L. plantarum HOKKAIDO, a lactic acid bacteria isolated from Japanese pickles, is a good fermenter of beans, vegetables and fruits. When the HOKKAIDO strain is applied as a starter, contamination by other types of lactic acid bacteria must be prevented. A RAPD-PCR method was used with multiplex PCR to distinguish between the HOKKAIDO strain and other types of lactic acid bacteria. PCR analysis was found to be effective for such distinguishing.