Our entire experience with Masa and his team was filled with laughter, kindness, and levity. The experience took place in their cooking school which gave it a slightly more formal feel. However, their attentiveness and care for our experience made the experience very enjoyable. The space is incredibly clean and organized (as you would expect in Japan). All ingredients were ready upon arrival. Then it was very hands-on at each and every step. Their team would demonstrate the technique and then hand over the reins to us. Even when we messed up, they would help us fix the issue and then give it back to us to try again. Piece by piece, we assembled our sushi, nigiri and omelet feast. All three hosts were extremely kind, attentive to our needs, and supportive of our efforts in the kitchen. Then at the end we arranged it on a beautiful platter and sat down with our hosts to the best meal of our entire three weeks in Japan! Truly memorable and enjoyable!
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Market Tour
My wife and I took Sato's cooking class in August 2017 and really enjoyed ourselves. Sato is a great host and taught us a lot about Japanese culture and cooking. We enjoyed the meal and it was a nice alternative to eating in a restaurant by ourselves. His apartment is convenient to central Tokyo. Strongly recommend!
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Market Tour
Masako met us at the station and took us through the little streets near Asakusa (old Asakusa where the Geisha are, very traditional Japan) to her studio. We cooked our brains out for a couple of hours - tamago yaki, tempura and of course udon (quite a process to make it from scratch) - all delicious. Masako finished the evening by writing out our names in hiragana and kanji. Definitely a fun experience! You should go.
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She explained in English the ingredients and we all got involved in diving, chopping, straining and Cooking Japanese Chicken Karaage, Daikon Soup and Sesame seed coated Spinach. Very lively experience and fun cooking with EMI-san.
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I booked a cooking class with Furu through Traveling Spoon. He offers a variety of dishes to learn. I was most curious about Tamago-yaki, the Japanese omelette. Furu was a great teacher; rolling and flipping the Tamago-yaki is much more difficult than it appears! We also prepared Japanese hot pot and soba for the rest of the meal. Great experience and delicious food!
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Market Tour
Don’t miss this amazing experience This was the best experience we have had in Tokyo! Junko is utterly charming, energetic, funny and kind. She is also a superb chef. We spent more than an hour touring the market as Junko explained many aspects of Japanese foods and showed us her favorite vendors. She stopped to let us shop for some other fine products. We then accompanied Junko to her home, where she cooked a meal that was far more than we could consume and was absolutely delectable! She showed us several of her cooking techniques and allowed us to participate in creating the meal. We were delighted by Junko’s granddaughter, who accompanied us throughout the day. She gave us several recommendations and enhanced the experience with her knowledge and warmth. It was a lovely afternoon and we hope to see Junko and her granddaughter again.
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Market Tour
I love using traveling spoon to find local cooking classes. I chose Noriko's class in Yotsuya, Japan because it said she spoke English (not always the case). My husband and I had a fun ~3hrs or so cooking and eating with Noriko and her assistant. We learned the traditional methods of cooking dashi, miso soup, miso salmon, tamago, pork-wrapped okra, and an anchovy rice. Would recommend!
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This was one of the best experiences of our trip! Makiko was such a lovely host, teaching us about the different processes and sharing interesting stories. The supermarket tour was great with a local point of view. And of course the food is amazing! And it was so interesting having real home style Japanese cooking. If you’re looking for a more intimate experience with a peek into a Japanese household you should definitely try this one.
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Market Tour
Meet your host Eri at her beautiful and modern house, located within a five minute walk from either the Umegaoka or Setagayadaita station on the Odakyu line. Her home is located in a peaceful residential area of the popular Shimokitazawa neighborhood. Her traditionally inspired, modern home is designed to make you feel at peace, away from the restlessness of Tokyo. You can take a peek into her grandparents-in-law’s traditional house and petit Japanese garden next door before making yourself comfortable in Eri's upstairs living and dining area. Relax over a welcome drink before joining Eri for a traditional-inspired Japanese homestyle meal. Eri speaks English but not as fluently as she would like, she is still learning the language. Your menu may include dishes such as nikujaga (meat and potato stewed in soy and mirin), salmon sauté, silken tofu topped with hijiki seaweed and beans, amazake (sweet, non-alcoholic sake) and rice balls with pickles. Your menu may vary depending on the season and the freshness of available ingredients.
