Dec 25, 2015
MSG FACTORY TOUR Ajinomoto Kawasaki Plant
So a few weeks ago I asked my partner where she wanted to go for a unique experience for my youtube channel. I thought, maybe a maid cafe, or cat cafe, or maybe a trip to somewhere rich in culture and history. She answered right away, Ajinomoto Factory tour.This tour is FREE to the public. She says...
I've heard the name before, I'm trying to figure out where....
Then, as I look down at my MSG enriched ramen cup, I realized, I've been eating Ajinomoto brands my whole life.
After a short train ride to Kawasaki, we arrived at Suzukicho Station, right in front of the Ajinomoto Kawasaki Plant.
There we found our way by following the panda tracks right outside the station.
After we met Aji-kun, the albino panda, we learned about Umami.
It is neither sweet, nor sour, nor spicy, nor savory. It is in the middle of all those tastes, and is simply Umami.
Is MSG bad for you? Well, if you ask anybody who lives in Japan, they probably won't even think about that question. Nobody has ever heard of MSG or any Ajinomoto products hurting anybody, or even thought of them as being unsafe. Nobody has ever heard of the "Chinese Food Headache" or MSG free products being of higher quality than any other foods.
Doing more research, and you could do the same, you'll discover than anybody who says there is scientific proof that MSG is bad for you is either talking about experiments where they inject large amounts of MSG into mice and seeing cancer develop (which you could get the same results if instead you injected say... pudding), or they point at all the MSG rich foods like fast food and packaged ramen. But I'm sure if you lived off of McDonalds and Instant Ramen, you'd probably develop some health problems, not because of MSG, but because you are eating tons of McDonalds and Instant Ramen.
So to me, it seems like MSG isn't necessarily bad for you, it's the food this seasoning is put on that's bad for you.
As for the tour itself, it's super interesting and extremely fancy.
They even let us make our own bottle of MSG!
Details on how entertaining this tour was is detailed in my YouTube. If you watch the video below, just imagine all the things they didn't allow me to film.
I also consume a lot of MSG for your entertainment.
Have fun! Remember to subscribe to me for more crazy and unique sightseeing, and continue to look for me here on city-cost.com!
Be sure to check me out on YouTube: Janglish Jerry
I go around and find the weirdest, coolest, strangest, most interesting things in my area. I frequent Tokyo, Yokohama, and Yokosuka.
3 Comments
DaveJpn
on Dec 27
Is that you using your MSG at the end, or can we go and buy the one you made in the shops!! It looks very white in there, and quite serious. When you were trying the miso soup (with/without 'magic powder') there almost seemed to be an academic vibe. Can you just turn to this place and take a tour? Or, do you need to make a reservation? Fun read/watch!
JanglishJerry
on Dec 27
@DaveJpn Yes, very educational. Unfortunately its reservation only. Yes, we were super serious about making (or just pouring) the MSG seasoning. There was a long list of things we had to check for like, "Did you write the correct date?" and "Is your inventory complete? Cap, Bottle, strainer." That was our seasoning we made, but you can also buy it on your own too, probably in the local convenient store. Just look for the albino panda.
DaveJpn
on Dec 28
@Janglish-Jerry Dates, caps, bottles, .... my head is spinning. Looks interesting anyway. I'll be on the look out for an albino panda then.