Japan Food Trips

Japan Food Trips

Are you visiting Tokyo soon? Make sure to to check out Japan Food Trips for a fun and educational food tour!

If you are dreaming of visiting Japan, or plan on traveling there soon, it's safe to assume that you are most likely dying to try all the amazing food Japan has to offer. From sushi and ramen, to wagyu beef, Japanese cuisine has many unique and delicious dishes. Japan has a plethora of restaurants serving dishes from every corner of the world. In fact, Tokyo alone has over 160,000 restaurants, so you can see that Japan can be a bit overwhelming to navigate, especially if you don't know the language. But luckily for you there is an easy solution. Book an experienced personal guide to take you around and show you the best of the best for an ultimate eating experience. By doing so you will take all the stress and thinking out of the way and you will be able to focus more on enjoying your amazing trip.

If you are interested in such a culinary adventure and want to find an experienced and reliable guide, we recommend you take a look at Japan Food Trips. Japan Food Trips is lead by Stephanie Haddad, a food passionate expat that has been living in Tokyo for many years. You can rely on her to plan a perfect food tour and show you all the best places to eat, both hidden gems and famous ones. She provides guided afternoon and evening food tours for small intimate groups throughout the local streets of Japan. 

These trips will provide you with a unique opportunity to learn about Japanese food and the culture surrounding it.

On the Japan Food Trips website you will find a variety of tours that you can book. You can even have Stephanie custom curate your own private tour, by telling Stephanie your food preferences where she will then do the rest of the work to make your tour a spectacular experience. Anther great option is extending your food adventure by adding on an Exclusive “Members Only” Sake Trip once you've concluded your delicious food trip. This unforgettable experience will take you to an almost otherworldly sake experience that feels like you are in the middle of an art exhibition. On this leg of the tour, you will experience three different craft sakes from small batch producers all over Japan.

If you are interested in booking a tour with Japan Food Trips here is a bit more information for you. The trips are usually limited to small groups of one to six, but all custom trips are private and Stephanie can organize private trips for larger groups as well. Kids are welcome on the tours, but won't be able to drink alcohol so the afternoon trip is more suitable for children as there is more to do and see. Also, if you have any special requests, please let Stephanie know in advance, so she can make proper arrangements. She is able to accommodate a gluten-free tour or a trip without pork, or a vegetarian trip. We guarantee you will have an incredible time!

Samurai Lesson Osaka

Samurai Lesson Osaka

Would you like to experience what was it like to be a samurai in medieval Japan? You can now get a taste of what that is like thanks to Last Samurai Osaka. They offer an authentic batto course using real swords and comprehensive instruction in the art of swordsmanship. Not only can you take part in a real target blade-testing (goza-kiri) experience with an authentic Japanese sword, but you can also develop your spiritually by cultivating the samurai’s creed of “oneness of spirit and technique” through traditional etiquette. You can also learn about the ethical code of the warrior, also known as bushido and learn about Zen practice.

Samurai (likewise bushi) were a class of warriors which emerged in the tenth century CE in medieval Japan and which endured until the seventeenth century CE. They have been romanticized since the eighteenth century CE as the exemplification of gallantry and honour. The samurai first became prominent in the Warring States time period (467-1573). Around then, there were numerous independent territories in Japan. Those territories battled each other constantly, so the need for samurai in that war torn Japan was high. A significant number of the acclaimed samurai films by Akira Kurosawa were about this perilous time. On the off chance that a samurai was defeated or he shamed himself by not following the code of bushido, he needed to commit seppuku, a ritual suicide. Portion of the seppuku custom is cutting the stomach or abdomen. That part of the custom is called hara-kiri. To a samurai, dying was better than having no honour or being captured by the enemy.



Katana is commonly characterized as the standard sized, moderately curved Japanese sword with an edge length of more than 60 cm. It is characterized by its particular appearance: a bended, slim, single-edged sharp edge with a round or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Historians from all around the world have said that katana were among the finest cutting weapons in world military history.



