Traditional Japanese Wagashi Making Class in Kyoto

Traditional Japanese confectionery is known as “wagashi” in Japanese, and the cultural city of Kyoto is the perfect place to learn how to make your own from scratch. In a classroom in central Kyoto, this Traditional Japanese Wagashi Making Class is perfect for anyone who wants to learn about Japanese sweets and traditions. The Japanese tea ceremony has long been influenced by wagashi. In Japan, making wagashi is an art form but it’s also enjoyed as an everyday snack. Usually made from plant-based ingredients, Japanese sweets can reflect the passing of the seasons and showcase regional and seasonal ingredients. In this class you will learn how to make two types of Japanese wagashi: Kiku Nerikiri and Ichigo Daifuku. Nerikiri is a decorative style of wagashi made primarily with colored bean paste and sculpted into different seasonal shapes. During this wagashi class, you will make the “kiku” (chrysanthemum) shape. Ichigo Daifuku is a very different type of Japanese traditional sweet. It is composed of an outer layer of mochi around a bean-paste covered strawberry. Watch your teacher as she shows you how to make wagashi from scratch using different ingredients and techniques, then you’ll make your own with help and supervision from your cooking instructor. Finally, you will be able to taste your handmade wagashi sweets together with a cup of Japanese tea. That’s not just any tea, but a tea from award-winning Kyoto tea shop, Rishouen! You’ll even get to take home recipes and extra sweets as a souvenir of the experience. Your teacher is a trained wagashi craftsperson with a background in food science and nutrition as well as teaching Japanese culture. She has studied the art of tea in the “Urasenke” tradition for over 20 years, making her the perfect person to teach you about wagashi and Japanese tea ceremony.