In April 2024, the miso and soy sauce producer Yamauchi Honten opened “Hibikojiya,” a refined eatery that primarily serves carefully prepared miso soup and delicious onigiri.

Among the menu items, I discovered the “Kumamon-no-Dekyaa Onigiri,” a massive onigiri weighing 2 kilograms (about 4.4 lb)!

I have to try it…!

Despite some apprehensions, I knew that I had to take on the challenge.

Discovering the Charm of Yamauchi Honten: A Legacy of 273 Years

Hibikojiya, the factory-direct store of Yamauti Honten, a miso and soy sauce producer, is located in Kikuyo Town near the “Sunree Carino Kikuyo” shopping center and the “Sansan no Yu” hot spring facility.

It is near Sanri-Carino-Kikuyo (a shopping center) and San-san-no-Yu (a hot spring).

The establishment features a charming warehouse-like exterior and functions as both a shop and a dining area.

If the parking in front is full, there’s a spacious second parking area immediately to the right after entering the gate.

The first floor of the shop offers a variety of products like miso and soy sauce.

Miso is also sold in bulk by weight, so you can buy as much as you need.

There are also plenty of samples on offer, and you can try out various types of miso soup.

There’s also a wide selection of handmade onigiri on display, all looking very tempting!

You can buy various products here, from daily-use miso and specialty soy sauces tailored for specific dishes, to gift items—there’s something for every need.

Exploring the Exciting Menu Options

Upon entering, you receive a detailed explanation, a menu, an order sheet, and a number tag.

You choose from the menu, write your order, and wait for your number to be called to pay at the central cashier before heading upstairs to the dining area.

After that, customers will be called in the order of their number tag. When your number is called, submit your order form to the cashier in the central part of the store.

After paying the bill there, you can go to the dining area on the second floor.

Let’s see what’s on the menu.

The menu at Hibikojiya features various set meals, starting with a simple one that includes dago-jiru (miso soup with dumplings) and a single onigiri. There are four different set meals available, varying in size, so you can choose which one suits your appetite best.

Next, you get to choose the type of miso paste you would like to be used to make your dago-jiru.

The options include “Maboroshi” (“legendary”) miso, young miso, and aged miso—offering a unique opportunity to tailor the flavor to your personal taste, something you would only be able to do at a place like this!

Moreover, you can select your onigiri from 14 different varieties, allowing you to create your own custom meal set.

However, the main event for us today was

the Kumamon onigiri!

Taking no chances, I brought my family (husband and two toddlers) along and ordered a lavish set of dago-jiru and two onigiri for my husband, plus the gigantic Kumamon onigiri, and headed to the cash register…

The cashier gently warned us, “Ah, this onigiri weighs 2 kilograms. It might be too much for your party to finish…”

Despite her advice, I optimistically responded, “I think we can manage, so please go ahead with the order!” My groundless confidence allowed us to proceed with the checkout.

Indeed, if you think about it, a typical onigiri weighs about 100 grams, so this giant Kumamon onigiri is equivalent to roughly 20 regular onigiri—enough for about ten people! No wonder the staff tried to dissuade us.

After paying, you receive a buzzer and head upstairs to secure a table. 

Once the buzzer sounds, it’s back downstairs to the kitchen to pick up your food, much like the system you’d find in a food court.

The Big Reveal: Facing the Giant Onigiri

As I ascended to the second floor, I was greeted by the charming atmosphere of a dining hall set within an old-time storehouse.

The high ceilings offered a sense of openness and seemed like a nice place to relax and enjoy a meal casually in a casual atmosphere.

With tea and water available as self-service, I poured myself a glass of water and waited for my buzzer to signal. 

After a somewhat lengthy wait, the buzzer finally called me back downstairs to the kitchen.

The kitchen, featuring two large hagama stoves for cooking rice, was where I went to pick it up.

This is it!!!

And there it was in all its glory, the massive 2kg “Kumamon-no-Dekyaa Onigiri”! “Dekyaa” is a Kumamoto dialect pronunciation of the standard Japanese word “dekai”, referring to something that is very huge.

