Cooking Classes in Kyoto, Japan

This was the best part of our trip to Japan. Not only was the food we made amazing, Emika shared with us so much about Japanese culture and growing up in Kyoto. Emika is the epitome of hospitality and we will be recommending this experience to anyone we know who is visiting Kyoto.

My husband and I booked this cooking experience with Michiyo because we wanted to learn simple, practical Japanese dishes we could make at home. From the moment we arrived at the station, Michiyo was there to greet us and drive us to her lovely home. Every dish we prepared together was delicious, and she gave us each of the recipes to take home so we can recreate them ourselves. We shared the meal afterward with Michiyo and her husband and it was a wonderful evening. We highly recommend this experience! Thank you, Michiyo, for inviting us into your home!

We really enjoyed our lunch. Our host was very friendly and although her English was limited we were able to communicate easily. The house and garden are beautiful as is the area where her home is located. We had two older travellers with us who found it difficult to sit on the floor, chairs were provided.

We had a truly wonderful experience! Aki is a kind, patient, and delightful host. The food we made was excellent and we continue to make it at home thanks to the lovely little cooking sheets we got to take with us! I would recommend this experience to anyone visiting Kyoto.

This was the best part of our trip to Japan. Not only was the food we made amazing, Emika shared with us so much about Japanese culture and growing up in Kyoto. Emika is the epitome of hospitality and we will be recommending this experience to anyone we know who is visiting Kyoto.

This was the most wonderful experience we had in Kyoto! Midori-San communicated with us after we booked and shared several options for what we could choose to cook. On the day of, from the moment we arrived at her charming studio we felt like we were family visiting a close relative. Midori was so welcoming and kind, and we ended up staying and chatting with her for a long while. She had fabulous recommendations for restaurants, shops, and experiences to make our trip perfect. She even spent a good deal of effort helping me track down my Japanese host family from high school. Not to mention the delicious cooking!!! We loved our evening with our new “Kyoto Mama” and would highly recommend as a must-do experience for anyone visiting Kyoto. ❤️

We booked this at the last minute and are so grateful we invested some of our time in Kyoto in this fabulous experience. Rita is a treasure! Warm, funny, present, curious, knowledgeable, genuinely interested in connection, and a fantastic cook! A Kyoto native, her passion for Japanese cooking, culture and connecting through food was evident from start to finish. We spent 3 hours with her, beginning with touring the modest tofu shop of her friend (a 4th generation tofu maker), where we learned about the various stages of the process, the importance of various elements (like the water used) and were treated to samples of different kinds of fresh tofu, soy beans, and soy milk. Upstairs in the kitchen, Rita had a delicious and authentic meal already underway, but eased us into the cooking process with her to complete our meal together. She taught us not only about tofu, but about meal etiquette, Japanese seasonings and marinades, the aesthetic of meal presentation, and even the spiritual meanings behind some of the food customs. She also accommodated our food preferences (we’re pescatarians), which was so appreciated. We enjoyed every minute and morsel and left with a full and happy belly, printed recipes for everything we ate, gifts (including a lovely cotton kimono for our daughter - see photos), a new friend, and knowledge about the wonderful Japanese culture that is sure to enrich our experience in this fantastic country. Highly recommend.