Nishiki Market Tour and Umami Dishes Cooking Class in Kyoto

Come take a tour with us to explore one of Kyoto’s most famous markets and learn to cook authentic Japanese dishes! On this tour, you will get to explore Nishiki Market, lined with over a hundred shops and restaurants. Nishiki Market has been around since the 1600s and is one of the oldest markets in Japan, as well. Nishiki Market is filled with everything from fresh produce, street foods to Japanese knick-knacks. Along the 400-meter-long street, you will be able to find ingredients and condiments to cook all sorts of Japanese foods as well. The trip to Nishiki Market will take around 40 minutes, after which we will proceed to a nearby cooking studio, located 5 minutes away from Nishiki Market, to learn how to cook authentic Japanese dishes. During this 3.5 hours cooking class, you will get the chance to make your own full course meal from scratch. The meal focuses on Japanese Zen cuisine, a type of cuisine conventionally practiced by Buddhists, to reflect and showcase a sense of hospitality through their cooking. Appetizers in a Zen cuisine course typically include a “yuba” (beancurd skin) dish, sesame tofu and a small side of salad, all of which you will be taught to make from scratch, including the citrus salad dressing. You will also have the opportunity to make your own dashi stock, a savory broth that is fundamental to almost all Japanese dishes. With this broth, we will then simmer our meat and other fresh ingredients. For vegetarians, we will be more than happy to replace the meat with “shiraae,” a vegetable dish topped with special tofu sauce. You can also have a go at molding your own desserts, a traditional Japanese sweet treat that complements the bowl of matcha served at the end of a meal. Come join us as the class does not simply provide you with the ingredients for use, but as you learn to recreate each item, you will be introduced to the significance of each ingredient, and the process of constructing a full Japanese cuisine course meal.