Shirarasou Grand Hotel (白良荘グランドホテル) in Shirahama, Wakayama, has teamed up with Yuasa Shoyu Co., Ltd. (湯浅醤油有限会社) to start the "Wakayama Cultural Co-Creation Project" (和歌山文化共創プロジェクト). Yuasa Shoyu is the soy sauce division of Marushin Honke (丸新本家), a long-established brewer founded in 1881 in Yuasa, Wakayama, the birthplace of soy sauce brewing. As the first project, the two have jointly developed "Fermentation Gastronomy" (発酵ガストロノミー), which combines the traditional fermentation culture of Yuasa with a special stay in Shirahama.
About the Wakayama Cultural Co-Creation Project
Under the concept of "turning Wakayama's culture itself into a travel experience," the project shares the fermentation culture, food culture, and producers' passion rooted in Wakayama with travelers in Japan and abroad through the time spent on an overnight stay.
"Fermentation Gastronomy" is a food proposal that brings together the history of soy sauce brewing in Wakayama and the chef's skill in drawing out the flavors of rich ingredients, all in a single dish. Guests can taste the natural umami of the ingredients through dishes that make use of the character of each product, including 生一本黒豆, which has won the Monde Selection Grand Gold Medal for 21 consecutive years since 2006, as well as white-pressed soy sauce (白搾り醤油), black soybean soy sauce, white miso, and Kinzanji miso.
Dining that lets guests experience the local culture and daily life, and taste the food together with the producers' passion, also serves to pass on the appeal of soy sauce, a basic seasoning, to the next generation. By presenting fermentation culture, which is at the root of Japanese food, as a stay experience for travelers in Japan and abroad, the project aims to create new value together with the region.
Background of the Project
Yuasa in Wakayama is known as the birthplace of soy sauce brewing, and its history has been handed down for several hundred years. Fermented foods such as soy sauce, miso, and koji are the source of the basic seasonings that underlie Japanese food, and are a valuable cultural asset nurtured alongside local life. However, their value and background are not always widely known.
Following its nature experiences in Nanki-Shirahama, Shirarasou Grand Hotel has started the project with Yuasa Shoyu, centered on fermentation culture and food. Experience-based programs that let guests feel the traditional fermentation culture firsthand are also planned for the future.
Message from Toshio Shinko (新古敏朗), Representative of Yuasa Shoyu
Guided by the philosophy of "create, convey, and contribute," Yuasa Shoyu has carried on traditional soy sauce making. Beyond protecting and making what has been handed down through the generations, the company puts strong effort into sharing: conveying the tradition and techniques of soy sauce brewing along with the thoughts of those who came before. Telling the next generation and the world about the true deliciousness of soy sauce, the basic seasoning that decides the taste of a dish, is also Shinko's own mission. He is confident that this collaboration with Shirarasou Grand Hotel will create new regional value that the company could not achieve on its own, and will share Japanese food culture with the world.
Message from Eiichi Nojiri (野尻栄一), General Manager of Shirarasou Grand Hotel
Located a 30-second walk from Shirarahama Beach, the hotel has proposed new leisure activities that share the appeal of the region, such as tours of the Kumano Kodo and the geopark.
The partnership with Yuasa Shoyu embodies the hotel's belief in "changing the future with the value of the region." It will deliver the history and fermentation culture of Yuasa, the birthplace of soy sauce brewing, through the stay, pass that value on to the next generation, and nurture a lasting circle of co-creation that connects the region, travelers, and producers.
First Project: "Fermentation Gastronomy"
- Details: https://www.shiraraso.co.jp/topics/25
- Sales period: October 14, 2026 (Wed) to March 28, 2027 (Sun)
- Stay period: October 18, 2026 (Sun) to March 31, 2027 (Wed)
Dinner: Yuasa Shoyu Kura no Megumi Kaiseki (湯浅醤油 蔵の恵み会席)
This kaiseki meal weaves together soy sauce, miso, koji, and other fermented foods passed down in a traditional brewery in Yuasa, the birthplace of soy sauce brewing, with seafood and mountain ingredients from rich Kishu.
- Opening dish: White-pressed soy sauce with first dashi of bonito and kelp (白搾り)
- Aperitif: Kishu plum wine
- Appetizer: Blessings of Wakayama
- Sashimi: Chef's selection of three kinds, served with black soybean soy sauce foam (生一本黒豆)
- Grilled dish: Butter-grilled Japanese spiny lobster with Yuasa white miso sauce (丸新本家 白みそ)
- Simmered dish: Kue (longtooth grouper) shabu-shabu in plum and yuzu koji style (柚子梅つゆ)
- Main dish: Stone-grilled Kumano beef with smoked soy sauce and wasabi, served with seasonal vegetables (燻し醤油)
- Rice dish: Kamameshi (pot rice) with Katsuura tuna and cask-brewed soy sauce, served with marinated tuna (樽仕込み醤油)
- Final soup: Yuasa white miso soup (丸新本家 白みそ)
- Pickles: Kinzanji miso with seasonal vegetables (丸新本家 紀州金山寺味噌)
- Dessert: Rosanjin soy sauce caramel soft serve with amazake yogurt (魯山人醬油)
Fermentation Breakfast
Wakayama is a prefecture where fermentation culture thrives. The breakfast is made with carefully selected fermented ingredients and is gentle on the body.
- Jubako (tiered box), "Blessings of Fermentation":
- Mikan-scented salted squid
- Black soybean natto with steamed whitebait
- Mikan chicken confit with Kinzanji miso (丸新本家 紀州金山寺味噌)
- Nanbanzuke of hamo (pike conger)
- Koya tofu topped with yuzu miso (丸新本家 白みそ)
- Side dishes for rice:
- Grilled red sea bream aged in soy sauce koji (樽仕込み醤油)
- Plum-scented mentaiko
- Dashi-rolled omelet made with Kishu Umetamago (紀州うめたまご)
- Cucumber pickled in rice bran
- Sashimi: Katsuura tuna served with Yuasa soy sauce (生一本黒豆)
- Steamed dish: Kumano pork and warm vegetables with sansho ponzu
- Meal: Wakayama-grown rice, Kishu tea porridge, and plum-scented dashi for ochazuke
- Final soup: Miso soup with Japanese spiny lobster and Yuasa white miso (丸新本家 白みそ)
- Dessert: Salted-koji yogurt with Arakawa peaches
Sample Plan and Price
A sample "Fermentation Gastronomy" Yuasa Shoyu Kura no Megumi Kaiseki plan.
- Plan page: https://x.gd/jdRyp
- Sample price: [Ocean View] Moderate Japanese-style room with twin beds, from ¥31,350 per person when two guests share one room
- Price includes tax and service charge. The bathing tax is charged separately.
Shirahama Onsen
Shirahama Onsen has been loved since the Asuka and Nara periods as one of Japan's three oldest hot springs, alongside Arima and Dogo. The hotel's source, Suzushiyu (生絹湯), has a salt concentration close to that of seawater, so the body is slow to cool after bathing, and the water is said to have a moisturizing effect. From the 2nd-floor scenic bath "Shiokaze" (眺望の湯「潮風」), guests can take in the view of Shirarahama Beach spread out right in front.
- Bathing hours: 3:00 PM to 1:00 AM, and 5:00 AM to 9:30 AM (men's and women's baths are switched on a rotating basis)
Related Tour
The hotel also offers the "Nanki-Shirahama Day Trip Optional Tour," which departs from and returns to the hotel and visits the nature of Nanki-Shirahama and the World Heritage Kumano Kodo with a guide.
- Tour page: https://www.shiraraso.co.jp/topics/18
