KamoShika Fermentation Kyoto

25/05/2026

Today, professors and students from Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food in Arkansas, USA visited Kamoshika to learn about Japanese fermented foods centered around koji.

Although it is a culinary school, Brightwater has a unique philosophy built around three pillars:
“Food as Art,”
“Food as Wellness,”
and “Food as Business.”

What makes it especially interesting is that fermentation and food preservation are treated as dedicated subjects.
The Art of Fermentation.

After enjoying our 8-plate fermentation set meal, we moved into a full English workshop experience:
shopping time at the marche,
handmaking rice koji,
miso making,
nukadoko techniques,
and our philosophy of a fermenting ichiju-issai (one soup, one dish lifestyle).

At the beginning, since there was also a professor of political economy in the group, we spoke a little about Japanese culture as well.

“Fermentation may be a reflection of Japan itself — a culture with a deep instinct for preservation.
Japan has long tried to preserve not only food, but also craftsmanship, atmosphere, human connection, rituals, and old traditions.
Maybe because it is an island nation, many traces of that culture still quietly remain today.”

By coincidence, yesterday was also the 800-year-old Saga Festival in Kyoto, so Mr. Kamoshika spent the day walking through the Saga area together with mikoshi and lion dancers. We shared a few photos from the festival too.

It became a Sunday and Monday where local and global culture blended together.

Tired, but happy 🦆🦌

19/05/2026

This video is a short excerpt from the April session of Kyoto Prosumer College: “Nukadoko Maintenance.”

We cover how to read the condition of your nukadoko, as well as a few more advanced applications, like fish simmered in rice bran.

Every Kamoshika nukadoko comes with our “Nukadoko Clinic,” so you can always reach out if you need help.

At Kyoto Prosumer College, we go one step further.

Each month, we explore fermentation not just as knowledge, but as a practical life skill.

Students joining this month will begin with umeboshi-making in June. We’ll be sending this year’s limited supply of precious pesticide-free plums.

If you’ve always wanted to make your own umeboshi or deepen your traditional kitchen practice, we’d love to have you join us.

Learn more here:
https://global.kamoshika.kyoto.jp

04/05/2026

【Fermentation Dining Kamoshika 12th Anniversary | May 8 & 9】

Two days of eating, drinking & experiencing 12 years of Kamoshika 🦌✨

Pictured: our “Surume Sisters,” born after 12 years of product development. Kim-Surume debuts May 8!

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**1F — Fermentation Dining**

🍱 **12-Ferment Set Meal (¥1,890)** | Both days 11:30–15:00
Our beloved 8-ferment set expands to 12 dishes for these two days only — same price!
*Special additions: Nuka-Surume · Kim-Surume · Shiso Miso Roll · House-made Funazushi Rice*

🥒 **Nukazuke Pickle Buffet** | Both days 11:30–15:00
Free for dining guests! 12 varieties including spring cabbage, tofu, quail egg & more. While supplies last.

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**2F — Fermentation Marché**

🫙 **Grab Your Own 12-Year-Aged Nuka Bed** | Both days 11:30–17:00
The DNA of our original nuka bed may still live on inside 🦌

🍶 **Fermentation Bar** | May 8 (Fri) 16:00–20:00
No reservation needed — just stop by!

- Any 2 items ¥1,000: Nuka-Surume / Kim-Surume / Pickle Platter / Kamo-Musu / Onion-Koji Potage
- ¥1,000/dish: Funazushi · Pork Kimchi · Garlic Koji Karaage · Amazake Salad · Nasu Gratin

🍺 Kyoto Beer Lab Tea Beers: Kabusecha White Ale / Fukamushi IPA / Hojicha Stout
🍶 Cold sake & self-serve warm sake · 🌿 Enzyme juice & Kombucha

🌱 **Mini Fermentation Workshops** | May 9 (Sat) 2F
¥1,000 · 5 spots each · Reservation required

- 13:00 Nuka Bed Making · 15:00 Homemade Miso
📞 075-748-0186 *(KPC students free!)*

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*Life is nourished by life.*

📍 Arashiyama, Kyoto — 1 min from JR Sagano-Arashiyama Station North Exit
🗓 May 8 (Fri) & 9 (Sat)

26/11/2025

Last sunday in Osaka, we immersed myself in the world of mushrooms. Here’s a behind-the-scenes summary. This post also appears on Kamoshika’s Instagram .

