Shinshu Miso
licensed photograph663highland / CC BY 2.5

Nagano · SuwaNo.1054★★★Open in map →

Shinshu Miso

— Nagano's pale, sharp rice ferment

foodThe classic — done right

Nagano's pale rice miso, followed from a limited-express station to the works that makes it. The walk from Kamisuwa Station runs level along the lakeshore road to a miso hall with a display room, a shop and a dining corner.

  1. FromShinjuku Station
  2. ~2 hr 35 minJR limited express, direct
  3. Get off atKamisuwa Station (JR Chuo Main Line)
  4. On foot
  5. Shinshu Miso
Directions ↗

Where it is

27 more notes in Nagano · open the map →

What to look for — in walking order

Kamisuwa Station663highland / CC BY 2.5
  1. Kamisuwa Station frontthe limited-express stop and the start of the walk down to the water
  2. Route 20 and the railway underpassthe road out of the station, followed left and under the line toward the lake
  3. Takeya Miso hallthe visitor building inside the miso works, by the geyser park on the lakeshore road
  4. The hall's display roomold miso-making tools and works of art held by the company
  5. The hall's shop and dining corneroriginal products and limited miso, plus a ramen and pork-soup counter

How to actually get there

  1. Shinjuku Station → Kamisuwa Station (JR Chuo Main Line, Limited Express Azusa, about 2 hr 35 min per the Suwa Tourism Federation).
  2. Kamisuwa Station → the lakeshore road (on foot: out of the ticket gate, left along Route 20, under the railway bridge).
  3. Lakeshore road → Takeya Miso hall, by the geyser park (on foot, roughly 15 minutes from the station in all).
  4. Work through the hall in order: display room, shop, dining corner.
JR Chuo Main Line limited express from Shinjuku
Shinjuku Station →(JR Chuo Main Line, Limited Express Azusa)→ Kamisuwa Station. The Suwa Tourism Federation gives about 2 hr 35 min for the run, and some services are quicker. From the ticket gate it is roughly 15 minutes on foot to the miso hall.
Back to Kamisuwa Station on foot
Retrace the lakeshore road and Route 20 to the station, about the same 15 minutes. Limited expresses toward Shinjuku do not run late into the night, so read the departure board when you arrive rather than leaving it to the end of the day.
Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Shinshu miso is brewed from rice koji, soybeans and salt. The federation of Nagano's miso brewers puts it at roughly half of all the miso produced and consumed in Japan, and the prefecture's own travel site gives the same share. It is a pale miso rather than a dark one, and the colour brewers look for is a clear golden yellow. The taste is salt-forward with a clean finish rather than a heavy sweetness. Suwa is one of the districts that carries the trade, and the Takeya works stands on the lakeshore road below Kamisuwa Station with a hall open to visitors.

How to enjoy it

Take it in the order above: leave the station on foot, drop down to the lakeshore road, and finish inside the hall rather than starting there. Opening days and hours are the company's to set, so check the official site before you set out. Leave enough of the afternoon to sit down at the dining corner instead of buying and running.

Background & history

Nagano's brewers trace the miso to the Kamakura period, when the Rinzai Zen monk Shinchi Kakushin, who had learned brewing methods in Song China, is said to have begun making miso at Anyoji temple in what is now Saku. The craft spread more widely after Takeda Shingen had miso made as field rations for his troops. The federation of Nagano brewers and the prefecture's travel site tell the same story, and Suwa is one of the districts whose brewers belong to that federation today.

Before you go

Cash
Walking the route costs nothing. The shop and the dining corner inside the hall are paid; the company lists what is offered on its own site rather than publishing a fixed price list, so check there and carry some cash.
Before you go
The company sets the hall's opening days and hours and closes it over the New Year and for internal events, so confirm on the official site before travelling. The route is paved throughout and open to the wind off the water.
Another way
From Nagoya, take the JR Limited Express Shinano to Shiojiri and change there to the Chuo Main Line for Kamisuwa. The Suwa Tourism Federation lists this as the standard approach from the west.
After you get off
Leave Kamisuwa Station by the ticket gate and turn left onto Route 20. Pass under the railway bridge, keep straight to the signal at the lakeside park and turn right onto the lakeshore road. Follow it to the geyser park; the works entrance is on the right, and the hall is the first building inside.