids who peek inside often cry out in surprise,” says Hibino.
Mizkan still produces saké-lees vinegar today. On the day of our visit, we observed the state of the vinegar on its seventh day of fermentation. On display are Mitsuban Yamabuki, a re-creation of the original saké-lees vinegar from the founding era, and Senya, sold in limited quantities at MIM.
Further along the room, there is a section where visitors can try using the tools that were once used to produce vinegar.
Visitors can try lifting two buckets weighing a total of 15 kilograms (a third of their real weight)
There are also attractions where you can smell the aromas of various kinds of vinegars — such as saké-lees vinegar, grain vinegar, pure rice vinegar, black vinegar, and apple vinegar, as well as games that let you experience the vinegar-making process. While having fun vigorously moving your body following the directions on the screen, you unconsciously learn about vinegar’s ingredients and the role of acetic acid bacteria.
In this game, you grab ingredients like alcohol and acetic acid bacteria falling on the screen and place them in the brewing vat. Before you know it, you’ll be absorbed in trying to brew as much vinegar as possible within the time limit.
After passing through the Wind Corridor area, where you can learn about Handa’s history and festivals, we were guided to the Time Storehouse area, where an impressively large ship is on display.
“Brewing industries like saké and vinegar thrived in Handa, and the town also prospered through maritime trade. They used large wooden sailing ships called Bezaisen to transport goods all the way to Edo.”
Hibino then encouraged us to board the ship. As we stepped aboard, the lighting changed, and images projected onto a massive screen transported us back 200 years.
We experienced, through incredibly powerful visuals, the various hardships — rain, wind, and storms — people back then faced while transporting their precious cargo to Edo.
The sound, light, and real wind effects were truly spectacular
“Most goods were transported by commissioning shipping merchants, but Nakano Matazaemon went a step further and took co-ownership of several ships. This is a re-creation of one such vessel, the 310-koku capacity Bezaisen Fujinomiya Maru. [One koku is equivalent to about 180 liters.] A 310-koku capacity ship was about 20 meters long and weighed around 20 tons. It was a relatively small size for a Bezaisen ship, and this re-creation is nearly full-scale.”
The Bezaisen Fujinomiya Maru could carry about 600 barrels of vinegar. Converting that to today’s 500 ml size, it could transport roughly 90,000 bottles of vinegar.
“There once was a waterway in front of the museum that connected to the Handa Canal. Ships used to come right up to this point. Brewed vinegar and other goods were first loaded onto small boats and then transferred to Bezaisen ships waiting in the port for transport to Edo.”
A shipping ledger from the period, showing records of the vinegar brand name “Yamabuki”
There were numerous breweries along the Handa Canal at that time producing saké, vinegar, miso, soy sauce, and other products, and many ships were moored in the canal.
“The Handa Canal is said to be one of Japan’s three great canals. Thanks to this canal, various goods like saké, vinegar, miso, and soy sauce were transported from the Chita Peninsula to Edo.”
Trade with Edo turned Handa into quite the vibrant and energetic place. The Handa Canal remained in use until the 1950s.
The Time Storehouse area also showcases Mizkan’s history chronologically, spanning more than 220 years. Starting with saké and vinegar brewing, it illustrates how Mizkan, which now has expanded into a diverse range of products, faced an array of challenges and undergone various transformations throughout its history.
There was even a period when Mizkan brewed beer. The company also has a history of operating banks and fast-food restaurants.
Even Ajipon — a citrus-seasoned soy sauce, now Mizkan’s signature product, has its own history.
“Ajipon was first sold as a seasoning for hot pot dishes. In the Kansai region, hot pot dishes like mizutaki stew [made with plain water or light broth] were popular, providing a ready market for ponzu sauce. The Kanto region, however, lacked even the custom of eating mizutaki stew. To create demand, Mizkan sales reps would repeatedly go to markets early in the morning, cook mizutaki stews, and offer people tastings of Ajipon. To sell Ajipon, they first had to get people to understand how to eat it and experience its flavor. This sales promotion required tremendous effort.”
To make a product familiar to people, you must first get them to understand it, which begins with developing new eating habits. Like the pioneers who brought saké-lees vinegar to Edo during the Edo period, Mizkan’s history is the history of innovators. “I think Mizkan is a company that blends tradition with the new,” says Mr. Hibino. We couldn’t help but agree with him.
Ajipon remains beloved by many people today, thanks to fine adjustments to its packaging and taste over the years
After taking in beautiful images of seasonal nature and abundant food culture in the Water Theater area, we headed to the Garden of Light area. Here, you can learn about future delicious foods that are friendly for both people and the planet.
Time for a break. The drink bar serves various vinegar-based drinks.
One example is the newly created Sozo Factory [Imagination Factory] attraction, where you can learn about food loss through a fun experience. At the factory, you transform ingredients that might otherwise be wasted into delicious “foods of the future”.
The experience begins with getting a capsule at the entrance to the attraction, which builds excitement
On the day of our visit, a mom and her kids were enjoying the attraction with lots of loud, excited voices. She explained her kids had visited MIM before on a social studies field trip from elementary school. They had so much fun that they insisted the family come and play at the museum.
It seems that the museum’s message — about having fun interacting with food — is getting through to adults and kids alike.
Visitors create future foods using ingredients that might otherwise be thrown out. What will they make?
The Future Window shows how the future foods created in the Sozo Factory are delivered to the world of tomorrow. Using the app, you can capture the food you made on your smartphone.
Another popular section of the Garden of Light area lets you create your own Ajipon labels. Couples enjoy making labels together, while other people use the labels to create souvenirs for their grandparents.
After the final attraction, we bid farewell to our guide, Hibino. When we told him the experience was truly impressive and we understood now why so many visitors come, he replied, “It makes me truly happy to hear visitors say that they had fun.”
“We hope visitors come here and, through the game experiences and exhibits, grow more acquainted with vinegar and food culture while having fun. Of course, we want people of all ages to enjoy the museum, but nothing makes us happier than seeing kids have these experiences.”
URL:https://www.mizkan.co.jp/mim/en/
Tour reservations (advance booking required):
https://www.mizkan.co.jp/mim/en/reserve/
Access by public transportation:
13-minute walk from the Chita Handa station on the Meitetsu Kowa Line
Three-minute walk from the Handa Station on the JR Taketoyo Line
Access by car:
Approximately one hour from Nagoya (on the expressway)
15 minutes from the Handa-chuo or Handa interchange on the Chitohanto Road
Parking Lot 1 has about 40 spaces; Parking Lot 2 has about 50 spaces
※Note that the museum may close for safety reasons during anticipated severe weather or in the event of an earthquake.
※The museum may also close temporarily due to unforeseen circumstances.