It is about 45 minutes from Hakata Station via subway and JR line. Itoshima City is located on a peninsula adjacent to the west side of Fukuoka City, jutting out into the Sea of Genkai, and has become a popular destination for people from the Kanto and Kansai regions since 2010 due to its easy accessibility and rich natural environment. Kobo Tottan” is a salt factory located in the northwest of the Itoshima Peninsula, right in the ‘Tottan’ area.
From zero to making salt in his 20s
After walking along a narrow road that makes one wonder if there is nothing ahead, a parking lot comes into view. After another five minutes’ walk, the salt factory “Kobo Tottan” appears. On a long, narrow site by the sea, there is a store selling salt and pudding, a workshop, and a three-dimensional salt field made of bamboo, which is crowded with people even on a weekday.
After working as an itamae (chef), he became a salt maker.
Shuichi Hirakawa is the representative of Shinzaburo Shoten, a company that makes salt at the “Kobo Tottan” and operates restaurants and stores that feature the salt as the main ingredient. He used to work as a kaiseki chef, and has honed his skills in his hometown of Fukuoka and abroad since the age of 20.
It was in his late 20s that Mr. Hirakawa began making salt in Itoshima. When he happened to visit the site, he learned that the sun was shining on the sea, one of the few places in Fukuoka that faces south, and that hijiki, wakame seaweed, and other seaweeds were growing large in the sea. He was sure he would be able to make good salt here. Hirakawa, who had felt since his days as an itamae (chef) that “food is only as good as its ingredients,” was convinced of this when he compared seawater to ingredients and salt to food. The early 2000s also coincided with the complete liberalization of salt production, importation, and distribution, which had previously been under government control.
Dare to be inefficient.
Even though the industry has been completely liberalized, pumping seawater still requires notification to the Ministry of Finance, and the use of seawater requires the consent of local fishermen. To obtain the right to use seawater, Mr. Hirakawa went door-to-door to nearby fishermen and persuaded them of his desire to produce salt.
The first thing he did was to get the land leased to him, and for the first five years, the area was a jungle, but he cleared it out while continuing to make salt. When the salt production got on track, he bought the land.
He insisted on making natural salt in a classic salt field constructed of bamboo. He visited various salt mills and found that there were other methods that could produce salt efficiently, but he dared to choose an inefficient method. This was because he wanted the world to know the appeal of natural salt, which is produced “organically” rather than “industrially.
Salt made slowly and deliberately over half a month
At “Kobo Tottan,” salt is made over a period of about half a month. First, pumped seawater is dried in the sun while it is transmitted from the top of the salt pans, which are turrets built of logs, to bamboos, and then the water is circulated for about 10 days. By doing so, the flavor components of the seawater are condensed rather than simply cooking it in a kettle on the beach.
Next, the condensed seawater is transported to a workshop, where it is slowly cooked in a pot to further increase its concentration. At the same time, impurities are removed and the water is further cooked. The first half of the cooking process uses waste tempura oil, and the second half uses firewood made from construction waste.
After three days of cooking in the kettle, salt crystals finally appear. These crystals are scooped up and left to rest overnight in cedar barrels to become “Mataichi-no-salt takishio. The salt is then roasted in an iron cauldron to remove the moisture. These two types of natural salt are representative of Kobo Tottan.
Different tastes of salt
By the way, the word “salt” can range in taste from angular to mellow. Where does the difference come from?
According to Mr. Hirakawa, it is created in the final process. When seawater is cooked in a kettle, the top layer gathers the softer salty components of minerals such as potassium and calcium, while the lower layer gathers components such as sodium and magnesium, which have a salty taste. This is why the taste differs depending on where the water is extracted.
At Kobo Tottan, the difference is exploited by sifting and separating the salt from the upper and lower layers, and then blending them back together again to produce the product. For example, the popular “Omusubi Salt” is a product blended to enhance the taste of omusubi from the first bite to the last.