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What a wonderful experience! Miki met us at the station and took us on a walk thru her neighborhood. We stopped at a furikake shop, a mochi shop, a tofu shop and a tsukudani shop. All established shops in existence for decades. We had samples at each and Miki got all my questions answered as she is fluent in both English and Japanese. Such history within the shops. Of course I bought some items to take home. Our next stop was the grocery store. Though the stop is to primarily get what’s needed for the upcoming meal, I got input from Miki on what she thought was the best miso, kelp, salt, and dried kiriboshi and hijiki. I cook a lot of Japanese food at home and always try to pick up stuff in Japan, but it’s always iffy. Having a local give input was so helpful. The lesson itself was invaluable. She teaches you the proper way to make dashi. It’s easier than I expected and I will be making my own dashi from now on. I’ve been using the packets, and tried a recipe she taught me as soon as I got home, but the taste was completely different. Of course I had used a packet and it completely overpowered the taste of the dish. I will make my own dashi from now on. She also taught me the sa-shi-su-se-so method of layering my ingredients and it has completely changed the way I approach Japanese cooking. When we were done, Miki told us she would drive us back to our hotel, but we declined as we wanted to go to a matcha tea shop. We explained we were having a hard time finding matcha. She immediately asked us the name of the shop and called them. She told us they were nearby and had 4 matchas in stock. She drove us there, and we were able to procure our tea. Our hotel was close by so although she offered to drive us, we declined but was so thankful for her offer. Our time with Miki flew by. We will for sure book another cooking lesson when we’re in Japan. She even told us we could cook what we wanted if we let her know in advance. We left her looking forward to another lesson and feel we’ve also made a great friend.
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Market Tour
If you like cooking, and enjoy Japanese food this is an excellent opportunity to learn simple home-style Japanese cooking, with ingredients that are available in most large U.S. cities. The food was delicious and our host was friendly and engaging. The interpreter did a nice job too. Having the session in an average Tokyo outer suburban home makes it even more interesting as few westerners will have that experience.
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Chieko and her team of lovely ladies were amazing and super helpful throughout. They explained what we were doing and why and about the different produce we cooked with. The end product was absolutely fantastic!! Highly recommend this experience.
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Meet Tomoko at Todoroki station and walk for 13 minutes to her house. You will walk through the Todoroki Fudoson temple and a Japanese traditional garden before heading to her home. During your 2-hour Japanese cooking class learn to make a main dish and a seasonal side dish. Join Tomoko in her home kitchen for your authentic Japanese cooking class in Tokyo. You will learn to cook traditional Japanese cuisine in a local home, just like how Tomoko would cook it for her family. She will use simple ingredients and cooking techniques so that you can recreate each dish back home. You can choose one main dish from options like gyoza, ramen, okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake), sushi rolls, yakimeshi (fried rice), karaage (Japanese fried chicken), or teriyaki salmon, along with a seasonal side dish. <br><br> After cooking, sit down with Tomoko at her dining table to share the meal you helped prepare, which will be served with miso soup, home-made plum wine or beer or green tea and a matcha dessert with red beans and ice cream.
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The highlight of our Tokyo visit! Our cooking class and dinner with Hiroko was so special. It felt like dinner with family. She was such a generous host and made us feel extremely welcome. We could have stayed and chatted to her for much longer! The food was absolutely delicious and lots of thought had been put into the menu. Thank you so much for having us in your lovely home, Hiroko-san. We couldn’t recommend this experience highly enough.
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For anyone looking for an authentic local dining experience in Tokyo, I would highly recommend booking a dinner experience with Risa. You would think being invited into someone’s home for dinner would be a daunting experience, Risa made us feel at home, like we were long-time friends. The food was amazing, the chats were even better and I can honestly say as we wrap up our trip around Japan that this experience was the most memorable. Highly recommend!!! Thank you Risa!
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Join Toshiko in the dining room and kitchen of her apartment building's party room where you'll be greeted with a refreshing welcome drink. Embark on a journey into Japanese cuisine as Toshiko introduces you to traditional ingredients like shoyu, sake, konnyaku, and mirin. She will guide you through an authentic cooking demonstration, teaching you how to prepare dashi - the essential base for many Japanese dishes, including nikujaga, miso soup, and other homestyle favorites. The 1.5-hour demonstration is followed by a delightful meal, where you'll savor the dishes prepared, sharing this intimate dining experience with Toshiko and her family. Enjoy your meal with a choice of sake or beer to complement the authentic flavors. Please note that this is a cooking demonstration, not a hands-on class, due to space constraints.
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Begin your private, Tokyo sushi-making class with a warm welcome drink, a sakura (cherry blossom) latte, and a brief introduction to Edomae food and its rich history from your host, Akemi. During this 2-hour class, you’ll learn how to prepare traditional Edomae sushi, starting with the essential vinegar rice. Akemi will guide you through the art of making four types of sushi: Maki (rolled sushi), Nigiri (traditional hand-pressed sushi), Inari (tofu pouch sushi) and, Gunkan (battleship sushi), alongside freshly grated wasabi and sliced ginger. As you work, you’ll also learn about the history of Edomae sushi, including the use of red vinegar - a unique preservation method from the Edo period, when rice was so valuable that it was paid as tax. The lesson will include a demonstration on how to cut sushi from a whole fish, and you'll leave with a printed recipe book to recreate the dishes at home. After the sushi-making, enjoy your creations with a savory broth and a beverage (Japanese sake, plum wine, orange juice, or cola). The meal concludes with a delightful dessert, such as matcha ice cream or yuzu sorbet. Please note, while Akemi will be busy serving, you’ll have the chance to relax and enjoy your meal. Children are charged the same as adults. A vegetarian option is also available.
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