Samurai would in general live on the place where there is which they were overlords, keeping up their very own martial family conventions –, for example castle building, gunnery, cavalry and even a mixture of astronomy and astrology – while anticipating orders for war. The samurais' lords paid them with rice. Some samurai did not have rulers. These samurai were classified "Ronin". The "Ronin" caused a few issues for Japan in the early Edo time period. At the point when Japan modernized most samurai progressed toward becoming bureaucrats, teachers or artists.



If you decide to book a samurai class during your visit to Osaka, we strongly recommend you do it at Last Samurai Osaka. There you will get the whole package. A lecture about the history of samurai and traditional etiquette. You will learn what Zen and bushido mean for the samurai and you will experience what it is like to wield a real Japanese sword. Last Samurai will provide a video of you wielding a sword to cut the tameshigiri post and photos as well. So take your friends or family on this unforgettable experience and have a lot of fun!

Last Samurai Osaka

Last Samurai Osaka

Are you a fan of Japanese culture and history? If you are you have surely heard of the samurai, and like many, are probably fascinated by them. I bet that you at least once dreamed about how it would be like to be a samurai, to carry a sword and life by a code of honor. Well now you have the chance to try just that. In Osaka there is a dojo where you can take a samurai lesson, learn the art of swordsmanship, learn about bushido and zen, and have a lot of fun doing it. That place is called Last Samurai Osaka and I really recommend you chech it out.

 

As you all know the samurai (or bushi) were Japanese warriors. They were individuals from the imperative military class before Japanese society changed in 1868. The word samurai originates from the Japanese verb samurai, which means to serve somebody and look up to them. Samurai were a fascinating group of people and still today they inspire movies, books, games and even the way of life for many people. That is a testament of their importance and of the mark they left on both Japanese and world history. The samurai turned out to be extremely ground-breaking and imperative close to the finish of the Edo time frame (1603-1867) and in the Shinto time frame. In the Edo time frame, they were the most vital social standing. One of the facts you might not have heard of is that a samurai's belief was that his swords held his soul. That made the sword the most essential thing he had and because of that there is now wonder that the Japanese sword smiths were so devoted to making the best possible sword.
 

Katana were one of the generally made Japanese swords that were utilized by the samurai of old and medieval Japan. The katana is described by its particular appearance: a bended, single-edged cutting edge with a round or squared watchman and long hold to oblige two hands. Japanese swords were conveyed in a few distinctive ways, fluctuating all through Japanese history. The style most regularly found in "samurai" films is called buke-zukuri, with the katana (and wakizashi, if additionally present) carried edge up, with the sheath thrust through the obi (sash). Katana were utilized by samurai both in the front line and for rehearsing hand to hand fighting.

Samurai wore all kinds of armor and clothes and one of them is a Hakama. Hakama is customarily worn underneath the reinforcement and framed piece of an outfit called a kamishimo. Worn by samurai and squires amid the Edo time frame, the outfit incorporated a formal kimono, hakama, and a sleeveless coat with exaggerated shoulders called a kataginu. 

The bushido or shido, which means the 'way of the warrior,' is the acclaimed warrior code of the samurai but it was only compiled in the late seventeenth century CE, by which time the samurai were no longer militarily focused, but instead worked more as good aides and consultants. Bushido expanded and formalized the earlier known code of the samurai, and pointed out that sincerity, loyalty, frugality, mastery of martial arts, and honour were the important parts of the samurai life. It is famously known that under the bushido ideal, if a samurai failed his lord or failed to uphold his honor he could only regain it by performing seppuku (ritual suicide).

 

Now that you learned the basics about the Samurai you are ready to book the Last Samurai Osaka samurai lesson. These lessons are open for all ages and levels of experience, everyone is welcome.
This is a phenomenal opportunity for you to get a firsthand view of the samurai world, to get an insight into the Bushido code, to use a genuine Japanese sword, and to create some unforgettable memories. Last Samurai will provide a video of you wielding a sword to cut the tameshigiri post and photos as well. For more information check out the Last Samurai Osaka website. You will not regret it.

