Sato no Gohan Factory Tour: From Rice Milling and Kettle Cooking to Oxygen-Absorbing Containers

According to an introductory video shown at the start of the tour, Sato no Gohan is made the same way rice is cooked at home, and the only ingredients today are rice and water. The video explained that development involved a battle against mold, and that the aseptic packaging technology developed through that process was applied to create rice that can be stored long-term and eaten anytime.

The first step is milling. Sato Foods buys its raw rice from all over Japan as unhulled brown rice and mills it in-house. Each light-blue bag hanging from a crane holds about 1 ton of brown rice, and this factory has two production lines. It uses 40 bags a day and produces 400,000 servings daily. There are 10 tanks for storing brown rice, holding about 100 tons in total. There is one more factory in Niigata Prefecture and another in Hokkaido. On hearing that the company makes about 1.2 million servings a day overall, Ryuji was surprised: "So that many are being eaten?"

Milling is done in three stages to avoid putting stress on the rice. The exhibit let visitors touch actual samples of rice as it changes from brown to white, and Ryuji was surprised at how much browner the brown rice was than expected. The staff member said that if the milling is poor, the cooked rice won't taste good either. During milling, sensors detect foreign objects such as stones and defective grains with poor color or shape, which are blown away with air jets. According to the staff member, not many packaged-rice makers in the industry mill their own rice yet. It is precisely because they are particular about the deliciousness of Niigata rice that they handle everything from milling onward themselves. Ryuji replied that not many people might know that.

After milling, the rice is washed in an in-house-developed rice washer and then soaked in cold water at 15°C or below for 2 hours so it absorbs water thoroughly. Ryuji said they also soak rice in the refrigerator and happily remarked, "That's the same as what I do!" The staff member explained that rice is still breathing even after milling, and while many people at home wash rice and cook it right away, this soaking stage is important. They also confirmed that cold water is better. The staff member revealed that when watching Ryuji's videos, they felt Ryuji was doing exactly the same thing as their factory.

According to the introductory video, the only difference from home cooking is the sterilization step for aseptic packaging. The soaked rice is measured out one serving at a time and, while in the cooking pot, instantly sterilized with high-temperature steam. The sterilized rice and cooking water are then loaded into the company's own specially developed pots.

What surprised Ryuji most here was that the rice is cooked one serving at a time. Having assumed it was cooked in bulk and then divided up, Ryuji kept repeating "I didn't know any of this" upon learning that it is cooked in the same shape as the package. Ryuji was also allowed to taste the water actually used for cooking at the factory, remarked that Niigata water is delicious, and broadened the conversation to the water used in brewing sake.

Sato Foods considers cooking to be the most important step. The company says it recreates the traditional Japanese kettle-cooking principle of "hajime choro choro, naka pappa" (start gently, then bring to a strong boil) with a continuous rice cooker 60 meters long. It developed its own cooking pot consisting of 12 connected pots, each the same size as the package.

The inside of the cooker reaches temperatures above 100°C. According to the staff member, typical packaged rice is cooked with steam while still in the pack, so it only reaches about 100°C. At the end of the tour walkway is a dark room designed to evoke the inside of the cooker, with lights representing the flames. Ryuji took it as an exhibit meant to be viewed "from the perspective of Sato no Gohan."

Pots actually used on the line were also on display. The first prototype was a 4-pot unit, used until 2016. As demand grew, it increased to 8 pots and then to the 12-pot unit currently used at this factory. Ryuji held one and said it was hot and heavy. According to the staff member, adding four servings only increased the weight by 400 grams.

Next was a corner where visitors could experience each stage of cooking through video and sound. The first stage, "hajime choro choro," is pre-cooking, warming the rice slowly over a gentle flame. "Naka pappa" is the main cooking, bringing it to a boil all at once over the strong heat only a gas flame can give, making the rice circulate. In "akago naite mo futa toru na" (don't lift the lid even if the baby cries), the rice is left to steam slowly with the lid on. The rice is cooked over 35 minutes in this way. Ryuji noted that a rice cooker takes about 50 minutes once you press the switch, but that their own quick-cook method also takes 35 minutes if the rice has been soaked, pointing out that the times match. On hearing that the 60-meter cooker changes the heat level section by section, Ryuji was impressed: "This attention to detail is amazing. So that's why it tastes good."

