Did not find it. There was a something-something training building and that was it. Maybe it is a private museum?

As the name says, a small museum inside the Ajinomoto Group's training center. Admission is free; fill in the visitor register in the lobby and they'll give you an entry pass. It displays the company's journey from its founding in 1909 to the present, alongside images of the dining table in each era. The story of the birth of "Ajinomoto," starting from the discovery of "umami," is famous, but the public's reaction to a completely new genre of seasoning wasn't all positive, and it seems they went through all sorts of hardships. Setting aside the debate over its use that you still hear today, looking at the company's enormous growth from a macro view, I can't help thinking: tasty is justice, huh. I think it's content that people whose work involves food can learn a lot from and enjoy.

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A fascinating museum where you can learn how the "umami" technology — discovered by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of the University of Tokyo (then Tokyo Imperial University) from "yudofu and kombu" — was grown by Saburosuke Suzuki into a major business through industry-academia collaboration, and blended into the food cultures of countries around the world. I feel the word "small" in the museum's name doesn't refer only to the size of the exhibition room. From the small prototype bottle on which Dr. Ikeda handwrote "具留多味酸," to the small pre-war bottle with a red label read from right to left—. It makes you realize that a story that began with a single "small bottle" dramatically changed lives in more than 130 countries and regions around the world. Even now, baseless urban legends and rumors like "chemical seasonings are bad for you" pop up online from time to time. In fact, dispelling such misunderstandings and anxieties seems to have been a challenge ever since its launch, and I was really impressed by the story of the company's efforts to win public trust through advanced marketing such as newspaper ads and live demonstration sales carried out since the Taisho and early Showa eras — there's something there that still holds up today. It's a bit of a walk from the nearest station, but I think it's well worth the trip just to see with your own eyes the "first small bottle," the origin of the "Ajinomoto" that has spread across the world.

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The gate said "Ajinomoto Group Training Institute," so I hesitated to go in, but I took the plunge. The receptionist handed me a registration card and I got in easily. It's free. On the 2nd floor, under the theme "100 Years of Food and Life," the period from 1900 to the present is divided into 4 eras, introducing how the dining table has changed while tracing social conditions and the history of the Ajinomoto Group. There was a video introducing the birth of "Ajinomoto." Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University, driven by a strong desire to "improve the nutrition of the Japanese people," discovered that the umami component of kombu dashi is glutamic acid. Saburosuke Suzuki of Suzuki Shoten, who shared Dr. Ikeda's desire, developed and sold the world's first umami seasoning, "Ajinomoto," in 1908, and it spread around the world. Since it was a world first, I was moved to learn about the struggles of researching, developing, and selling "Ajinomoto." I was also surprised that Ajinomoto had a New York office before the war. I often use recipes by culinary researcher Ryuji. From the exhibits I learned he has a connection with Ajinomoto, and it all clicked.

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A small museum inside the training center. You need to go through entry procedures at reception. Free. Photography allowed only in some areas.

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