Masaaki Nagasawa, Managing Director Hakubaku

こんにちわ、はくばくサイトへようこそ

Kon nichi wa, Hakubaku saito he youkoso.

Hello and welcome to the Hakubaku website

My name is Masaaki Nagasawa I was sent to Australia by Hakubaku Japan in 1994 to set up this factory in Ballarat, Victoria so we could get access a consistent supply of the best wheat for making our noodles. In fact this was the first Japanese noodle factory outside of Japan!

I am very proud of the factory we have built and more importantly of the team that we have built here in Ballarat. I believe we make the best noodles in the world and I would gladly hold them up against the best noodle factories in Japan. Somewhat sadly I have returned to Japan to live and work with Hakubaku in Japan but I still have an active interest in the Australian Company and I love coming here regularly to support Hideo and his team.

My biggest challenge has been to convey to Australians what it means to have a quality noodle. In Australia people sometimes perceive noodles as being like pasta, a cheap commodity to be kept in the bottom of the pantry cupboard. The reality is that calling a Japanese noodle "pasta" is like calling a Kiwi an Australian – there may be similarities but they are very different!

In Japan noodle making is an art and many families have been buying noodles from “their noodle maker” for many years. A high quality Noodle should be an experience, almost spiritual, not unlike fine wine or appreciating art, the high quality ingredients, purity of the materials, workmanship in the packaging and presentation, the balance of flavors and textures should all tell a story, a story of quality.

 My Hope is that everytime you eat Hakuabaku Organic Noodles you feel that depth of History and the Passion that we put into every one of our products.