Get an introduction to Japanese food and culinary techniques with English-speaking instructors at these wonderful Tokyo cooking schools.
Please note that due to Japan’s flexible zoning laws, some of these cooking classes take place within apartments that are set up specifically for this use.
Gyoza & Okonomiyaki: Yuka Mazda (Ebisu)
Looking for a nourishing and fun hands-on family activity in Tokyo? Try one of Yuka Mazda’s gyoza (meat and vegetable dumplings) and okonomiyaki (savoury pancake) cooking classes.
In the three-hour class conducted in English—in Yuka’s home kitchen—you’ll learn to make (and then eat) juicy, fried pork and veggie dumplings as well as hearty savoury pancakes (made with cabbage and wheat batter) that are drizzled with a sweet-smoky sauce (similar to Worcestershire), and lashings of umami-rich mayonnaise.
Yuka’s knowledge, patience and engaging manner make her a great cooking instructor, and she will also accommodate vegetarian participants.
Mochi and Wagashi: Simply Oishii (Meguro)
This is hands down Tokyo’s prettiest (and sweetest) cooking class.
In a two-and-a-half-hour class, led by Miyuki Suyari, Simply Oishii’s English-speaking owner, you’ll learn how to make exquisite, traditional Japanese desserts like dango (sweet, rice-flour dumplings), fruit daifuku (glutinous rice cakes) and wagashi (one-bite confections made from rice and red bean paste).
Miyuki will take time to explain the cultural and historical importance of the sweets (like how dango was created in the 10th century to be enjoyed by nobles at religious ceremonies), and show you how to master the technique of sculpting bean paste into floral and leaf-like shapes that are inspired by Japan’s seasons.
Before tasting, you’ll have time to photograph your bite-sized beauties and then savour your freshly produced sweets with a cup of matcha (green tea) that you’ll make yourself.
Ramen Soup: Baba Ramen (Meguro)
Run by British-Japanese ramen enthusiast and chef Andrew Baba Rowe, this four-hour intensive class involves making both your soup and your noodles from scratch.
You’ll begin by breaking pork bones in half with a hammer and adding them to a kombu (edible seaweed) based broth before running the dough through a noodle machine.
The next stage involves preparing toppings like slices of chashu (braised pork belly), ajitsuke tamago (a marinated, soft-boiled egg), sliced vegetables and narutomaki (fish cake).
Then it’s time to plate your bowl and add the final layer; a dollop of chicken fat alongside the option of condiments like rayu (chili oil) or mayu (black garlic oil).
After hours of working as a team—just like in a real ramen restaurant—you’ll get to sit down and savour your bowl of ramen with a beer or sake.
Soba Noodles: Tsukiji Soba Academy (Tsukiji)
At the Tsukiji Soba Academy, renowned chef Akila Inouye conducts soba (buckwheat noodle) classes for kids, beginners and professionals in his intimate home kitchen overlooking the Sumida River.
If you’re a loud noodle nibbler, you’ve found your spiritual home, as chef Inouye will not only applaud your audible slurping but also explain that it’s a 300-year old tradition that lets you fully savour the aroma of the noodles and express your admiration for your cook’s skill.
In the three-and-a-half-hour class you will learn how to make nihachi-soba (using 20% wheat and 80% buckwheat flour) from scratch, and will then get to roll it out to exactly 5 millimetres and cut it into fine, spaghetti-like strands (of precisely 1.6 millimetres) before cooking your hand-coiled bundles of light brown soba for 60 seconds.
Once you are ready to eat, Inouye-san will encourage you to enjoy your soba with vociferous slurping (and some lip-smacking too)!
Sushi: Tama Sushi (Tsukiji)
Becoming an itamae (head sushi chef) in Japan is a ten-year long apprenticeship of training and discipline, with up to four of those years devoted solely to the careful preparation of sushi rice. So, it’s unlikely that you’re going to walk away from Tama Sushi’s 90-minute class ready to open your sushi joint.
You will however gain a deeper understanding of traditional sushi culture in this immersive class as you prepare nigiri (raw seafood served over rice) and temaki (sushi hand rolls) under the guidance of a skilled chef.
In addition to learning the precise amount of vinegared rice needed for one piece of sushi, you’ll also be taught the perfect oval shape for the rice and be introduced to different types of fish knives which you’ll then use to create neta (sushi toppings).
Your chef will also show you how to grind wasabi (horseradish paste) directly from the plant and conduct a taste comparison between the sushi you’ve made and the pieces they’ve made.
Traditional Tea Ceremony: Chazen (Asakusa & Ginza)
Formalised in the 16th century—as a ritualised service with a raft of codified procedures—the Japanese tea ceremony is seen as a meditative practice that leads participants to experience harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity.
Chazen’s 45-minute tea ceremony, led by an English-speaking, kimono-clad tea master, starts with learning how to use an ishi-usu (stone mill) to grind raw tea leaves into matcha, followed by ritual hand cleansing at the tsukubai (a wash basin found in Japanese tea gardens).
From there you enter the small tea house through the nijiriguchi (a tiny, crawl-through doorway that is used to inculcate humility and prevent you from concealing a sword). Once seated on the tea house’s tatami (woven-straw flooring) be sure to take in the kakejiku (a hanging scroll with calligraphy) and the chabana (a beautiful flower arrangement).
As you get settled, you’ll be offered a seasonal wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionery) to nibble on as your tea master explains the correct procedure for accepting your tea and drinking it. Then watch as she gracefully and meticulously prepares one cup of matcha at a time for each guest. Once everyone has drunk their tea—a deliciously smooth drink with subtle vegetal notes—you’ll be invited to learn how to whisk the powdered tea to a frothy consistency.
To conclude, your tea master will happily answer any questions you have about the ceremony, and you’ll be able to purchase a packet of high-grade powdered matcha used in the ceremony before leaving.
P.S. Be sure to wear socks without any holes as you’ll be sitting, shoeless, in the tea room.
Vegan: M’s Kitchen (Shibuya)
It’s so rare to find fully vegan restaurants in Tokyo that we’re giddy with delight that centrally-located M’s Kitchen is offering a seven-course vegan cooking class that focuses on organic and seasonal Japanese ingredients.
Conducted in English by Mino, the school’s owner, the three-hour class will introduce you to Japanese super-foods like daikon (white radish), nattō (fermented soybeans) and adzuki (red beans) through the creation of chilled tofu dishes, vibrant salads, warming soups and comforting puddings.
Not only are Mino’s recipes packed with probiotics, protein and umami flavour, they also highlight nourishing Japanese homestyle cooking with recipes that are easy to replicate back home.
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