Incidentally, the same salt made from the same sea does not always taste the same. For example, from spring to summer, the amount of seaweed increases and the taste of salt becomes more complex. Conversely, in the winter, refined, flat-tasting salt is produced. Knowing that there are variations depending on the season, you will be able to enjoy the taste of salt even more.
The savior is pudding.
Today, Mataichi-no-salt is well received both inside and outside Fukuoka Prefecture, but in the early days, sales did not increase, and the company experienced “a series of hardships. Compared to mass-produced salt, the price was several times higher. It took a lot of tricks to get people to buy it.
One of the tricks was to offer visitors a tour of the salt-making process at the saltworks. The tour also allowed visitors to see the sea and the salt production process in front of them, and to try the salt crystals drawn from the pot, which led to purchases. In addition, the company developed and produced “salt pudding to eat (hana-salt pudding). This led to the success of “Mataichi-no-Salt”.
The ingredients are eggs from Fukuoka Prefecture, milk and cream from Saga Prefecture. The pudding is soft, and when eaten with a sprinkling of salt, the flavor and texture can be enjoyed in different shades. In addition to plain, caramel, and coffee flavors, the pudding is also available for a limited time only and is sold by mail order. Since the pudding became a hit, Shinzaburo Shoten has opened a series of salt stores in Itoshima City, including a rice-ball store and a salt ramen store, and the business has begun to circulate with salt production as its starting point.
Protecting the Changing Ocean
For Mr. Hirakawa, who continues to pump seawater from the sea right in front of his eyes to produce natural salt, the primary issue now is the preservation of the sea.
The Mataichi no Salt is located within the Genkai National Park, and although there are various inconveniences, nature is protected to a certain extent. There is little pollution from extreme environmental changes or domestic wastewater.
Even so, the ocean’s condition is changing by the minute. For example, due to global warming, striped horse mackerel, which is actively cultivated in the southern seas of Amami and Kagoshima, has recently started to be caught in the waters around Itoshima. Wakame seaweed, for example, was harvested nearly two months 30 years ago, but 10 years ago it was harvested in less than one month, and recently it has been harvested in two weeks.
Rising sea water temperatures also cause rocky shore scorching, which significantly reduces the number of seaweed species. Rising sea water temperatures increase the longevity of sea urchins, which eat more seaweed than necessary, changing the environmental cycle in the sea. Mr. Hirakawa, in an effort to “do something about it,” is working to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by replacing the fuel used to cook sea urchins in kettles with recycled fuel, and is also working on a project to cure sea urchins so that consumers can enjoy them at restaurants and other places.
In addition, in collaboration with Kyushu University, which also has a campus on the Itoshima Peninsula, the company is working to reduce the stress on the sea by using solar panels to concentrate seawater and by trying salt production using free energy.
We want people to feel comfortable eating salt.
Protecting the beautiful sea and making delicious salt. What kind of thoughts and feelings lie at the root of Mr. Hirakawa’s passion?
The reason I started cooking is to make people happy. The reason I started cooking is to make people happy, and the best time to make people happy is when I can serve them delicious food. Even if they are unhappy, they feel a little better when they encounter delicious food. I would like to help people do that. I think that is what I am doing now by making salt.
The “Mataichi” in “Mataichi no Salt” is the name of Mr. Hirakawa’s father. My father taught me how to judge what is good and what is not,” he says. The company’s name, Shinzaburo, was named after his grandfather, who gave birth to his father.
I started salt production when I was in my late 20s, and after experiencing salt damage, typhoons, fires, and other hardships, I have had a lot of joy, and I would like to continue taking on various challenges, but I think it is time for me to think about passing the baton to the next generation. I would be happy if I could find the right answer while gradually giving back to this land that raised me.
In three years, he plans to separate manufacturing and sales, and there are also plans to build a new place at this location where people can learn about the process of making salt from seawater. When we are finished, we will look for the next exciting thing to do,” says Hirakawa. In his warm gaze, we see the future of Itoshima, with its beautiful sparkling blue sea and smiling people, just as it is today.
