Excellent experience with Emika. She was thoughtful, organized, welcoming and entertaining. I recommend the experience. The day was topped off with a trip to Emika’s local grocery store where she educated us on new foods.
I booked a cooking experience through Traveling Spoon with Michiyo in Kyoto. My husband and I had a truly wonderful time cooking an entire multi-course Japanese meal with Michiyo in her home. We both love to cook and felt that we learned a lot during our lesson. Michiyo explained and demonstrated the techniques and then let us cook with her. We made a rolled Japanese omlette, miso soup, spinach with a sesame dressing, marinated grilled salmon, and a hearty beef and vegetable stew. After we cooked we enjoyed eating the meal with Michiyo and her charming husband. We had a great time visiting with them--they both speak excellent English and are a warm and interesting couple. It was lovely to be welcomed into their home. I wholeheartedly recommend this experience. We both agree that it was a major highlight of our three week multi-city trip to Japan!
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.
Take this tour. Aki is a magnificent host. Learned about living in Kyoto, the market and Japanese cuisine. Considering our travels all over the world over the world, this experience was among the very best.
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.
