Japan 日本家庭烹飪 美食之旅(2)

We had such a great time on this tour and had so much wonderful food. Hannah G. was an excellent guide! We were especially appreciative of her knowledge of vegetarian options. Also, she shared great tips on eating vegetarian as we traveled and even recommended a signature dish for the next prefecture we were headed to. And the tea surprise to finish the tour was such a special experience. Highly recommended.

It's an exceptional opportunity for every foodie to watch, how mochi is pounding. Even more so to participate in it! We really enjoyed the interesting insights, and discovering the whole process – not to mention the unique deliciousness of the fresh mochi. We could even try four different types of it! The organisation of the whole event was very smooth: easy communication, clear itinerary, friendly and nice hosts, professional chef by the soup making (actually, it was a complete lunch), lot of further tips and informations on the traditional Japanese cuisine. Marie, our host is actually an advocate of the fermentation and traditional way of cooking ("washoku"), so she has a broader point of view on this topic. Through her experience, we could also get a deeper understanding on the usage of the ingredients and their health effects. It was a pleasure to meet her and participating on this experience. I would warmly recommend to all food lovers and enthusiasts! (The location is within reachable distance of many famous sake breweries and also not far from the Fushimi-inari shrine. So you can schedule nicely into your plans.)

Yoko was our guide when we did the Tokyo Old Town tour and we had an amazing time! It was a lot of fun, we got to meet lots of great people and eat absolutely delicious food. I think the tea ceremony was a once in a lifetime experience, the tea bowl I drank from was over 180 years old! We also learn about dining etiquette and Japanese food in general from Yoko. We really enjoyed ourselves while learning and eating! Even though our whole trip to Japan was fantastic, thinking back on it we always say that this food tour was our favorite highlight.

We have been on a few different sized group tours and thought we wanted to try doing a private tour. When we booked this tour we thought that it wouldn't be a private tour but when we arrived we were happy to discover that it was! A nice surprise when we came early to the picup spot. We met Yoko who was our guide through Yanaka and the local shopping area. We tried different foods, sake, and a lunch with delicious sashimi!

Aaron was a great guide! He knew lots of information about the history of ingredients and food preparation. We learned about spice preparation with some interesting anecdotes too. Be warned, do not eat before you go.