With its glowing shopping arcades and many izakaya pubs, Kamata is one of Tokyo’s most entertaining neighborhoods.

Relatively near Haneda Airport, and easy to access from central Tokyo and Kanagawa, the area somehow avoids the tourist crowds. Still, it is lively with locals out for shopping or drinks both day and night.

Among the area's many shops and restaurants is a spacious home cafe run by Etsuko, a fermented foods enthusiast and pro chef. Here, you will take part in an engaging lesson about traditional Japanese cuisine (washoku) and fermented foods.

Etsuko will give you an overview of Japanese cooking and its nutritional benefits before moving on to a hands-on experience in which you will assemble a tasty and balanced meal of several dishes. You'll cook using fresh produce, rice, miso, and dashi (a broth powder with seaweed and fish). Etsuko cares deeply about the quality of ingredients and uses only additive-free dashi, which you will also get as a keepsake to use back home.

An English-speaking guide, Mao, will also be there to ensure smooth communication with Etsuko. On the other hand, Etsuko, a licensed cook is passionate about dashi and its many uses and properties.

After renovating her home, she opened a cafe on-site serving meals made with additive-free powdered dashi broth and shio koji (koji prepared with salt), both key ingredients that infuse umami into her specialty home-cooked foods.

Drawing from her experience as an eatery owner, Etsuko will tell you all the keys to elevate your Japanese cooking using the power of fermented foods and natural ingredients.