Private Tsukiji outer market tour and cooking class in Tokyo

Meet Junko

Junko is a delightful, fun-loving local and foodie who lives close to the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. She loves living here because of the easy access to Tsukiji and other local markets where she procures the freshest fish, meat and vegetables for her cooking. Many of the vegetables she uses are also sourced from her brother’s organic vegetable field. She enjoys creative and seasonal Japanese cooking. Junko's enthusiasm for cooking and eating delicious food made her want to be more than a home cook. She was popular amongst her friends, not only for her personality but also her cooking skills, and eventually her regularly held home cooking parties turned into cooking lessons. Being a passionate foodie herself about different cuisines around the world, she would love to help travelers experience authentic and delicious Japanese cuisine in Tokyo. She believes good food can be a bridge between cultures and looks forward to sharing happiness through food with fellow Traveling Spoon foodies.

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: (2-4 guests) Meet Junko at the Tsukishima station and walk together to her apartment. After relaxing with a refreshing drink you will start your authentic home-style Japanese meal with an appetizer like cucumber salad with shrimp or pickled vegetables. Next you will try dishes such as dashi egg rolls, eggplant with dengaku miso, a sweet and flavorful handmade miso and a main of rice rolls wrapped in pork, marinated and grilled fish, teriyaki chicken or the traditional nimono (slow-cooked vegetable and meat stew). Junko lives with her brother who might be present and share the meal with you on occasion.

Cooking experience: (2-4 guests) Meet Junko at the Tsukishima station and walk together to her small and simple apartment where you will join her in her kitchen for a hands-on Japanese cooking class. You will learn to cook 3-4 of Junko's favorite, savory Japanese dishes made from seasonal ingredients. Some of the dishes you might learn to cook are teriyaki chicken, eggplant with dengaku miso, tamagoyaki (traditional Japanese rolled omelet) and a sweet and savory miso soup made with homemade miso. You can expect your cooking class to take about 1.5 hours. After cooking sit down together to share the meal you helped prepare with Junko.

Market visit: (2-4 guests) Meet Junko at the Lawson store on Tsukiji 4-Chome and walk over to Tsukiji's outer market. Humming with energy and excitement, Tokyo's Tsukiji Market is unlike any other. Get ready for a culinary market adventure as Junko shows you around Tsukiji's outer market. With Junko as your local guide, you will get a glimpse into the incredible local seafood trade and learn about the variety of seafood that passes through the market each day. You will also get to discover in Tsukiji's outer market a variety of Japanese goods, from vegetables and fruits to knives and ceramics. She will tell you about her favorite vendors and how to choose the best ones. Her goal is to help you understand the spirit behind Japanese cuisine which is all about enjoying the present moment and season. Please note that this is a tour of the outer Tsukiji market, not the inner fish market that closed and moved to Toyosu. Your host will give you a tour of the outer market including a facility that imitates the Tsukiji Market which has a seafood section. You will also visit Namiyoke Shrine, the guardian deity of Tsukiji Market. After your market tour, you will take the Oedo subway or a Toei bus with Junko to her home to begin your cooking class.

Notes: You may have heard that Tsukiji market closed. Junko offers a tour of the outer market which remains open. The inner market has moved to a new location which is not part of Junko's tour.

Languages spoken: Japanese, English

Sample menu

• Japanese Teishoku style meal of a main, rice, soup and side dishes

Traveler reviews

We chose Junko because of her good reviews and her close proximity to and tour of Tsukiji Outer Market. She gave us her email address right away and we started communication before arrival. She was also very helpful with text and WhatsApp on the day of. Her English skills were good and in fact she was on her way to English classes after we left. Tho sometimes there was a communication gap we could see that her heart was big! In fact we forgot a Suica card at her place (which we didn’t realize) and she contacted us and arranged for pick up (thank you). Shopping at a crowded market is tough but Junko navigated like a homing pigeon and then we took the metro to her modest and homey/comfy apartment where we all took turns preparing and then eating a delicious lunch. She even gave us a parting gift of homemade marmalade (pictured)! Thank you Junko!

- DrTaras May 01, 2019

Junko in Tokyo was a fabulous host. I arranged to meet her at the famous Tsukiji fish market to purchase some of the ingredients for our lunch. We wandered around the market talking about all the produce and how it was used in Japanese cooking, went to her favorite chicken vendor, tasted some tea which I purchased and gave to a connoisseur friend of mine who said it was the best she had ever tasted. It was a leisurely wander, exploring the market and talking about food. Then we took the metro to Junko's home and she proceeded to prepare a feast. She had already prepared a number of dishes and then cooked some more explaining what she was doing. It was so comfortable to sit in her home and talk and watch her cook and be educated about Japanese food. She gave me extra tastes of a jam she had canned, a plum wine she had made. Then the feast began. She made a soup with daikon radish which was extraordinary. And the chicken teriyaki was like nothing I had had before. There were so many other dishes I was eating for the first time. All delicious. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon with a foodie and gourmet cook and learn about many aspects of Japanese cooking.

- 510Jan December 01, 2018

Junko is a delightful woman who speaks very good English and cooks delicious food. First she took us on a tour of the Tsukiji outer market. Although I've been there a few times, we went to places I'd never seen, and Junko provided interesting information about the food and market history. Then we went to her home where Junko cooked up a feast. There were so many delicious dishes, including a nice variety of foods we had not tried in restaurants in Japan. We learned a lot about Japanese culture and lifestyle while chatting with Junko. We skipped the cooking lesson as a concession to the non-cook but, I'm sure the cooking lesson with Junko would also be well worth doing.

- Dawnzerly October 01, 2018

We did a market tour, cooking, and eating experience with Junko and had the most memorable time! She was a great tour guide around a market that seemed overwhelming and we loved getting to see her interact with people. It was also so helpful to ask her what things were, and she taught us so much. It was then so intimate for her to welcome us into her home and teach us how to make various traditional dishes. She let us try countless techniques and flavors and we had so much fun! The food was incredible and it even feels doable to recreate it at home. This was no doubt the best experience we could have had in Tokyo to truly experience the culture.

- carlyandsam18 September 01, 2018