Kamoshika was invited to a public seminar by the Hokkaido University Alumni Association, titled “Adult Food Education: Health and Longevity with Mushrooms.”
Spending a full day with mushroom experts showed me how surprisingly deep and fascinating the mushroom world really is.

Key insights:
• The real mushroom isn’t the part we usually see 🍄.
Mushrooms belong to the fungi family. They grow in a cycle: mycelium (the main body) → fruiting body (what we call a mushroom) → spores.
What we usually eat is only part of this cycle. Seeing that koji mold under a microscope looks like a tiny mushroom, we can think of “koji = micro-mushroom, mushroom = giant mold.” Eye-opening!
• Japan has long been a “mushroom and microbiology powerhouse.”
Japan has a long tradition of natural product chemistry, discovering health-promoting compounds from mushrooms and microbes. This research helped lead to Nobel Prizes like those of Satoshi Ōmura.
Professor Kawagishi (Shizuoka University, Special Emeritus) noted that Japan’s history of fermented foods—miso, sake, natto—formed the foundation for this science. Interestingly, much of this research is intuitive, craft-like, and not strictly logical—often inefficient, but this “non-linear exploration” has driven discovery.
• Why mushrooms are called “-take” (茸).
The word “take” comes from “takeshii,” meaning “growing fast.” It aligns with legends, like the Kusabira Shrine in Shiga/Kusatsu, where mushrooms reportedly sprouted overnight during famine and saved villagers.
• Health benefits: eat a variety, don’t overdo it.
Researchers agreed: the healthiest approach is to eat a wide variety of traditional foods, not focus on one “superfood.”
A traditional Japanese daily diet = fermented foods + mushrooms + fiber-rich foods + small amounts of animal protein. Diversity is key.
• Cooking mushrooms is essential.
Mushrooms contain lectins, which are toxic proteins. Heat is needed to make them safe.
• Fairy rings remain mysterious.
Circles of mushrooms in lawns or forests (“fairy rings”) still puzzle scientists. Professor Kawagishi discovered compounds involved in this, which could be important for future food production.
• Mushrooms and mold: friends of the “germ world.”
In Anpanman cartoons, “Kabirunrun” (mold character) is part of Baikinman’s gang. Biologically, classifying mold as germs is surprisingly accurate.
• Mushrooms are ancient—around 400 million years old.
They predate dinosaurs. Some fungal networks have grown over huge areas—the same DNA connected over 2.5 Tokyo Domes!
• How to grow shiitake on sawdust:
1. Mix sawdust with rice bran, oyster shell, and water.
2. Add mushroom spores.
3. Watch colors change: black → white → brown.
4. Harvest 3 times from the same block.
5. Soak in water 24 hours to stimulate regrowth.
It’s a beautiful process showing the strength and cycle of life—maybe I’ll try it in my backyard.

Conclusion:
Mushrooms and mold are almost the same. They are nature’s decomposers—Earth’s cleaners. Plants produce, animals consume, and fungi quietly clean up, essential workers in the ecosystem.

13/11/2025

Today we had a rice koji-making workshop and a fermented lunch with friends from Spain and Colombia.

We soaked the rice,
steamed it,
sprinkled the koji spores,
kept it warm,
and explored many ways to use the finished koji.

Our guests — farmers from Colombia, a Spanish chef, and a vegan couple — were all so passionate about fermentation! It was such a joyful time.

They also bought many things to take home, and we even made special black vegan-friendly plates for them.

I wonder if the “baby koji” in everyone’s pocket will grow up safely during their travels. 🌾

Thank you for the beautiful gifts — like the rare cassava miso made by a 90-year-old woman deep in the real Amazon!

And thank you always, Nerea! 🙏

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🇪🇸 Español (sencillo y cálido)

Hoy tuvimos un taller de elaboración de koji de arroz y un almuerzo fermentado con amigos de España y Colombia.