The cooked rice is flipped out of the pot onto a platform, and a container is placed over it. The containers are formed from sheets in a clean room. According to the staff member, with a method that cooks rice in the pack, the pack can simply be sealed and shipped, but because Sato no Gohan is cooked in pots, a step to transfer it into packs is necessary. Ryuji said hardly anyone probably knows this either.

Here the staff member posed a quiz: what special function does the container have? The answer was that it prevents "oxidation." There is a black line in the cross-section of the container, which is an oxygen-absorbing layer. It not only blocks oxygen from entering from the outside but also absorbs the oxygen that inevitably remains inside after packaging, so that ultimately the oxygen concentration inside the container becomes 0. Other companies' packaged rice does not use this container, they said, and the best-before period is one year at room temperature. Ryuji remarked that one year at room temperature is quite impressive.

The staff member explained that they change the cooking process, heat level, and amount of water depending on the rice variety, such as Niigata Koshihikari, Nanatsuboshi, and Yumepirika. Ryuji was surprised: "You really take rice that seriously."

"Shin Teiban," which was recently sent to Ryuji, was born from the opposite approach. The company discussed internally which blend would best suit Sato Foods' cooking method and prototyped about 300 blends. Shin Teiban is the product made from the one that showed the most promise. In other words, it is a blend made for Sato no Gohan.

In the packaging room, 6-pack trays were being formed from white rolls of sheet material. The 6-pack trays flow beyond a wall, where the containers are UV-sterilized and then filled with rice. They are then double-sealed with two types of film, red and white, and finally cut into individual packs. Because of the aseptic packaging, almost no one enters the room.

After packaging, every pack of rice produced is inspected. Packs outside the weight range are removed in a weight inspection, and metal detectors and X-ray inspection confirm that no foreign objects have gotten in. The packs coming down the line were still warm since they had not yet been cooled, and Ryuji picked one up in surprise: "It's freshly cooked!" Other products, such as Gin Shari, were also running on the line.

According to the staff member, since the label says Niigata-grown, it must be 100% from Niigata, so they also conduct DNA testing on the rice. Furthermore, the final judge of taste is a person, and people inspect it by eating it slowly.

Next they visited the dedicated factory for Sato no Kiri Mochi. Production is 36 tons a day, and the refrigerated storage always holds nearly 100 tons of mochi. After the glutinous rice is steamed, it is pounded in turn. The mortar section rotates while the pestle only moves up and down, and the rotation allows it to be pounded evenly.

Ryuji mentioned having made mochi with a mochi-making machine at the care home where they used to live, and asked whether pounded mochi tastes different from machine-kneaded mochi. The staff member answered that pounding gives it more body.

The pounded mochi is rapidly cooled. Cold water runs through plates, and passing the mochi between them causes moisture to be incorporated into the starch, preserving its freshly pounded texture. It is then kept in refrigerated storage for about two days to harden. In the past, mochi made in the cold season, called "kanzukuri," was said to be delicious, and the factory recreates those conditions. Ryuji took this to mean that it makes sense for New Year's mochi to be made in the cold season.

According to the staff member, mochi figures have grown over the past three years. The staff member cited Ryuji's featuring of it as the main reason. Furthermore, while people used to look up recipes mainly in books and on TV, a survey over the past two years found that YouTube had become number one. Ryuji responded, "So that means Ryuji's Buzz Recipes, then." Other reasons mentioned were that with changing lifestyles, some people now choose mochi over bread or rice, and that it keeps well.

The best-before period for kiri mochi is 24 months. It uses a special oxygen-absorbing film, so even after the outer bag is opened, the individually wrapped pieces last two years at room temperature. The only ingredients are rice and water, with no preservatives, and long-term storage is achieved through oxygen absorption alone. Ryuji called it "insane technology."

