Noda is a city in the north-west of Chiba prefecture, between the Edo and Tone rivers, and it smells, faintly, of soy sauce. For more than three centuries, Noda has been one of the main centres of soy sauce brewing in Japan, and it is the home of Kikkoman, whose origins lie in the brewing families of the town. The company's museum offers tours where you can learn about the brewing process and taste the results.
The rivers were the key to Noda's success. The Edo river linked the town with Edo, now Tokyo, and the boats that carried soy sauce down the river to the capital made the brewers rich. The Tone, Japan's largest river by drainage basin, flows to the north, and the land between the rivers is flat and fertile, with fields, woods and residential areas.
The riding around Noda is flat and easy, with roads following the rivers and crossing the plain. The embankments along the Edo river offer long, open views, and the area around the confluence of the rivers, at Sekiyado, has a reconstructed castle tower housing a museum. Traffic can be heavy on the main roads, especially Route 16, the ring road around Tokyo, but the minor roads are quieter.
As a scenic stretch, Noda offers a glimpse of the quieter side of the Kanto plain, with rivers, fields and old breweries. Fuel and food are plentiful. Soy sauce soft-serve ice cream is a local curiosity worth trying.