This natto lover has officially landed in Mito, the holy land of fermented soybeans!
Let me just say this upfront: I’m absolutely obsessed with natto.
According to my mom, I’ve been eating fermented soybeans since I was a baby—like, literally since baby food days. 😂
Dinner? Natto.
Late-night snack? Natto.
Honestly, at this point, I might be 80% made of natto.
So when I made plans to meet a friend after work in Ibaraki and ended up staying in Mito for the night—
you know what that means, right? Mito = Natto Heaven.
This natto lover finally made it to the natto capital of Japan.
And you better believe I wasn’t leaving without a proper natto feast.
Steaming hot rice, piled high with natto…
All I wanted was to eat myself into a glorious natto coma.
So… what’s natto, anyway?
Natto is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans.
It’s super sticky, stringy, and yes—it has a very strong smell.
Some people love it. Others… run away from it. 😅But for those of us who are hooked, it’s pure magic.(Protein, fiber, probiotics—you name it. It’s basically a superfood.)
No restaurants?? Seriously!?
As soon as I arrived at Mito Station, I started hunting for a place to eat natto.
And yeah, I found a few spots—with things like natto omelets, natto soba, natto this, natto that…
…But no. That’s not what I came for.I didn’t want fancy recipes. I wanted pure natto.
Hot white rice. A lineup of different natto brands.
A full-on DIY natto tasting showdown.
But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find a place that served simple natto over rice.
So I thought…
If the natto restaurant I dream of doesn’t exist—
I’ll just create it myself.
DIY Natto Tasting: It’s ON!!!
If I can’t find a place that offers it, I’ll just make it happen myself.
So I hit up souvenir shops and nearby supermarkets, collecting as many types of natto as I could find.
Convenience stores didn’t have plain white rice, so I grabbed some microwavable rice packs from the grocery store instead.
Alright. Everything’s ready.
The natto lineup:
・Mito Natto
・Kei-gi Natto
・Daruma Natto
・Yukiakari
And on the side: barley rice, brown rice, and a bowl of miso soup.
What a feast…
A full-on festival of happiness was officially underway.
Pour natto over rice. Eat. Eat more. Keep eating.
YES—this is exactly what I came here to do!!!
I shoveled down mountain-sized portions of natto and rice like there was no tomorrow.
…and then came the pain.
I had officially reached what felt like the natto overdose limit.
For the first time in my life, I found myself thinking:
“Wait… can natto actually give you heartburn??” 😵💫
Still, I powered through and finished every last bite.
Then crawled into bed, somewhere between food coma and natto-induced suffering.
The next morning, I spotted natto at the breakfast buffet—
and normally, I’d grab it without a second thought.
But this time… I couldn’t even lift my hand.
Back in my hotel room, I suddenly noticed something.
The air was still thick with the lingering aroma of last night’s natto feast.Let’s just say… it smelled like feet—wait no, I mean natto. 😇
Way more intense than I expected.
I frantically opened the windows and sprayed Febreze like my life depended on it.
Dear hotel staff… I’m so sorry. 💦
And for the next two weeks, I entered a personal phase of
“Maybe I’ll take a little break from natto.”
Postscript
My personal favorite from the natto tasting was… Mito Natto!!!
At Mito Station, a brand called Yukiakari was also heavily recommended.
It’s made using a specially developed strain of natto bacteria, and has even won the Mito Mayor’s Award at the National Natto Appraisal Competition. (Yep, that’s a real thing!)
Each brand had a totally different vibe—bean size, smell, flavor… it was wild how unique they all were.
It was such a fun experience. …Painful, but fun. 😂
One day, I truly hope Mito Station opens a place where you can sit down and do a full-on “Rice × Natto” tasting flight.
Let the natto dreams live on…
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