Ryuji Tours Ajinomoto's Kawasaki Plant: From the Discovery of Umami to "A Century of Haters" and the Factory Lines

The exhibits begin with an introduction to Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, the Japanese scientist who discovered umami. According to the guide, at the time there were thought to be four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Dr. Ikeda suspected there was another taste apart from these, and one evening at dinner it struck him that the flavor of the kombu dashi he was eating might be it, so he pursued the research. Ryuji is amazed, saying, "His mind works on a whole other level."

Ryuji confirms that because umami was discovered in Japan, it is called "umami" overseas as well. Ryuji then shares their own view. A TV show once ranked "things Japan invented that are used around the world," and instant cup noodles came in first, but without umami seasoning, cup noodles probably couldn't have been made. It was possible because Japan had the technology to crystallize umami, and that's why Ryuji thinks Japan's greatest invention is umami seasoning. Ryuji said they want to get this point across more.

The person who lent a hand in spreading umami to the world was Saburosuke Suzuki, founder of the Ajinomoto Group. The guide explained that Ajinomoto was born from the meeting and collaboration of these two men, and that "Eat Well, Live Well" is the group's founding principle.

On the early product, the guide explains that it was extremely expensive at the time. In today's money, an amount equivalent to an Aji-Panda bottle would cost about 9,600 yen. Ryuji adds that restaurants back then apparently put up signs saying "We use Ajinomoto," since it was that expensive and fashionable.

Next comes the topic of raw materials. The kombu in the exhibit contains a large amount of glutamic acid, but given the quantities needed, making it from kombu would be difficult, the guide explains. In front of an exhibit on fermented foods, Ryuji adds that wine, beer, sake, cheese and yogurt are all foods with umami.

The manufacturing process was presented with a moving diorama. Using sugarcane and similar raw materials, microorganisms are added to fermentation tanks to ferment them, and after refining, the crystalline umami seasoning is produced.

Ryuji asked whether the liquid before refining has a name, and whether a liquid full of glutamic acid would make food taste better if added to cooking. The employee's answer was essentially that the glutamic acid is what the microorganisms produce after consuming the raw materials, and while it is basically a tasty substance, the liquid on its own isn't something you'd perceive as umami. When Ryuji asked whether it has to be bonded with sodium, the employee replied that without bonding to sodium, it doesn't dissolve easily in food.

The original packaging of Hi-Me, launched in 1962, was also on display. Ryuji notices that the formula differs from today's. At the time, it was apparently a combination of monosodium glutamate and inosinate.

According to the employee, Ajinomoto was originally a glutamate-only product. Today it is glutamate with inosinate and guanylate added, and the subtitles give the figures "1.25%, 1.25%." Ryuji takes this to mean that the umami synergy effect was weaker originally.

The employee also said that Ajinomoto sold overseas is still 100% glutamate. Products bought in Thailand or Indonesia are examples. Ryuji was surprised, saying they hadn't known, and mentioned that when they were once given Thai Ajinomoto, it tasted different, a bit weaker. When Ryuji asked whether Thailand uses more Ajinomoto than Japan, the employee said yes, and Ryuji responded that a great many Thai dishes use Ajinomoto.

This was the exhibit that got Ryuji most excited. In the Taisho era, a rumor reportedly spread that Ajinomoto was made from snakes. Ryuji laughed, "So there were already haters in the Taisho era," and asked to take a photo. The company had pushed back in an advertisement at the time stating, "Ajinomoto is absolutely not made from snakes." Ryuji was impressed: "You've been fighting this ever since the Taisho era."

According to the employee, it was only during the war, when wheat was scarce and the plant ended up providing wheat, that people finally correctly understood it was made from wheat. The point was that dispelling such a negative image was difficult even back then. Hearing that such rumors had already appeared just 10 years after launch, Ryuji was amused, saying, "History just keeps repeating itself" and "The fight against haters has been going on for 100 years."

Next, an employee who has been collaborating with Ryuji since around 2019 used data to explain the changes surrounding umami seasoning. The company's aim is to get younger generations to buy umami seasoning, and the figure for that segment rose by 5%. Ryuji reacted, "5% is huge."

What the employee particularly emphasized was an image survey. In a survey of tens of thousands of people, the share who feel uneasy about umami seasoning fell by 5%, while the share with a favorable view rose by 3%. The group that outright rejects it was never that large to begin with, at 3%. Ryuji replied, "So it's that 3% making all the noise."

The volume of mentions on social media has generally trended upward since 2019, peaking in 2023. Asked why, Ryuji realized it was probably because they had used a lot of Ajinomoto on "Kinsuma," and the employee confirmed that was right. Ryuji also recalled being told at the time that "production can't keep up." A graph was shown indicating that sales have also grown significantly since 2019.

