Private Kyoto Sushi Cooking Class & Tea Ceremony with Emika

A delicate experience. I made the choice for the class with Emika because I was looking to find an experience closer to the local day in town than a class in a local restaurant. I think I made the right choice! The experience is to visit "a friend of the family" or someone like that, a person who introduces you to the city, his customs while preparing and doubting a meal with you. Travelling alone for days and having just arrived in Kyoto, it was just the meeting I needed. Yes, it is a high price for Brazilian standards, but it is not a tourist product, but rather the service of someone who opens his home to receive you with all care, cordiality and respect.

Emika was so lovely and knowledgeable. We learned just the right amount to take home some new Japanese cooking skills without being overwhelming. Food was fantastic. Tea ceremony was insightful. She also helped us navigate other future activities/restaurants. Supermarket tour was full of local goodness. Highly recommend!

Emika invited us into her home for a wonderful sushi and miso soup making lunch and then walked us to a local grocery store and helped us buy all the ingredients to make it ourselves. She even taught us all about a tea ceremony as her grandfather used to be a tea master. We had a wonderful time and would highly recommend this tour.

I had the pleasure of taking this cooking class on my first day in Kyoto, and it turned out to be one of the most special and memorable experiences of my trip. What truly makes this experience unique is that it is a completely private class, held in Emika’s own home. Emika is a local who was born and raised in Kyoto, and you can really feel that authenticity throughout the entire experience. The setting creates such an intimate and personal atmosphere, allowing you to learn at your own pace and feel completely comfortable from the very beginning. Emika carefully explains and demonstrates every step of the process, from the raw ingredients all the way to preparing the meals. Beyond the cooking itself, she also shares wonderful tips and cultural insights that you wouldn’t normally come across. From how to properly prepare and drink matcha, to the correct and respectful way to use chopsticks (which we were surprised to learn we had been doing incorrectly for almost two and a half weeks in Japan!) - these little details made the experience even more meaningful. She also took the time to give us excellent restaurant recommendations, many of which we immediately added to our list to try. It was clear she genuinely cared about our experience in Kyoto beyond the class itself. And of course - the food itself was absolutely amazing. Everything we made was delicious, and it was incredibly satisfying to enjoy a meal we had prepared from scratch. We also left with plenty of photos of ingredients and products we plan to buy and take home with us before leaving Japan. This is so much more than just a cooking class - it’s a cultural, personal, and truly authentic Kyoto experience. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the city.

We had a wonderful experience. Our host was very kind and showed us how to make some amazing food. She also helped us find local shops and restaurants in Kyoto.

We loved our cooking class with Emika! Her professional, but relaxed teaching style made this class not only fun, but easy to recall when home. We especially loved that most of the ingredients we used for our delicious meal were grown in her garden. We would absolutely recommend Emika to any of our friends or family traveling to Kyoto!

The sushi cooking & tea ceremony experience with Emika was a ton of fun and a great experience. Emika welcomed us into her home and taught us how to cook a couple of dishes. Because it was just us and Emika, we received her full attention. Learning how to make nigiri sushi is something we're excited to try back at home. This experience was well worth it.

Excellent experience with Emika. She was thoughtful, organized, welcoming and entertaining. I recommend the experience. The day was topped off with a trip to Emika’s local grocery store where she educated us on new foods.

Amazing experience! Such a good sushi making class with all the tips and tricks! We had a very fun time. We ended with a tea ceremony at the end which was also very fun! Highly recommend to anyone visiting Japan who wants to have a good learning experience

Emika was very warm, gracious and welcoming. We felt immediately at ease with her. The recipes were clear, simple and had spectacular flavor enhanced with fresh ingredients from her garden pick that day.. Much tradition and tips for preparing sushi, carrot salad, marinaded cucumber, miso soup and tea ceremony. The personal trip to the market was informative and fun. I would recommend this experience to anyone traveling to Kyoto.