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The story
According to a survey by Maidona News, only about 30% of respondents said they “know narazuke well,” revealing that this pickle is surprisingly less well-known than you’d expect. On the other hand, among those who have actually eaten it, about 60% answered that it was “delicious” — meaning that despite its low name recognition, the reviews aren’t bad at all. This gap between awareness and appreciation became a hot topic on 5ch as well, with the discussion expanding to cover likes and dislikes of the distinctive sake-lees flavor, confusion with other types of pickles, and even its connection to breathalyzer tests.
Survey period: September 8 – September 15, 2026
[Do You Know Narazuke?] “I Know It Well” at 30%… About 60% of Those Who’ve Eaten It Say “It Was Delicious” | Maidona News
2026.10.07 (Wed) Maidona News Editorial Desk
Source: maidonanews.jp / Original article here
What people said
Re: #3
Pickled Beelzebub, huh… (a pun — "bubuzuke" sounds like "Beelzebub" in Japanese)
Seriously doubt it's actually that tasty.
Just leave it on restaurant tables or in bento boxes.
Unless you're trying to hide it, I guess…
It's in high-end bento boxes, like makunouchi!
Apparently the police ran human trials on that — testing people with high, low, and average alcohol tolerance to see what reading you get per amount eaten — so they already have the data, and that excuse doesn't fly.
Isn't it basically burdock root and Moriguchi daikon?
Opposite for me — I don't like booze, but I do like narazuke.
Narazuke actually feels more like a Kanto food to me, honestly — that eccentric, shallow vibe it has.
Sorry, we don't carry that here — this is Kyoto, after all.
30% of Japanese people have low tolerance — one cup and they're flushed with a racing heart.
30% of Japanese people have high tolerance — five beers or chuhai and they're still in good spirits.
10% of Japanese people are bottomless pits — downing a full bottle of sake overnight or several bottles of wine.
So roughly half finding narazuke delicious checks out.
I can drink endlessly, but narazuke still tastes bad.
It's a pickle nobody asked for — all that effort just to make something unpleasant. Chop it up for ochazuke or process it and it adds a nice accent, but eaten plain it's bad.
That's because it doesn't go with rice, lol
You must be from Nada Ward in Kobe.
I figured nobody would know keihan so I didn't mention it, but there's someone else who gets it. The mainland doesn't have pickled papaya, so this is a substitute, but it's the best.
Yeah, not tasty lol. Maybe because it's a preserved food? lol Eating it plain just feels like a waste of good salmon. And it's sour.
I've only eaten it as a kid, but I only remember it being delicious.
If only 30% know it and 60% of those rate it highly, doesn't that mean under 20% overall think it's delicious?
But the low ratings are only 10%.
Maybe Imanishi Honten or Yamazakiya?
I feel like I saw it on a school trip to Kyoto and Nara.
Are you talking about senmaizuke?
Bettarazuke? Narazuke is brown.
Re: #203
Brings back memories.
Maillard reaction.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Narazuke is a local pickle from Nara Prefecture, made by burying white melon, cucumber, Moriguchi daikon, and other vegetables in sake lees for a long period. Because the alcohol in the lees remains in the finished product, even a small amount can cause alcohol to register on a breathalyzer — a point raised in the thread as “it gets used as an excuse during drunk-driving checks,” though some pointed out that police reportedly have data linking the amount eaten to the resulting reading. Another point of discussion was how easily narazuke gets confused with similar-looking pickles made by comparable methods, such as senmaizuke, bettarazuke, and Konan-zuke, with several replies in the thread pointing out the differences. As for why opinions are so divided, multiple posters noted that the distinctive sake-lees flavor and deep color can be off-putting as a child but grow on you with age — and the gap between low awareness and high approval is likely due to narazuke being a preserved food that people simply don’t eat very often.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Do You Know Narazuke?] “I Know It Well” at 30%… About 60% of Those Who’ve Eaten It Say “It Was Delicious”.”
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