Finally, the employee introduced a former advertising slogan: "For spicy, salt; for sweet, sugar; for delicious, Ajinomoto." They said they want to spread Ajinomoto throughout Japan just like the basic "sa-shi-su-se-so" seasonings, and work together to bring delicious meals to more tables. Ryuji responded, "That gets me fired up."

Next, Kawasaki, an Executive Specialist at Ajinomoto's food research laboratory, appeared. This was a condensed version of a lecture called "The Science and Design of Deliciousness," which normally takes about an hour.

What Kawasaki values most is traditional cuisine, and science means understanding traditional cuisine and learning its mechanisms. People often say "cooking is science," but Kawasaki states that cooking is not science; it's simply that we look at cooking scientifically. Using that knowledge to design is what leads to new dishes. Furthermore, Kawasaki explained, top chefs have to work backward from the result, from how they want the customer to feel, and that is design.

Hearing this, Ryuji responded, "That's the same as YouTube," since sometimes they decide on the thumbnail first. Kawasaki replied, "That's exactly it."

When Ryuji asked whether, given that Japanese cuisine is centered on umami, there are other cuisines like this in the world, Kawasaki answered, "There aren't," "Only washoku." Ryuji remarked that there was nothing to cut from this part of the video.

The official characters Aji-Panda-kun and Aji-Panna-chan also appeared. Standing between the two, Ryuji was delighted, saying, "This is the thumbnail." According to an employee, they make sure everyone on the tour course gets to meet one of them. Ryuji laughed, "It's like Disneyland."

For the cooking segment, Ryuji made tamago kake gohan (raw egg over rice) using Ajinomoto. Called "salt tamago kake gohan," it skips soy sauce so the flavor of the egg really comes through, and Ryuji says it's their favorite recipe lately. Ryuji said it almost feels like a waste to debut it in this video.

Ryuji also explained how the recipe came about. Ryuji had previously released a tamago kake gohan using Gari no Moto and green onions, and received criticism such as "If you use green onions, it's not tamago kake gohan" and "Tamago kake gohan should be simpler." Annoyed by this, Ryuji created this recipe.

Here's how to make it. Prepare 200 g of piping-hot rice (180 g is also fine), and first mix only the egg white into the rice. The heat sets the egg white, and the egg becomes richer. This is a technique Ryuji also uses in their "Ultimate TKG." Add 4 shakes of Ajinomoto. Egg and Ajinomoto go well together, Ryuji says. Then 5–6 shakes of garlic powder, which is optional. Add half a tablespoon of Pure Select mayonnaise. The key point, Ryuji explains, is that coating the rice with oil brings out a deep umami. Since the amount is small, the mayonnaise flavor doesn't come through strongly, and Pure Select works best because its acidity is mellow. Finally, top with the egg yolk, sprinkle about 2 pinches of salt, and add coarsely ground black pepper. Sprinkling salt on the yolk makes it change color slightly.

Tasting it, Ryuji raved, "A masterpiece" and "It might really be better than with soy sauce." Ryuji also let slip that they should have just made it a regular video. Ryuji added that it tastes even better made with Seto no Honjio salt. Ryuji always eats fried eggs with Ajinomoto and salt, and this recipe turns that into tamago kake gohan.

The second half is the factory tour. According to the guide, besides the packaging plant, the Kawasaki plant has a Hondashi plant, a Cook Do plant, a Knorr soup plant and more, with about 3,800 people working there. In the brown packaging plant building, both Hi-Me and the Aji-Panda bottles are packaged here and nowhere else. The usual tour course views the plant from above, but this time they were specially allowed inside.

The plant's representative thanked Ryuji, saying that thanks to Ryuji using Ajinomoto, they can keep the lines running without stopping. Ryuji replied, "Leave the PR to me."

Inside the plant, they first saw the raw material loading room. The sacks, called bags, were all filled with Hi-Me. In the bottle filling process, bottles flow along one at a time and are filled. In the capping process, caps descend from above and are screwed on one by one, and the bottles are weighed as they move along. In the packaging process, heat-shrink film is placed over them from above, and they pass through a hot-air tunnel at about 150°C to set the shape. Inspection equipment is also built in. The explanation was that only one worker is in charge of this equipment, and robots do almost all the work. Ryuji grumbled that even with this much production, plenty of supermarkets don't carry it.

They also saw the refill pouches. Because they look like penguins when stood upright, they are nicknamed "penguins" within the company.

Ryuji reflected that through the tour they had learned even more about Ajinomoto, and had come to truly appreciate that the Ajinomoto close at hand is made this way. Ryuji ends the video by urging viewers, "Give Ajinomoto a shake."