Hiyama Nattō (Fermented Soybeans)

Hiyama Natto from Noshiro is made by wrapping locally grown soybeans in rice straw, a method held by just three samurai families during the Edo period. Today the Hiyama Natto Company, run by the fifteenth-generation owner, still follows that recipe. The result is notably large, firm beans with extra stickiness, sold in straw bundles or plastic containers at local roadside stops and some area hotels. The traditional method depends on undamaged rice straw, which is increasingly scarce as modern combine harvesters chop straw during harvest, making this style of natto a quietly endangered craft.