Unpopular opinion – Nattō is delicious.

Well, at least I think it is, and according to a survey run by Nifty in 2017 so does61.9% of the nation.
If you too are a kindred foodie in love with the stuff, then you’ll be happy to hear that you can now get an assortment of specialty nattō sent directly from Mito (a.k.a Japan’s nattō capital) to wherever you are in Japan.

Reiwa Nattō opened on 10 July 2019 and is one of the first stores to specialise in providing bowls of nattō rice. (Fun Fact: 10 July is known as ‘Nattō Day’ in Japan because the numbers 7 and 10 sound similar to nattō when read in Japanese).
The founder of Reiwa Nattō was also behind the creation of Nattō Danshi in 2015; an organisation that aims to bring nattō to the ‘World’s dining table’.

The store is based in Ibaraki Prefecture’s Mito, which is known throughout Japan as the number one production area of nattō in Japan.
Though located in Ibaraki, the company has a range of high quality nattō compiled from independent manufacturers across the country. They also offer more than 10 kinds of toppings sourced from both inside and outside of Japan that go well with their nattō rice dishes.

Before the state of emergency was announced in areas of Japan earlier this year, the store had been selling only to customers who visit in-store, however, following the extension, they have decided to begin nationwide shipping of an assorted set of their recommended speciality nattō products.

For those who aren’t quite familiar with Japan’s most polarising dish, nattō is essentially a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans.
Now, before you start turning your nose away in disgust, let me just politely remind you of a handful of everyday foods you probably forgot are fermented: cheese, yoghurt, butter, soy sauce, traditional ketchup, even cocoa and...technically bread too. If you want to know what foods you ate today that are fermented, you can check out this brief list on wikipedia – you might be surprised.

However, the fact that nattō is a fermented food might not be the leading reason why it has so many people heading for the hills (both foreign tourists and a lot of native Japanese). In reality most people put their shuddering away from nattō down to the sticky, gooey and stringy texture, and that strong pungent smell – which if you are a fan of aged cheeses, you’ll probably find quite welcoming.

If you are able to overcome all of that, you’ll be opening a door to many new recipes involving nattō. Aside from unaccompanied plain nattō (which makes for a great post-workout protein boost), you can enjoy the food with salad, pasta, toast, omelette, okonomiyaki or even with tortillas – the possibilities are endless.
However, the most common way to enjoy it is as a bowl of simple nattō rice – served with standard toppings such as karashi mustard, soy sauce, spring onions and/or raw egg.

At Reiwa Nattō, you can enjoy toppings with your nattō that have been ranked by over 15,000 nattō fans on facebook. In addition to the standard toppings, Reiwa Nattō also recommends a variety of ingredients such as pickled kimchi or takuan, seafood toppings like shirasu and tuna, and ground chicken or beef for meat lovers.
If you are a self-described foodie, but you haven’t yet made room for nattō, Reiwa Nattō’s unique toppings might lead you to a nattō rice love affair.

With Reiwa Nattō’s assortment set now available with nationwide shipping, you’ll be able to mix up your very own unique nattō dish using ingredients you have spare in your refrigerator. Who knows? You might discover a secret combination that turns you into an ultimate nattō master.

The set itself consists of a selection of Reiwa Nattō’s best sellers, which are sourced from all over the country. It includes ōtsubu (large beans), nakatsubu (medium beans), kotsubu (small beans) as well as kuromame nattō (black soybean nattō), so you can enjoy all different types of nattō.
With the wide selection of beans in the assortment box, you can enjoy making a luxury nattō rice bowl at home.

Orders for the assortment set can be made through Reiwa Nattō’s online shop. Shipping is provided all over the country using cool EMS to ensure that the package is kept chilled and fresh.

So if you really are a nattō lover, head on over and order your very own assortment of Japan’s best beans. If you aren’t a fan because you’ve ‘bean there, done that’ (pun intended), or you haven’t been brave enough to try it just yet, take a leap of faith and open up the door to endless flavourful – and not to mention healthy – possibilities.

Reiwa Nattō Assortment Set

Price: 1,100 yen (tax included)
Shipping: Nationwide cool EMS delivery 1,200 yen (tax included)

Contents

Aomori Nattō (Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture) 80g x 1
Kawaguchi Nattō (Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture) 90g × 1
Umi no Tama Mono lit. Gift of the Sea (Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture) 50g × 2
Japanese black beans (Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture) 40g × 2
Fuku Yutaka (Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture) 100g × 1

Recommended combination toppings

Aomori Nattō: Mentaiko, Shirasu
Kawaguchi Nattō: Green onions, Okura
Umi no Tama Mono lit. Gift of the Sea: Butter, Kimchi
Japanese black beans: Tomato, Avocado
Fuku Yutaka: Raw eggs, mushrooms