2025 YFU Kikkoman Summer Activity

August 4, 2025

As an initiative for youth cultivation and education, since 1978 Kikkoman has been sponsoring international educational exchanges hosted by Youth For Understanding (YFU), a U.S.-based international non-profit organization. Support is provided for a short summer exchange program that invites about 20 American high school students to Japan, and a one-year study abroad in the U.S. program to Japanese high school students. We are cultivating talented individuals with the ambition to make their dreams come true by fostering intercultural understanding and respect through the experience of life in each host country.

On July 15, we invited 22  American high school students visiting Japan and their host families to our Noda Plant for the YFU Kikkoman Summer Activity. The event included a plant tour of the Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum for in-depth learning about honjozo (traditionally brewed) soy sauce as well as a hands-on soy sauce-making experience to promote intercultural understanding and youth international exchange.

During the plant tour, students observed modern-day soy sauce production that uses the latest technology and equipment, as well as traditional soy sauce making carried out in Goyogura (the Imperial Soy Sauce Brewery) where soy sauce purveyed to the Imperial Household Agency is brewed to this day. Students learned about the process (honjozo method) for making soy sauce by utilizing the natural power of microorganisms to ferment and age the basic ingredients of soybeans, wheat, salt and water that has been used since the Edo period (1603-1867). Furthermore, they gained an understanding that Kikkoman employs this method at all its production sites located in Japan and overseas, providing high-quality, delicious soy sauce to more than 100 countries worldwide.

The students were highly engaged, with some enthusiastically taking photos of the Goyogura and the Noda Plant. During the tour, one student asked, “Why did Kikkoman choose Wisconsin as its first overseas location?”

Participants also experienced the Museum’s hands-on soy sauce-making program. This program allows students to use simple equipment to recreate parts of the soy sauce production process, including basic ingredient mixing and moromi (soy sauce koji and brine mixture) pressing. Excited comments including, “It smells delicious! I am getting hungry!” and “The aroma is savory!” could be heard from students as they observed changes in the aroma and color during soy sauce-making.

Students also tried out soy sauce-flavored soft-serve ice cream at the Museum’s ‘Mame Cafe’.Through the 'contrast effect' of honjozo soy sauce, this soy sauce-flavored soft-serve ice cream enhances the natural sweetness of ice cream. It received rave reviews from participants with comments including, “I was surprised that adding soy sauce actually made it sweeter!”

To recap, each exchange student took the stage to share their impressions of the plant tour and what they had learned throughout the day. Many comments of discovery and surprise regarding this familiar seasoning, such as, “I learned that making soy sauce requires a very long period of time” and “I found out for the first time that the basic ingredients of soy sauce are soybeans, wheat, salt, and water” were shared. Through this event, students realized the depth and complexity of soy sauce.

To conclude the event, a representative student gave a speech. Speaking about the importance of understanding and respecting cultures other than one’s own, her enjoyment of the event and the Japanese culture she experienced during her exchange, and the precious memories she made with her friends and host family, her remarks were received with great applause.

Kikkoman will continue to promote the international exchange of young generations by sponsoring the YFU international educational exchange program.