Having a hard time opening a bottle of Kikkoman Soy sauce. I know how you feel. Frustrated. But not to worry – it’s actually pretty simple when you know-how. And all you need to do is…
So, how do you open Kikkoman Soy Sauce? To open a bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce, first, grab the bottle tightly in your non-dominant hand. With the other hand, twist the top to the left in an unscrewing motion. Some bottles are particularly challenging to open so you may need a towel or rubber grip for traction.
It’s a funny shaped lid.
But it does open like many other bottles of sauce.
Twisting action.
That’s what you need.
And if even a strong person or additional grip won’t budge the lid, you may need to try the following.
Place the bottle top under a tap of warm water for 30-120 seconds (or 1-2 minutes).
Sometimes this helps to release a particularly challenging lid.
It’s because the salt in the soy sauce will naturally rise to the lid and form crystals over time.
It makes the lid more challenging to remove when it does.
So, you may need to place the bottle underwater a few times. Especially if you have had your bottle a while.
But what about the two holes in the bottle. What does this mean for opening and using.
Let’s also find out!
Why Does Kikkoman Have Two Holes?
Bottles of Kikkoman soy sauce have two holes to enable better control over pouring. The idea is that you place your finger over one of the holes and pour the sauce out of the other by tipping the sauce down over the open hole side.
And by placing your thumb over one of the holes, you should notice you have better control over the pouring of the sauce.
Why?
Because you can control the flow and pressure.
You can adjust your thumb over one of the holes as you pour.
So, the idea is that you still only use one of the holes.
Not two.
That’s right, two holes does not mean you should pour out of them both.
As it’s easy to wrongly assume.
Struggling to open other sauces? Check out my other guides:
- How To Open Pasta Sauce Jar – When It Won’t Open!
- How To Open Cholula Hot Sauce
- How To Open Fish Sauce

Hello, I’m Jeremy, a sauce enthusiast and taste trailblazer! My endless pursuit of new flavors has led me on a journey to master sauce making at home, along with try out a range of exciting brands and sauce offerings. Now I share my recipes, tips and recommendations on WeWantTheSauce to help fellow foodies find the perfect sauces.