The growing number of mochi recipe variations also came up. Ryuji said they make more mochi recipes now too, and the staff member said that dessert-like ways of eating it have spread as well, and that mochi is part of a trend toward chewy textures. Boxing is done by hand, because visually checking for any abnormalities is important.

At the tasting, freshly pounded mochi was served first. Ryuji was surprised at how springy it was and said it was delicious even without anything on it. Next was grilled mochi made from the finished product. Ryuji said it had a toasty rice aroma like the crust that forms when cooking rice in a clay pot. The staff member explained that chilling increases the umami, and Ryuji agreed that the more you chew, the more the rice flavor comes out.

Then simmered mochi was served. The staff member said that simmered mochi might be less familiar in the Kanto region. They also offered the view that in Niigata it is mostly grilled, and that simmering it may be more common in the west. Ryuji said simmering brings back the freshly pounded texture and praised simmered mochi as taking "the best of both" freshly pounded and grilled. Eating it with Niigata soy sauce containing dashi and nori, as the staff member recommended, Ryuji said, "It seriously tastes freshly pounded," and even said this way of eating it should be promoted. With mochi paired with anko, Ryuji said it reminded them of how much they used to love oshiruko. The staff member said that many people say freshly pounded mochi is delicious, but they want to propose simmered mochi. Ryuji responded that they would like to try a way of making simmered mochi taste great.

Finally, they compared the conventional Niigata Koshihikari Sato no Gohan with Shin Teiban. Ryuji had never compared them before and was skeptical that they would be that different. Having just seen the production process, Ryuji called the Koshihikari really delicious.

The staff member explained that Shin Teiban cuts differently from the moment you put your chopsticks in. Ryuji said it was fluffy, separated easily, and felt close to freshly cooked, adding, "The taste is totally different." According to the staff member, Koshihikari is rice where you feel the stickiness, while Shin Teiban is rice for enjoying its fluffiness.

On the background behind creating Shin Teiban, the staff member explained that the concept was to make rice that is cheaper than Niigata Koshihikari and still delicious. With soaring rice prices since last year, the price of Sato no Gohan had also gone up. Koshihikari itself is delicious, but unseasonable weather has become a problem. Believing there was no future in relying solely on the deliciousness of Niigata Koshihikari, they created Shin Teiban to put their own technology front and center. Ryuji said they felt Shin Teiban tastes best eaten with toppings. The staff member added that it also goes well with rich dishes such as shogayaki, steak, and grilled salmon belly.

To go with Shin Teiban, the staff member had prepared three side dishes "we'd like people to buy at Niigata Station and take home." The first was pickled daikon; Ryuji was surprised by a flavor they had never tasted before, munched on it straight, said it would go well with sake, and said they wanted to buy some to take home. The second, niku miso, had a sweetish seasoning, and it was also mentioned that it tastes good on mochi sprinkled with green onions.

The third was flaked salmon, which Ryuji liked so much they said, "I'm definitely buying this to take home." The ingredients are king salmon, shochu, kelp and bonito extract powder, and soy sauce. The staff member said that in Niigata, walking around carrying this shop's bag is a status symbol for well-to-do ladies. Ways of eating it such as mixing it with grated cheese and putting it on bread, making onigiri, and adding it to peperoncino were also mentioned, and Ryuji, after actually mixing it into pasta, said it was "ridiculously delicious." It costs 3,000 yen and each one is handmade. In Tokyo, it can also be bought at Ginza Mitsukoshi. Ryuji joked that they would buy it even at 5,000 yen and laughed that talking any more would turn into an ad for the shop.

At the end of the tour, the staff member announced that a Shin Teiban campaign had begun on October 1. For a limited time, they are selling the regular 5-serving pack with one extra serving added at the same price. Ryuji frankly said they had not yet seen many people eating Shin Teiban and did not see it much in stores either. Ryuji then promised to come up with delicious recipes using Shin Teiban. Recommending that viewers compare it with Koshihikari, since the difference should be clear, Ryuji wrapped up the tour.