Authentic Japanese home cooking in Kyoto with a charming local
Host offerings
Meet Michiyo
Michiyo's bright and open home is a peaceful respite from the intense bustle of Kyoto city center. Her house, a quick 10min train ride from Kyoto station is nestled in a tranquil residential neighborhood and has beautiful views of the famous Hiei-zan mountain. Michiyo enjoys cooking for friends and family and experimenting with new flavors and ingredients she discovers. Whenever she eats something new and interesting, she tries to recreate the flavor at home in her own style. Michiyo's passion for cooking developed when she lived abroad for 5 years - she loved inviting her neighbors who were from all over the world and even taught them authentic Japanese cooking. She realized she was happiest when cooking and feeding people and further honed her cooking skills at a culinary school after returning to Japan. Michiyo looks forward to welcoming travelers into her beautiful family home and connecting with travelers through the love that she puts into her food.
What to expect
Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.
In-home meal (1 - 3 guests) Michiyo will pick you up at the train station in her car and together you will drive three minutes to her home. Michiyo and her husband will invite you in for a cultural immersion into Japanese food, drinks, hospitality, and tradition. Michiyo values using seasonal, fresh vegetables sourced from locals in her dishes. Your Japanese feast will begin with a welcome beverage and authentic dishes such as Nikujaga (slow-cooked meat with potatoes and seasonal vegetables), a tofu side dish and dashi-based soup, followed by a main course of perhaps Chirashi-sushi or tender fried chicken flavored with Japanese ingredients. Enjoy a Japanese feast over engaging conversation with this friendly Japanese family.
Michiyo and her husband share their home with El, their well-behaved dachshund dog.
Cooking experience (1 - 3 guests) After an introduction to the menu of the day, Michiyo will lead your hands-on cooking experience in her kitchen. Michiyo enjoys sharing her knowledge on Japanese cooking techniques that she has perfected over the years. You will learn how to make dashi stock, a fundamental building block of Japanese cuisine, and to perfectly prepare sushi rice for chirashi-sushi that you will garnish in a traditional wooden bowl. The cooking portion of the experience will take about an hour and half. You will then sit down together to enjoy the authentic Japanese meal you helped prepare.
Notes: For an additional cost, Michiyo offers alcohol carefully selected to accent the food being served.
Languages spoken: #<HostLanguage::ActiveRecord_Associations_CollectionProxy:0x00007ffa9ed05fc0>
Sample menu
This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
- Japanese style tender fried chicken
- Nikujaga
- Chirashi-sushi of salmon
- Dashi based soup
- Marinated silken tofu with canola flower leaves and mango
GOOD REVIEWS
{ "trip_advisor" : [{"author_name" : "ivandhernandez", "rating" : 5, "body" : "This was a great cooking class. The class is in a very private setting, so you get to ask a lot of questions and gain a great understanding of the process.The most enjoyable part of the class is the overall experience. Michiyo and her Husband Kenji are great host, very friendly and you could spend hours talking to them about almost anything.I would recommend this experience to any person interested in gaining a better understanding of the Japanese culture and its amazing people."}, {"author_name" : "crossroadstraveller", "rating" : 5, "body" : "First, Mrs. Michiyo Kobori answered our emails in no time. Then, very kindly, she offered to pick us up at the train station not far, it was so easy to get there with her indications. Secondly, we received a warm welcome from her and her very kind husband in their private house! Then she explained what meal we would prepare together. She had prepared some pictures of the dishes to give to us and, of course, she had printed the full recipies. We cooked together with all the necessary explanations then we ate the whole meal in their dining room. The whole expierience was amazing, delightful & the meal was delicious. I'm proud to be able to do it again after my return, for my friends in Belgium. Thank you Michiyo !"}, {"author_name" : "Laurie C", "rating" : 5, "body" : "My girlfriend and I were lucky enough to book a cooking lesson and lunch through Travelling Spoon with Michiyo Kobori in Kyoto, Japan. She picked us up at the subway station just a few minutes from her lovely home and about a 30 minute ride from downtown Kyoto. After some conversation and a look around the house we set to work making lunch. Michiyo is an excellent teacher and made sure that my friend and I had lots of hands-on opportunties. We made miso soup, spinach with sesame seeds, beef stew, grilled salmon and Japanese omelet. Michiyo also provided printed copies of the recipes and answered all of our questions. Michiyo's husband joined us for lunch and our conversation was interesting and food was great. One of the highlights of our trip."}, {"author_name" : "dimitris_a01", "rating" : 5, "body" : "We booked this experience as part of our holiday to Japan. We wanted to experience local cuisine and culture. We had a most memorable evening with great conversation and amazing food. The cooking class was very well prepared and something that we would be encouraged to try at home. It's less of a \"lesson\" and more like cooking with friends. Michiyo, our host, prepared a menu that is very tasty and representative of local cuisine, yet not too overwhelming or complicated to put us off trying ourselves. The ingredients can be sourced in our home country (UK) and we even got simple recipes at the end. We can't thank Michiyo enough for a great evening, from picking us up at the station, to making us feel welcome at her home and, of course, preparing and cooking with us."}, {"author_name" : "Brandobunch", "rating" : 5, "body" : "Our family of 5, kids age 8,12,13, visited Japan in October 2019. We absolutely LOVED our cooking lesson. Our host was welcoming and taught us a lot about Japanese cooking. Our kids helped cook and learned origami and then we shared a lovely meal together. The table and presentation of the meal was superb. Excellent hosts, amazing recipes, and the most pleasant meal for our whole family during our visit to Japan. We even went and bought the special omelet pan so we could try the recipe properly at home. This was the favourite part of our whole trip and our family felt welcomed and very full by the end of the session!"}] }
