You will be welcomed with a cup of green tea and watch as Masako writes your name in Kanji (Japanese calligraphy), she is a qualified calligraphy professional! She cooks simple and nutritious dishes for her family. And her wish is to provide easy-to-prepare dishes that guests can easily re-create back home! Masako offers four menu choices for your meal. See the sample menu below for details and make sure to send her a message stating which meal you would prefer.
Join Masako in her kitchen and learn to cook authentic Japanese recipes from scratch. In your Japanese cooking class in Tokyo learn to make udon from scratch with a local. You will be kneading the dough with your hands (and feet) and turning it into noodles. It is hard work but worth it to get heavenly homemade udon noodles, far superior to store-bought ones. Other meal options that you can choose from (instead of udon noodles) in your cooking class are okonomiyaki or tempura or Japanese sweets. Please let Masako know your preference when you create your booking. Dishes will be cooked using some fresh, seasonal ingredients from the farmers market in Niigata. After cooking, you will enjoy a sit-down meal that ends with sweet homemade plum or yuzu sake.
Since Masako speaks limited English, her translator will be present during your experience. Please note that Masako does not accept children for a cooking class for safety reasons.
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.
Menu B: Okonomiyaki + sidesMenu A: Udon + sides Please choose one menu from the below optionsMenu D: Japanese Sweets (dessert only)Menu C: Tempura + sidesMasako grew up watching her mother and grandmother prepare traditional Japanese cuisine. She was a curious child, who always asked questions about each ingredient used in the dish. As a traveler who has experienced local cuisine and unique cultures around the world, she hope's to introduce travelers to authentic Japanese culture and home cooking. She has renovated a 90-year-old traditional Japanese house in Kita-Senju, where she conducts cooking classes for travelers. It has a kitchen, a spacious dining room, and a tatami room (a traditional Japanese room where you can stretch your legs and relax), decorated with Japanese calligraphy and traditional dolls. You can get a real feel for the interior of a typical Japanese home and taste authentic home cooking, simple Japanese food she grew up eating.
"What a wonderful experience for our family. Directions to the location were clear and easy
to find. We had a great time making (and eating) Udon noodles, Japanese omelette, and
tempura. Would absolutely do this again."
"Masako took the time to explain each step and showed us the ingredients to get. She
shared with us some Japanese culture. It was definitely more than a cooking class
experience."
"We had a great time with Masako learning to make udon and tempura.
She had great energy and made us feel very welcome.
The instructions were easy to follow and the course was fairly basic so people should not worry if they are not experienced cooks. You will have good fun regardless of your ability"
"Masako is truly an inspiration! She taught me so much about cooking and much more! Seriously the number of things she has expertise in is astounding, and of course giving a great cooking class in English is one of them! I felt I was in great care the entire time and really enjoyed our conversations. With her instructions the food prep was fun and engaging and turned out delicious 😋 雅子さんは達人です！"
