Most visitors visit Fushimi to see the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine, but there's plenty more to this Kyoto ward. A picturesque residential area covered with canals and lined with cherry blossoms, Fushimi has a fascinating history of sake production and a rich culinary scene. In this experience, you'll explore Fushimi’s culinary culture and heritage while feasting on one of Japan's quintessential foods: mochi rice cakes!

Besides making trendy desserts, mochi are the object of countless traditions. For instance, ozoni, a miso-based soup with mochi rice cakes and vegetables, is an essential part of osechi ryori, traditional foods eaten during New Year. Each region of Japan has its own kind of ozoni: Kyoto's has a white miso-based broth, boiled mochi, and root vegetables. Interested to learn more?

In this tour, you'll learn about the regional varieties of ozoni and miso, learn how to make Kyoto-style ozoni, and explore Fushimi with a guide. You'll finish the tour on a vigorous note by joining residents in pounding mochi (mochi-tsuki), a long-standing community tradition.

Experience flow:

• Meet your host at Fushimi-Momoyama Station

• Stroll the streets of Fushimi in central Kyoto with your host

• Learn how rice is steamed for mochi and take part in a traditional mochi pounding at Hikari Mochi Nakamura Honpo

• Participate in a cooking lesson, where you’ll be making Kyoto-style ozoni soup with miso, rice cooked in a pot and 3 dishes (with dinner)

• Learn more about ozoni through a lecture on ozoni and a miso taste comparison