 

Despite being a highlight of the menu, it’s apparently only quite rare that it actually gets ordered. The staff carried it upstairs for me with much fanfare, shouting “Kumamon-no-Dekya Onigiri, coming through!” (which I found somewhat embarrassing).

Truly, it was enormous—almost monstrous! The craftsmanship involved in placing the nori and crafting the onigiri was evident, suggesting a challenging creation process.

After admiring it for a moment, it was time to take on the giant Kumamon onigiri.

Starting with just the nori and rice,

 I was immediately struck by its deliciousness.

The rice is cooked in a traditional Japanese hagama, as I mentioned above, the salt is from Amakusa, and the seaweed is from the Ariake Sea… all of the ingredients are of the highest quality, making the rice truly delicious!

After eating the rounded ears and I began to eat from the head, the Aso Takana  (leaf mustard) filling, a Kumamoto specialty, came into view!

Despite the considerable amount of rice, the filling was also generous, and this was also really tasty!

I was pleasantly surprised that the pickled mustard greens weren’t too spicy, and it’s a perfect match for rice.

Progressively, I conquered the takana zone and moved onto the mentaiko (spicy cod roe) zone.

Here too, the large pieces of mentaiko were a lavish touch.

It was manageable—I could do this!

Despite not having any other side dishes like miso soup or curry to accompany the meal and initially doubting my ability to finish, I found myself making good progress.

Moreover, I was impressed by the fact that the back of Kumamon’s face, even the part not visible on the plate, was fully covered with seaweed!

Darn it, Yamauchi Honten, you do excellent work!

The scent of the nori propelled me through the meal.

Next to the mentaiko section was soboro (minced meat) made from Akaushi, a special breed of local beef traditionally pastured in the grasslands of Aso).

Akaushi is a particularly rare, and these days, expensive breed of cattle that is traditionally raised on grassland pastures of Mt. Aso, so to use it as minced meat and fill a rice ball with it seems really extravagant!

It tastes so good!

The beef’s sweet seasoning, favored by Kumamoto locals, paired exceptionally well with the rice.

…nevertheless, the opponent has a total weight of 2kg.

My daughters, aged six and three, helped a bit, playing as they ate, but they weren’t much of a force, making the challenge arduous.

Nonetheless, with one final push— almost there!

Reaching this point felt like victory was imminent!

Bit by bit,

I continued and finally finished everything!

it was a carbohydrate battle with just a 2kg onigiri,

 but the abundant nori and fillings kept it interesting right to the end.

 By the way, the set menu, likely favored by the average diner, is delicious as well!

The “dago-jiru” is generously filled to the brim in the bowl.

*Dago-jiru is a traditional Kumamoto dish, a type of miso soup with dumplings made from wheat flour that’s kneaded with water, rested, and then torn by hand into the soup. It also includes vegetables like carrots, daikon radish, and taro.

The dago-jiru here, with its abundance of ingredients like radishes, carrots, and sweet potatoes and the dumplings’ perfect balance of soft chewiness, is superb!

The broth, made from dried sardines and kelp, enhances the flavor, making the simple combination of onigiri and dago-jiru a truly delightful meal.

Desserts: Soft Serve and Amazake Shakes

And delightfully, there are desserts too!

There is soy sauce soft serve, miso soft serve, and amazake shakes.

I also tried the mixed soy sauce soft serve (there is always room for dessert)—which, surprisingly, has a subtle saltiness and the savory fragrance of soy sauce, and it was delicious!

There were also amazake shakes available in flavors like strawberry and purple yam, allowing for a full indulgence in Japanese-style sweets based on fermented products.

However, after my battle with the onigiri, I ended up so full that I didn’t eat anything for a whole day afterward…

Summary

Yamauchi Honten, a historic establishment of over 270 years, was first founded in the Shinmachi District of Kumamoto City.

Hibikojiya allowed me to rediscover the deliciousness of everyday staples like rice and miso.

It’s a wonderland of miso and soy sauce where you can enjoy delicious meals, shopping, and Japanese sweets all in one place.

In addition, the “Kumamon-no-Dekyaa Onigiri” is not only large but incredibly delicious, and definitely worth it if you are visiting with a larger group of friends or family.

*Reservations are not accepted; service is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.