There is a model palace of Vienna’s Schloss Belvedere in Imabari, Ehime. Can you believe it is actually a large seasoning factory for the most famous seasoning manufacturing company: Nihon Shokken Holdings Co.? I’ve not been to Austria, but I’ve been to this huge manufacturing facility in the spring of 2008. The exterior is really the same as the original palace, and we can enjoy a factory tour in the palace.
The head office of the Nihon Shokken was in Imabari and its main factory was also on the same site. I visited there to join the factory tour with lunch in 2008. After the reception, I went to the meeting point for the participants. There were 60 to 70 people and we were divided into four groups. Then, each group started a field trip from different points of the factory.
My group visited the ham and sausage museum first, which was located just south of the head office building. We learned about the manufacturing processes of ham and sausage, and we could purchase them at the direct sales depot. After this museum, we went to the factory palace through the European garden. At the entrance of the palace, we had to change our shoes to slippers because this was the food processing facility. The entrance lobby was gorgeous like a real medieval castle with an old suit of armor on display. Additionally, there was an antique dining room named “Room of Marie Antoinette.” We could take pictures freely until this room, but taking photos was prohibited in the manufacturing area because of their industrial secrets.
The seasoning production area was large and surrounded by isolated touring corridors. From there, we could look down at the machines and the people working on the floor. It was a food processing facility, not a medieval palace. There were material storage boxes, mixing machines, sterilizers, packaging machines, and so on. Almost all processes were automated. It was very interesting to compare the old-style exterior of the palace and the contemporary manufacturing systems of the interior. Finally, we reached the end of the tour: the company cafeteria. I really enjoyed the lunch box that was the same as the ones provided to its employees.
The company built a second palace facility near the first one. The palace that it is modeled after is Schloss Schönbrunn. Now, we can’t enter the new palace, but they have a plan to make a factory tour like the first one. I can’t wait to join the new palace tour!
Their new facility!
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