Kyoto Traditional Japanese Home Cooking Class

Discover Kyoto's home-style cuisine through a hands-on cooking lesson, enjoy the meal you prepare, and explore a historic Japanese townhouse in one two-hour experience.

Getting started

Check in at the Tondaya Main Building to begin your cooking experience. Your session takes place at Nishijin Lifestyle Museum Tondaya, a historic Kyoto machiya recognized as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan and a Kyoto City Important Landscape Building. Your booking includes admission and a tour of the machiya.

What to expect

Traditional obanzai cooking class

Learn to prepare obanzai, Kyoto's traditional home-style cuisine, with guidance from an experienced instructor. You'll watch a live cooking demonstration by a professional chef before taking part in the preparation yourself, including making onigiri, traditional Japanese rice balls.

Features

• Learn to prepare Kyoto's traditional obanzai dishes

• Watch a live cooking demonstration by a professional chef

• Take part in a hands-on onigiri-making experience

• Receive guidance from an experienced instructor

Enjoy your freshly prepared meal

After the cooking session, sit down to enjoy the obanzai dishes you've prepared. This part of the experience lets you taste Kyoto's home-style cuisine while sharing the results of your cooking session. Your booking also includes Japanese-style soup and Japanese tea.

Features

• Enjoy the obanzai dishes you prepare

• Japanese-style soup included

• Japanese tea included

• Meal included in your booking

Tondaya machiya tour

Explore Nishijin Lifestyle Museum Tondaya, a traditional Kyoto townhouse built in 1885. The property features six gardens, three tea rooms, two traditional wells, three storehouses, and a traditional performance room. During the tour, learn about the history of Kyoto machiya and the traditional Japanese way of life. You'll also have time to take photos throughout the museum.

Features

• Tour a historic Kyoto machiya

• Discover traditional gardens, tea rooms, wells, and storehouses

• Learn about Kyoto machiya architecture and traditional lifestyles

• Admission and machiya tour included

The order of the machiya tour and photo time may change depending on the day's schedule.

Wrapping up

Your experience concludes on site at Tondaya after the cooking class, meal, and machiya tour. The full experience lasts approximately two hours, including the tour.