Shodoshima has a centuries-long relationship with soy sauce, linked to salt from the inland sea, wheat and soybean crops, and shipping routes connecting the island with Osaka and Kansai markets. In Hishio-no-Sato, the former brewing district, wooden storehouses and the smell of fermentation remain part of the streetscape. Two visits help explain this story from complementary angles: the Marukin museum in a former factory and Yamaroku, a producer that still uses cedar barrels and opens its brewery to visitors.
Marukin offers a clear introduction through historic tools, panels, vats and a shop where visitors can try soy-sauce soft serve. It also runs moromi-pressing sessions at set times, which should not be confused with a walk-in tour available at any hour. Yamaroku, by contrast, offers a free, no-booking visit to an active brewery, plus a teahouse serving grilled mochi and soy-sauce desserts. The experience is less museum-like and more direct, but the company asks visitors not to eat natto beforehand because its bacteria can affect fermentation.
If visiting both, choose your arrival port first and check the Olive Bus timetable; distances on the island can be deceptive on a map. Marukin is beside the Marukin-mae stop in Uchinomi, while Yamaroku is in Yasuda, about a ten-minute walk from Yasudakami. From Tonosho, the bus to that area takes around 42 minutes and services may be infrequent. If you rent a car, note that roads near Yamaroku are narrow and parking is limited. Also plan around the last ferry back to the mainland.
Visitors to Marukin often appreciate the explanations, architecture and soft serve, although some expected a more interactive working factory. At Yamaroku, comments repeatedly praise the welcome, tasting and chance to see the large barrels, alongside warnings about its remote location. For a first cultural visit, Marukin puts the history in order; for a closer look at traditional fermentation, Yamaroku offers a more direct encounter. With enough time, both can be visited, but public transport requires planning each leg in advance.
To enjoy Shodoshima without rushing, check official notices before setting out and leave room for queues, seasonal changes and the last return service. The best route is one that leaves time to look around, eat and get back without hurry.
Profiles of the recommended places: Marukin Soy Sauce Memorial Museum · Yamaroku Soy Sauce
To enjoy Shodoshima without rushing, check official notices before setting out and leave room for queues, seasonal changes and the last return service. The best route is one that leaves time to look around, eat and get back without hurry.
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Marukin Soy Sauce Memorial Museum
1850 Noma, Uchinomi, Shodoshima, Shozu District, Kagawa 761-4421, Japan
The Marukin museum helps explain why soy sauce is part of Shodoshima’s landscape. The company’s former factory, built in the early twentieth century, was converted into a museum in 1987; its timber structure and gassho-style roof are registered as a tangible cultural property. The exhibits present t
Official admission is ¥500 for adults and ¥250 for primary-school children. Regular hours are 9 am–4 pm; from 16 October to 30 November 2026, it is open until 4:30 pm, with specific closure dates published. The Sakate Line Olive Bus stops at Marukin-mae, directly outside; by car, it is about three minutes from Sakate Port and twenty minutes from Ikeda Port. Island buses may run infrequently, so check the return timetable before starting the route.
An early-20th-century factory converted into a museum, with historic tools, an explanation of production and a shop for Shodoshima products.
Yamaroku Soy Sauce
1607 Yasuda, Shodoshima, Shozu District, Kagawa 761-4411, Japan
At Yamaroku, soy sauce is understood as a slow, living process rather than a bottle on a shelf. The family brewery, whose own account traces its history back more than a century, ferments shoyu in cedar barrels inside an earthen-floored wooden building. The walls support the yeasts and bacteria part
The brewery is in Yasuda on the southeast side of Shodoshima, below Kankakei Gorge. Ferries from Takamatsu serve several ports; from Tonosho, the bus to Yasudakami takes about 42 minutes, followed by a roughly ten-minute walk, but services are infrequent. There are only four or five parking spaces. The tour is free, and the official site does not list fixed public opening hours, so check its access page and transport connections before committing a day to the visit.
A family soy-sauce maker ageing its product in cedar barrels, with a free, no-booking tour of the moromi brewery and an on-site teahouse.
Sources & references
Sources for the information and reporting discussed in this guide.
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Official website of Marukin Soy Sauce Memorial Museum ↗
Primary source
Marukin official museum site · Accessed October 12, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website of Marukin Soy Sauce Memorial Museum ↗
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Shodoshima Tourism Association · Accessed October 12, 2026
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Official website of Marukin Soy Sauce Memorial Museum ↗
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Visit HYOGO official tourism website · Accessed October 12, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website of Yamaroku Soy Sauce ↗
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Yamaroku official website · Accessed October 12, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website of Yamaroku Soy Sauce ↗
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Yamaroku official website · Accessed October 12, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website of Yamaroku Soy Sauce ↗
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Visit HYOGO official tourism website · Accessed October 12, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website ↗
Primary source
Visit HYOGO official tourism website · Accessed October 12, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website ↗
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Shodoshima Tourism Association official site · Accessed October 12, 2026
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Official website ↗
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Kokusai Ryobi Ferry official tourist information · Accessed October 12, 2026
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Official website ↗
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Kikkoman Institute for International Food Culture · Accessed October 12, 2026
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Google review summary ↗
Secondary source
Wanderlog, exact Marukin Soy Sauce Museum listing · Accessed October 12, 2026
3.9/5 from 2,415 Google reviews for the museum.
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Google review summary ↗
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Wanderlog, exact Yama-Roku Shoyu listing · Accessed October 12, 2026
4.6/5 from 876 Google reviews for the brewery.