The summer I turned 56, I looked at my health checkup results and thought, “Maybe I’ll just try eating some fermented foods.” And before I knew it, that had turned into “a life built around fermentation.”

I want to write it all down properly today.

The Moment I Realized I Was Hooked

There’s a sake brewery in Chiba Prefecture that is deeply committed to natural fermentation.

They brew sake using no additives whatsoever — only the wild, naturally occurring bacteria that live in the brewery itself — following traditional methods they’ve kept alive for generations. I came to learn about them while researching fermented foods.

One day I had the opportunity to get hold of some of their sake.

I came home, poured a single ochoko cup, and drank it. It was just before bed.

The moment it touched my lips, I found a complexity unlike anything I’d tasted in sake before. Sweetness and acidity, a deep fermentation aroma. A profound, hard-to-describe richness that only natural microbes could create.

“Fermentation can produce something this extraordinary,” I thought, once again struck.

Life at Home Now, with Fermented Foods

Currently, our dinner table always has several kinds of fermented foods.

• Nukadoko (I pickle not just vegetables but blue-backed fish too)
• Homemade miso from a wooden barrel (made with ingredients sourced from a shop in Fukui)
• Natto (without fail, every morning)
• Shio koji (salted koji — works as a all-purpose marinade for cooking)

Shio koji can go into stir-fries, steamed dishes, all sorts of things. It draws out the natural umami of whatever you’re cooking and makes even simple dishes noticeably better.

What Happened to My Body

My cholesterol is trending in the right direction, and all my metabolic syndrome markers came back healthy. I haven’t restricted my diet at all.

More than anything, the vague, nagging anxiety of “I’m worried about getting sick” has faded. I feel like I’ve come to trust my own body.

What Fermented Foods Have Taught Me

After ten months, here is what I’ve learned from fermented foods:

Rushing doesn’t produce anything good. Fermentation is made by time and microbes. All we can do is set up the right conditions. Life and work feel a little similar.

Small, daily accumulation eventually becomes big change. One pack of morning natto, a few minutes mixing the nukadoko. That was all it took — and six months later I was a different body.

Engaging with living things is engaging with yourself. When I check the condition of the nukadoko, when I wait for the miso to age, my mind goes quiet.

What Comes Next

The homemade miso from the wooden barrel has become something I can’t imagine my daily table without. I’m planning to pack another batch next year.

With the nukadoko, I want to keep experimenting — not just with vegetables, but with blue-backed fish and whatever seasonal ingredients come along. The world of fermentation goes deeper the more you dig.

Starting in your 50s isn’t too late.

If anything, maybe this is the best time to take your body seriously. I want to keep aging carefully, fermentation by my side.

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To anyone who’s been reading: thank you for following along from the beginning. If a skeptical amateur like me could get this far, why not start your own “life with fermentation”? Just one pack of natto is all it takes.

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About Toshi Ferment

A record of food and daily life by Toshi — a 50-something who loves fermented foods and health. Started summer 2025. Updated monthly.

※ This article is based on personal experience and publicly available information. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease. If you have health concerns, please consult a doctor or registered dietitian. See our Disclaimer.