Remojamos el arroz,
lo cocinamos al v***r,
espolvoreamos las esporas de koji,
lo mantuvimos caliente,
y aprendimos varias formas de usar el koji terminado.

Los invitados — agricultores de Colombia, una chef española y una pareja vegana — estaban llenos de pasión por la fermentación. ¡Fue un momento muy feliz!

También compraron muchas cosas para llevar, e hicimos platos negros especiales para veganos.

Me pregunto si el “bebé koji” en el bolsillo de cada uno crecerá bien durante el viaje. 🌾

Gracias por los regalos tan valiosos — como el miso de yuca hecho por una mujer de 90 años en la selva del Amazonas.

¡Gracias siempre, Nerea! 🙏

05/11/2025

Here’s a quick roundup of Kamoshika’s latest products and services!

Kyoto Prosumer College
An online school that delivers both learning videos and real ingredients so you can enjoy handmade fermented foods at home.
Thank you for all the sign-ups!
Please note: ingredients are sent only four times a year, not every month. What you’ll receive monthly is a 15–30 minute video sharing Kamoshika’s know-how for “Bringing Fermentation Back to Your Kitchen♪”
👉 Learn more
https://store.kamoshika.kyoto.jp/items/113494388

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Nuka Surume (Fermented Dried Veggie Snack)
It’s like dried squid—but made from nukazuke fermented vegetables, so there’s no squid at all! A perfect savory snack that’s becoming surprisingly addictive.
We’d love to see it served at izakayas, wine bars, and cafés too!
👉 Try it here
https://store.kamoshika.kyoto.jp/items/104348078

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“RECOVERY Pack” for Athletes
When professional soccer players and runners tried our fermented foods, the key to better performance turned out to be… miso!
A new idea to support high performance through natural fermentation.
👉 Check it out
https://store.kamoshika.kyoto.jp/items/123915954

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Fermenting Wooden Barrel (Kioke)
A small, home-sized version of Japan’s traditional wooden fermentation barrels, handcrafted one by one to bring this culture back to life.
Due to limited production, only one barrel left for Autumn 2025—thank you!
The next batch will likely be available in spring.
👉 Details here
https://store.kamoshika.kyoto.jp/items/118466629

台所にすっきり収まる“ちょうどいいサイズ”の木桶ができました。パートナーは、世界のラグジュアリー層からも信頼を集める滋賀の〈中川木工芸比良工房〉。職人がひとつひとつ丁寧に手づくりする、一点ものです。木...

28/10/2025

As part of Hiraku Ogura’s Global Fermentation Tour, a group of American brewers, chefs, and culinary school deans visited Kamoshika yesterday.

We started with Hiraku’s hands-on workshop on making rice koji at home —
this time, a playful version called “pocket koji,” made and nurtured while traveling.
It was full of insights from Hiraku’s 10+ years of sharing koji culture with the world.
Such an inspiring and joyful session — thank you, Hiraku!

Then Imai-san from LINNE, a craft sake brewery, joined us at Kamoshika.
He sprinkled tane-koji (koji starter), and everyone joined in — a rare and precious koji moment.

After that, we took a walk around the Kamoshika Fermentation Lab and market,
and shared lunch together: the “8 Ferments Set Meal.”

The culinary school dean’s words after the meal truly touched us.
For Kamoshika, the dining table is our base camp —
“serving and being eaten” is where everything begins.
The atmosphere, expressions, and words of everyone after eating felt like the most authentic proof of what we do.

It was such a meaningful day,
and we’re excited to see how these new connections will grow.

And today, Oct 28 (Tue), is the final day at Hankyu Tree Terrace!
Some items like our miso balls are already sold out, but many of our beloved fermentation children are still waiting for you. 🍚✨

27/09/2025

On NHK World’s Core Kyoto Japan, there is a feature on Mr. Fujiwara, a natto maker, Hakko Shokudo Kamoshika, and others in Kyoto involved with natto.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/2029236/

It’s recognized as a superfood—this is how the world sees it now.

