Nihon Shokken KO Palace Factory: Imabari’s Free Palace Garden and Its 25 Hidden Banko-chan Statues
On the industrial waterfront east of central Imabari, one of Japan’s biggest seasoning makers built itself a small European palace — and opened the garden to anyone who walks in. Nihon Shokken’s KO Palace Factory is free to visit, needs no reservation for the garden, and rewards the short trip out from the station with one of the more unexpected sights on this stretch of the Shimanami Kaido.
Why go
The building and the garden behind it are both modeled on Vienna’s Belvedere Palace — not as a paid attraction, but as Nihon Shokken’s own Ehime head office and factory, opened to the public for nothing. Nowhere else on this stretch of the Shimanami route gives you baroque colonnades, a fountain guarded by stone lions, and a cast of hidden cow statues, all for the price of stopping your bicycle for fifteen minutes.
What you’ll find in the garden
The headline act is Banko-chan, Nihon Shokken’s mascot: a yakiniku-loving housewife cow with three kids, registered in Osaka but now “living” in Imabari. She debuted in the company’s 1992 “Bansaikan” sauce commercial, topped a CM-likability survey in the food category, and has been the brand’s exclusive on-screen “actress” ever since.
Twenty-five Banko-chan statues are hidden along the tour route — an on-site board confirms it, and adds that exactly one wears a skirt. Two stand either side of the company’s star emblem set into the pavement; several more gather around a small courtyard fountain; one hides in the agave beds clutching a garden lamp; one works as a cheerful “signboard girl” beside the entrance. Visit in autumn, as we did, and some turn out to be dressed for Halloween.
Banko-chan isn’t the only character here. A life-sized stainless-steel beetle stands guard on one lawn, a stone owl family perches by the hedges, and a pair of pandas turn up near the main fountain — alongside a children’s play corner, a koi pond backed by the palace, a rose garden built around another star mosaic, and benches shaped like giant musical notes along a curved pond wall.
The same board puts numbers on all of it: the head-office grounds cover 79,294.8 sqm (about 1.7 Tokyo Domes, 1.5 km around the perimeter), and the garden holds roughly 70,000 trees and 10,000 flowering plants across 140-plus species from around the world, watered by six fountains. Near the entrance, a bronze statue commemorates company founder Osawa.
Garden tour or factory tour?
These are two separate things, and they work differently. The garden is free and needs no reservation; as of our most recent check it’s open 9:00–16:00, including weekdays. Visits are capped at about 15 minutes for security reasons, so decide what you most want to see before you go in — 25 statues, a fountain, a pond, and a rose garden move fast in that window.
On arrival, check in with the security guard at the gate; you may be asked to fill in a short visitor form first. Free on-site parking is available, though not for large tour buses. Finish the walk and you’re sent off with a small complimentary bottle of one of Nihon Shokken’s signature seasoning products.
Stepping inside the factory is a different matter: a paid tour (1,000 yen), fully reservation-based, with phone bookings opening two months before your intended visit month. Call 0898-47-2281 during reception hours (weekdays 9:30–12:00 and 13:00–16:00). Details like this can change, so confirm current hours, fees, and booking rules with Nihon Shokken before building a schedule around them.
Getting there from JR Imabari Station
- By bicycle: about 5 km, roughly a 20-minute ride along ordinary city streets (not the marked Shimanami cycling route, which heads the other way toward the bridge). The most practical option for most visitors.
- By car or taxi: about 6 km; allow roughly 15 minutes in city traffic.
- By local bus: Setouchi Bus serves a stop called Kitamura, about a 12-minute walk from the garden gate. Services are infrequent, so check current times before relying on it.
- On foot: around 5 km, a good hour or more each way — workable with time to spare, but not the first choice.
- Map: Nihon Shokken KO Palace Factory on Google Maps
For cyclists: the factory sits in an industrial harbor district away from the tourist core, so treat it as a deliberate short detour out and back from the station, or fold it into a wider loop around town.
Fitting it into a Shimanami day
Pair the palace garden with sights closer to the station for an easy half-day loop. Start (or end) at the rental cycle terminal near JR Imabari Station, ride out to Nihon Shokken and back, then spend the rest of the day around Imabari Castle. If the ride leaves you hungry, the city’s yakibuta tamago meshi restaurants are a short ride away, and Kishuke no Yu, the hot spring beside the station, is a natural way to end the day.
Questions visitors ask
Is it free? The garden is free. Going inside the factory costs 1,000 yen and requires a reservation.
How long does the garden visit take? About 15 minutes — visits are time-limited for security reasons.
Do I need to book ahead? Not for the garden. Yes for the factory interior, by phone, up to two months in advance.
Is it good for kids? There’s a small play corner, and the beetle, owl, panda, and Banko-chan statues tend to go down well with children.
Is there parking? Yes, free on-site, though not for large tour buses.
What happens when I arrive? Check in with the security guard at the gate; you may need to fill out a short visitor form first.
Do I get anything for visiting? Yes — a small complimentary bottle of one of Nihon Shokken’s signature seasoning products at the end of the free garden walk.
Original article in Japanese: 日本食研の宮殿工場！予約なしでも見学できる庭園は２５体のバンコちゃんがお出迎えしてくれます
