After Sushi and Ramen comes KOJI. Bringing Horie's fermentation culture to the world.
welala, operated by best Co., Ltd., announced its dream to make 'KOJI' a globally common word. Through their store in Horie, Osaka, they are reinventing and broadcasting Japan's fermentation culture to modern lifestyles.
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- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 19:10
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Our company supports April Dream, an initiative to make April 1st a day to share dreams. This press release expresses the dream of 'best Co., Ltd. / welala'.
The dream pursued by welala, operated by best Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Osaka, Representative Director: Mio Suzuki), is to 'make KOJI a common global word.'
Japan has world-class food cultures like sushi and ramen. And there is a root to that food culture. Miso, soy sauce, amazake, shio-koji. The existence that presides over all of them and has supported the dining tables and health of Japanese people for hundreds of years. That is 'KOJI'.
However, in the busy modern daily life, its immeasurable value may be gradually becoming something 'special' or 'a thing of the past'. We want to 'reinvent' this power of koji once again into a form that fits modern lifestyles.
## 'It's a waste not to know the power of Koji.'
Our store, 'koji zakka & cafe welala', located in Horie, Osaka. It is a cafe and select shop where you can enjoy koji coffee, amazake, and koji egg sandwiches, but it is not just a place to sell fermented foods. It is a 'place to touch the potential of koji and update your lifestyle'.
Now, with the growing awareness of health and beauty, amazake is attracting attention as a 'drinkable IV drip'. However, what we want to deliver is not just functionality. It is the very culture of delicate Japanese 'handiwork' behind it.
## What I inherited as the daughter of a Kyoto dyer
My origin is in Kyoto. My father is a dyeing craftsman who breathes life into a single piece of cloth. What I have seen since childhood was my father's back, taking his time to carefully create beauty with the help of nature's power.
Dyeing and fermentation. Both are 'craftsman cultures' that Japan should be proud of, completed by communicating with invisible natural processes and carefully nurturing them. Although the form is different, I want to change the 'pride of tradition' that my father protected into the form of 'koji' and pass it on to the next generation. From that thought, welala was born.
At welala, we also carry out ethical consumption activities as a father-daughter collaboration project, such as providing furoshiki wrapping using the leftover fabric dyed by my father.
The dream pursued by welala, operated by best Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Osaka, Representative Director: Mio Suzuki), is to 'make KOJI a common global word.'
Japan has world-class food cultures like sushi and ramen. And there is a root to that food culture. Miso, soy sauce, amazake, shio-koji. The existence that presides over all of them and has supported the dining tables and health of Japanese people for hundreds of years. That is 'KOJI'.
However, in the busy modern daily life, its immeasurable value may be gradually becoming something 'special' or 'a thing of the past'. We want to 'reinvent' this power of koji once again into a form that fits modern lifestyles.
## 'It's a waste not to know the power of Koji.'
Our store, 'koji zakka & cafe welala', located in Horie, Osaka. It is a cafe and select shop where you can enjoy koji coffee, amazake, and koji egg sandwiches, but it is not just a place to sell fermented foods. It is a 'place to touch the potential of koji and update your lifestyle'.
Now, with the growing awareness of health and beauty, amazake is attracting attention as a 'drinkable IV drip'. However, what we want to deliver is not just functionality. It is the very culture of delicate Japanese 'handiwork' behind it.
## What I inherited as the daughter of a Kyoto dyer
My origin is in Kyoto. My father is a dyeing craftsman who breathes life into a single piece of cloth. What I have seen since childhood was my father's back, taking his time to carefully create beauty with the help of nature's power.
Dyeing and fermentation. Both are 'craftsman cultures' that Japan should be proud of, completed by communicating with invisible natural processes and carefully nurturing them. Although the form is different, I want to change the 'pride of tradition' that my father protected into the form of 'koji' and pass it on to the next generation. From that thought, welala was born.
At welala, we also carry out ethical consumption activities as a father-daughter collaboration project, such as providing furoshiki wrapping using the leftover fabric dyed by my father.