Step into a comfortable cooking studio in central Kyoto for this private cooking experience that will teach you how to make vegan ramen, gyoza and onigiri, three of Japan's most popular dishes. Your host, Midori, will guide you through each step, sharing useful tips on how to recreate traditional Japanese recipes with vegan ingredients.

Perhaps Japan's most famous noodle dish, ramen is almost always off-limits to vegans, but in this class you’ll learn a unique ramen recipe devoid of animal products that still keeps its characteristic umami. Your ramen will have a vegetable broth with soy milk and miso and will be generously topped with fried tofu and vegetables for a colorful and appetizing presentation.

Next, you'll make Japanese baked dumplings (yaki gyoza). Like ramen, gyoza is originally from China and was introduced to Japan in the 19th century, quickly becoming one of the country's comfort foods. To make vegan gyoza, you'll fill wrappers with tofu and vegetables and bake them until they form a deliciously crunchy crust.

To complete your meal, you'll assemble onigiri. A staple across Japan, these practical rice balls are made by shaping rice cooked in a traditional rice cooker into ball shapes, filling them and wrapping them in seaweed. Although variations abound, in this experience you will use pickled ingredients as fillings, sprinkle furikake around them and then wrap them in nori seaweed for a nice crispy outer layer.

This private vegan cooking class takes place in Kyoto, Japan's capital for over 1000 years and one of the country's most popular destinations. Countless shrines, temples and historical sites can be found here, breathing ancient life into the area. This incredibly scenic city is a great place to discover the world of traditional Japanese cuisine with a vegan twist.