Natto: The authentic umami of fermented soybeans
Core Kyoto

Kyoto has a rich fermentation tradition, from soy sauce to sake. Recently, natto has been gaining global attention as a superfood, with new efforts underway to boost its appeal and appreciation.

「そう、なっとうなんだ。」

21/08/2025

If you’re visiting Japan, here’s a resource I can genuinely recommend for practical, up-to-date travel information:

📺 Japan Quest
https://www.youtube.com/

The creator has been working in tourism for many years, and the content is based on real experience. You’ll find detailed comparisons of SIM cards you can actually use in Japan, clear guides to navigating airports, and even the latest on souvenirs and shopping.

It’s one of the most useful channels I know for anyone planning a trip here.

19/08/2025

From Fermentation Café Kamoshika, we shared a simple lecture & workshop: local veggies pickled in nukazuke, plus claypot rice and miso soup enjoyed together.✨ The highlights? Nukazuke of green papaya & chayote, Awa-bancha tea, and Maibijin Mizumoto sake.✨ Tasting side by side, we noticed Tuak (Borneo rice wine) and Maibijin share a wild yeast character that gives both a similar depth.Afterwards came Vien’s Malaysian dishes—like tempeh teriyaki topped with a durian shio-koji paste, an unforgettable new flavor.And with that, our fermentation journey in Kuala Lumpur came to a close.⸻

19/08/2025

At the Kuala Lumpur event “Festival of Fermentation: Handcrafted Cross-Cultural Exchange,” Evan Lee from Borneo shared about traditional fermentation.

Tuak – the Traditional Rice Wine of Borneo

(content confirmed with Evan)

Tuak is made mainly from glutinous rice and a local wild yeast called ragi (produced from rice or tapioca flour).

How it’s brewed:
The process is ritualistic and meticulous. All tools are first washed with ginger water and hot water. The rice is steamed, then mixed with ragi under the sun by hands that have also been cleansed in ginger water.

Fermentation can be as short as 3–4 months, or up to 3 years by skilled brewers. Long aging deepens the color and brings whisky-like flavors.
Adding galangal (a root similar to ginger) enhances enzymatic breakdown and enriches the flavor. Tuak brewed without galangal, Evan noted, turned out less appealing.

The progress of fermentation is judged visually: white hair-like mold first appears, and once gray speckles form at the tips, it is considered ready.

Cultural and ritual meaning:
When rice was precious, Tuak was reserved for festivals and rituals, offered to Mother Nature and the spirits. Even today, its ritual aspect remains in how it’s consumed.

Tuak is sometimes called “Water of non-life.” What it really means is “water of long life” or “water that sustains life.”
It also served in purification rituals—for example, used for washing feet before welcoming guests into the home.

Another unique feature is how flavor separates with fermentation: the bottom layer becoming more sour, and the top richer and denser.

I had the chance to try Evan’s Tuak: one brewed from three varieties of rice, and another with added pineapple. The pineapple version was smoother to drink, while the rice-only version was drier, stronger in alcohol, and had a wild, untamed taste—something like Japan’s ancient mizumoto sake, “Maibijin.”

Tuak today:
Once a drink for rituals, it is now made and enjoyed in everyday life. Yet, the subtle differences in fermentation methods across communities continue to be passed down.

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Other Fermented Foods of Borneo

Kasam (Fermented Meat):
In Sarawak and Sabah, wild boar or pork is traditionally fermented as Kasam. The meat is preserved with salt and local poisonous herbs, left to ferment for weeks or months. After a year, the toxins break down and it can be eaten raw; before that, it must be cooked. This reminded me of Japan’s ancient nikubishio (fermented meat sauce). These meats, with enhanced preservation, are likely rich in lactic acid bacteria and yeast.

Pekasam (Fermented Fish):
Borneo also has Pekasam, a dish of fish fermented with salt and rice, known for its sourness and umami. It is strikingly similar to funazushi from Shiga, Japan, where crucian carp is fermented with salt and rice.
Where did this wisdom of fermenting fish with salt and rice come from, where did it spread, and where did it take root? Fermentation always invites such endless imagination.

What a perfect story to hear just before the upcoming “Fermenting Shiga” event at Good Nature Station in September.

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