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Founded over a century ago in the year 1897, the Sasaki family’s tofu shop has been providing the people of Miyoshi with fresh tofu for generations, and over the years their reputation has earned them customers who come from near and far. These days, fifth-generation tofu maker Takeru Sasaki brings new hopes and dreams to the shop as he runs it together with past generations, but one thing always has and always will stay the same: the family’s commitment to making their tofu by hand, using all-natural ingredients. And fortunately, customers can not only buy the tofu as an ingredient to take home and prepare, but they can try it for lunch at the shop’s little restaurant, as well!

Tofu-making isn’t easy or quick, and preparing it by hand means being in the kitchen first thing each morning, ready for some hard work. Around the time when Takeru’s grandfather was running the shop, as Sasaki Tofu’s third generation, tofu manufacturers around Japan started to use automated machines, and factory-made tofu became an unbelievably cheap and plentiful grocery store staple in Japan. Tofu made by hand, using traditional methods like those that had been passed down through generations of the Sasaki family, suddenly fell by the wayside. Fortunately, the Sasaki family stuck to their guns, deciding that the most important thing was to make tofu they could be proud of, and eventually they found new success when they started selling direct to their customers.

Nowadays, the traditionally-prepared tofu at Sasaki Tofu Shop is made mostly with local Miyoshi soybeans, and the family carefully chooses the best soybeans from other regions each season, mixing them all for the perfect balance. To turn the beans into firm or fluffy blocks of tofu, the Sasakis add traditional “nigari” to the mix, an all-natural salt solution that works as a coagulant, sometimes referred to as “bittern” in English. Of course, the process doesn’t just stop there. Sasaki Tofu Shop offers a variety of tofu textures and different preparations, including products that have been local favorites for generations, like fried tofuーan area where Takeru Sasaki has been experimenting with final preparation techniques both new and old. Customers who are hoping to cook up a storm, but aren’t quite sure what to buy, are given enthusiastic and abundant recommendations!

For the many travelers passing through Miyoshi who don’t have easy access to a kitchen, perhaps a lunch trip is in order! Next to the main shop, Sasaki Tofu runs a restaurant specializing in tofu dishes of all kinds, prepared with tofu made just about on the premises. Offering everything from tofu tempura to tofu skins, and plenty of simple dishes of chilled silken tofu perfect for savoring the flavor, this place is heaven-on-Earth for tofu lovers. Fans of this humble icon of Japanese cuisine shouldn’t miss the chance to stop by!