2017.02.09
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Make Japanese Food in Kyoto! Four Select Cooking Classes for Foreign Visitors

If you've come all the way to Japan, you'll want to have a cultural experience unique to Japan! Here are four cooking classes where you can experience making the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage product, washoku, traditional Japanese cuisine. They are all classes with great Internet reviews!

Index

1. HARU Cooking Class
2. Kyoto Uzuki Cookery Classes
3. Kyoto Daidocoro
4. Cooking Sun

See all

1. HARU Cooking Class

HARU Cooking Class is located five minutes on foot from Shimogamo Shrine. Here you can learn Kyoto-style home cooking. This cooking school offers three courses: a vegetarian course, a course that includes Kobe beef, and a course that comes with a visit to Nishiki Market (for an extra 4,000 JPY), often referred to as Kyoto's kitchen. They provide thorough instructions regarding cooking methods and ingredients, so you can recreate the food at home. The building is a renovated old house, so it's full of a Japanese-style atmosphere! Ask and they will tell you about life in Japan as well!
Fee: 5,900 JPY and up

Language: English

Kitty Schweizer

1. HARU Cooking Class

166-32 Shimogamo Miyazaki-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto

2. Kyoto Uzuki Cookery Classes

This cooking school, located in northeastern Kyoto, holds small classes with just two to three students. There are three standard courses, each of which teaches 3-4 dishes from Kyoto-style cooking. The A Course is vegan cooking using yuba tofu skin, soy milk, and tofu. The B1 course teaches four dishes that use ingredients that are unique to Kyoto, in addition to fish and meats such as beef, pork, and chicken. The B2 course includes three dishes and a dessert. From October to March, a C course for learning sushi recipes that can be made at home is offered. There is also a course for learning how to make traditional sweets.
Fee: 4,500 JPY and up

Language: English

*The image is for illustrative purposes only

[puamelia]/Flickr

2. Kyoto Uzuki Cookery Classes

2-116 Kitashirakawa Uryuzan-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto

3. Kyoto Daidocoro

Kyoto Daidocoro in Kawaramachi, the central area of Kyoto, is a school where you can learn to cook recipes using fresh seasonal ingredients. The basic Three Hour Course consists of rice, miso soup, a main dish, one appetizer, and one side dish. They also provide a simple recipe book! They offer a variety of other courses, as well as an optional sake tasting (additional 1,800 JPY). There is also a Nishiki Market Shopping (additional 4,000 JPY) option.
Fee: 6,500 JPY and up

Language: English

*The image is for illustrative purposes only

dreamcat115/Flickr

3. Kyoto Daidocoro

4F Hijikata Bldg., 435-2 Ebisu-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto

Next page: 4. Cooking Sun

4. Cooking Sun

Cooking Sun, which is 12 minutes on foot from Shijo Station, is also in a fabulous location near a shopping area. At this cooking school, you can experience making Japanese food in a traditional machiya house that has been renovated. They offer two courses: A Bento Class, in which you can learn to make sushi rolls, tempura, and miso soup, as well as an Izakaya Class, where you can learn to make popular Japanese items such as nikujaga meat and potatoes. The bento class is held in the morning, and the izakaya class in the afternoon. They can prepare a recipe for vegetarians if you ask when you make a reservation.
Fee: 7,200 JPY and up

Language: English

*The image is for illustrative purposes only

Norio Nomura/Flickr

4. Cooking Sun

679 Higashinakasujidori Matsubara-agaru Funaya-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto

These are all classes for foreign tourists visiting Japan, so you don't need to be able to speak Japanese! Try them out and experience Kyoto's traditional food culture.

*Please note that the information in this article is from the time of writing or publication and may differ from the latest information.