Kewpie factory tour Tokyo
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Are you a Kewpie mayonnaise fan? Well if you are, dreams can be made true by visiting the Kewpie factory tour in Tokyo held at Mayo Terrace!
Factory tour, but not a real factory
The Kewpie factory was moved out of this area a long time ago, and now the Kewpie offices are located in this spot. The factory tour includes a look at the behind-the-scenes of making Kewpie without visiting the real factory, however it’s incredibly cute, wonderfully executed and worth doing!
History of Kewpie in Japan
Kewpie is the biggest-selling mayonnaise in Japan.
It has a long history dating back to 1910 when Kewpie’s founder Toichiro Nakashima travelled to the UK and the US as an intern with Japan’s Japan Department of Agriculture and Commerce as it was known back then.
Nakashima was particularly fond of the orange marmalade and the mayonnaise used in potato salad he found overseas. He decided to make a nutritious mayonnaise to aid in the health of the Japanese population.
Kewpie, originally named Shokuhin Kogyo Company, was then founded in 1919 with an aim to make a mayonnaise so available to Japanese it could become a daily necessity.
In 1925 Kewpie was named after the popular doll and character of the time.
Kewpie Factory tour
This factory tour is free! Yes, it’s actually free! But you must have a reservation!
How to book a Kewpie factory tour
Go to the Kewpie website (in Japanese) but use automatic Google Chrome translation to read the page if you need to.
You can reserve tickets one month in advance. I would mark the date on your calendar for the day tickets become available and get in quickly!
For tours from the 1st until 29 November 2024, tickets become available on the 1st of October 2024.
Tour dates are not always released on the 1st of the month, so check the reservation page notifications to find these dates and prepare ahead of time.
If you don’t book close to the release date, you will unfortunately see a calendar page with all bookings taken.
How long is the factory tour?
The Kewpie Mayonnaise tour lasts for around 60 minutes.
You can arrive up to 20 minutes earlier than your reservation time to peruse the Kewpie foyer, watch the cute Kewpie animations on screens and make use of their free storage lockers and super clean restrooms.
English tours
When arriving for your tour, they will ask if you prefer a Japanese or English tour depending on guide’s availability. We were lucky to have Yuko-san who could speak English. However, even if the tour was in Japanese there are many video explanations that I think would make sense.
What to expect on the Kewpie factory tour
The first part of the tour is held in the Kewpie kitchen where you must wash your hands first.
You are then given a small plate with potato salad to enjoy and some water cups as well.
Your guide will explain the history of Kewpie in the area and also some yummy recipes you can make with Kewpie products such as steamed onions and fried fish with salad dressing.
Then you will return to the foyer where the next part of the tour continues inside the cute Kewpie-shaped structure.
Watch a video about how Kewpie is made, and how egg yolks help vinegar and oil become friends. So kawaii!
Simple science explanations
Even though there is some explanation about the science of making mayonnaise, it is very child-friendly. Cute animations explain emulsification and how oxygen affects the product.
Then you will enter the faux factory area. The real factory had to be moved out of this area due to the rapid urbanisation. Kewpie did not want the smells and noise of a factory to disturb local residents.
So instead this location is an office space for kewpie employees and also the factory tour on the ground floor.
The factory area is so much fun. It’s colourful with large screens displaying imagery of how the factories work.
There is also a section where you can play a game to find the correct ingredients and scan them in time. The kids enjoyed this and played a second time.
Free souvenirs as well?
At the end of the tour, you trade your ticket for a souvenir to take home. This is quite generous considering the tour was free and now the gifts are free!
How to get to the Kewpie factory tour
The Kewpie factory tour is held at their office location called Mayo Terrace in Chofu, Tokyo.
Mayo Terrace is a five-minute walk from Sengawa Station. From Shibuya Station, it will take around 45 minutes to 1 hour to reach Mayo Terrace on public transport.
Kewpie gift shop
The gift shop at Mayo Terrace is so cute! You can different types of edible Kewpie products but also cute stationery, Kewpie dolls, postcards and more!
Gift shop is card only
The Kewpie gift shop does not accept cash, only card, so come prepared!
Is the Kewpie factory tour child-friendly?
Yes! This tour is definitely child-friendly. Our kids loved the tour.
We also saw a group of pre-school children enjoying an excursion to Mayo Terrace and also a family with a small baby in a carrier also enjoying the tour.
The rooms are colourful and tactile, there are games to play and the explanations are simple and use animations to help with understanding science.
I would definitely bring children on the tour, they will enjoy it and they will learn a lot! They can also search for the hidden kewpie dolls throughout the space.
What did I learn on the Kewpie tour?
I learned so much during my hour on the Kewpie tour!
- Kewpie makes 230 bottles of mayonnaise every minute
- The Kewpie factory cracks 600 eggs every minute
- Kewpie uses 10% of all of Japan’s eggs
- There are many different products Kewpie makes, not just mayonnaise
- The Kewpie bottle is made up of many different layers of plastic to keep out oxygen and keep the product fresh
- Kewpie products differ around the world catering to different tastes and cultures
- Kewpie uses all the parts of the egg so there is no waste. For example, egg whites go into cakes, egg shells make calcium tablets and snow tire grip and the egg membrane goes into cosmetics.
- Kewpie has been approved as space food and these bottles have velcro to stick the lids to the bottom during use, so the lids don’t float away in space.
- Kewpie also makes different types of mayonnaise; without cholesterol, with half the amount of oil and vegan mayonnaise with soybean instead of egg.
- Adding mayonnaise to pancakes and cakes makes the texture fluffier and the sourness disappears during cooking.
Where to buy Kewpie products
Regular Kewpie mayo
In Japan, Kewpie products are everywhere! Maybe try a salad dressing or a different kind like the smoked mayo next time you are at the supermarket.
Outside of Japan, Kewpie products can be purchased in some stores such as Costco or local supermarkets, or also online.
Buy the three-pack of the original Kewpie mayonnaise online here.
Use this original mayonnaise on your sandwiches, to make the perfect creamy chicken or tuna salad, try making your own oishii Japanese potato salad.
Try this mayonnaise in your pancakes or even make a chocolate cake that is fluffier than usual thanks to Kewpie!
Roasted sesame dressing
Sesame dressing is a common salad dressing used in Japan and it’s creamy, nutty and delicious. It’s very versatile and can be used many ways.
Buy Kewpie’s Deep Roasted Sesame Dressing here.
Other Kewpie salad dressings
Kewpie also makes many other types of salad dressing and if you want to try these, buy a six-pack of different flavours here.
This pack contains: Kewpie Deep Roasted Sesame Dressing, Yuzu Kosho, Caesar, Onion Dressing with Garlic, Spicy Sesame Oil, and Savory Soy.
Kewpie dolls
There are many cute Kewpie dolls souvenirs you can purchase online. Right now the Sonny Angel dolls are really popular and have become a collector’s item. Although they are not affiliated with the mayonnaise brand, they use the iconic Kewpie figure with cute accessories to bring cuteness to your every day!
Watch our YouTube short on the Kewpie tour
Round up of the Kewpie Factory Tour in Tokyo
I loved this tour, the whole family loved the tour. It’s one of the best free activities you can do in Japan.
I highly recommend booking this tour while in Tokyo. You will develop a new appreciation of mayonnaise and have so much fun in the process!
Include this tour on your Tokyo itinerary and combine it with other kid-friendly activities in Tokyo.