 

Kyoto - The Ancient Capital

Kyoto - The Ancient Capital

Kyoto is one of the symbols of Japan more or less. It's the social and authentic heart of the nation. It's the best place in all Japan to encounter customary sanctuaries, altars, gardens, geisha, shops, eateries and celebrations. Kyoto, city, seat of Kyoto fu (urban prefecture), west-focal Honshu island, Japan. It is found somewhere in the range of 30 miles (50 km) upper east of the mechanical city of Osaka and about a similar separation from Nara, another old focus of Japanese culture. Delicately inclining descending from north to south, the city midpoints 180 feet (55 meters) above ocean level. With its 2,000 religious spots – 1,600 Buddhist sanctuaries and 400 Shinto places of worship, just as castles, greenery enclosures and design flawless – it is a standout amongst the best saved urban areas in Japan. Among the most celebrated sanctuaries in Japan are Kiyomizu-dera, a brilliant wooden sanctuary upheld by columns off the slant of a mountain; Kinkaku-ji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion; Ginkaku-ji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion; and Ryoan-ji, popular for its stone garden. The other, more up to date line, finished in 1997, keeps running from the JR Nijo station in the west over the city toward the east and afterward to Daigo, southeast of the city. Kyoto was the main city in Japan to have electric streetcars (beginning in 1895), which in the end made it important to broaden the significant lanes to take into account citywide administration. 

Kyoto Guide can help you a lot! The Heian Jingu is a Shinto place of worship, Built in 1895, commending the Imperial family and recognizing the first and last heads to live in Kyoto. Kyoto fu is at the focal point of Kinki chiho (district). The city is one of the focuses (with close-by Osaka and Kobe) of the Keihanshin Industrial Zone, the second biggest urban and modern agglomeration in Japan. With its rich hues, convention, history and culture, Kyoto is a city which permits guests a look into the past. The city exemplifies the Japanese tasteful idea of "wabi-sabi" – the specialty of discovering excellence in short life or flaw. It likewise happens to have one of the world's biggest accumulations of Unesco World Heritage destinations; it's difficult to see them all, so concentrating on a couple is vital. That leaves time to meander the back streets, duck into little shops and appreciate first rate food in the previous royal capital of Japan. Three exceptional destinations have associations with the royal family: the Kyoto Gyoen zone including the Kyoto Imperial Palace and Sento Imperial Palace, homes of the Emperors of Japan for a long time; Katsura Imperial Villa, one of the country's best building fortunes; and Shugaku-in Imperial Villa, a standout amongst its best Japanese greenery enclosures. Moreover, the sanctuary of Sennyu-ji houses the tombs of the sovereigns from Shijo to Komei.

Kyoto is notable for its customary celebrations which have been held for more than 1000 years and are a noteworthy vacation spot. The first is the Aoi Matsuri on May 15. Kyoto is essentially a shopper city. It is the national focus of silk and fine material wholesaling, however its primary business movement is retail exchange. Kyoto is eminent for its plenitude of heavenly Japanese sustenances and food. The unique conditions of Kyoto as a city far from the ocean and home to numerous Buddhist sanctuaries brought about the advancement of an assortment of vegetables curious to the Kyoto zone. The Gion and Pontocho locale, acclaimed for their geisha and maiko (disciple geisha), offer an assortment of customary and remote nourishment and drink. To put it plainly, Kyoto is the most remunerating goal in all of Japan and it ought to be at the highest point of any Japan travel agenda. Undoubtedly, I might be one-sided, however I'd venture to such an extreme as to state that Kyoto is the most remunerating single city in all of Asia. Amid the mid year, yuka (stages on stilts) are set up on the banks of the Kamo River in the core of town, and walking troubadours go underneath as a notice of how Kabuki theater began. Customary Japanese motels (ryokan) proliferate, and numerous Western-style lodgings take into account the wedding, vacationer, and tradition exchanges. There are numerous sanctuaries in Kyoto, however ostensibly the most striking is Kinkaku-Ji (otherwise known as the Golden Pavillion). Regardless of whether you've seen it in photographs, nothing can very set you up for this one of a kind sight – and all the selfie-taking visitors encompassing it. The Fushimi Inari Shrine is likewise worth a visit, while the 4km way is ideal for a climb. After two months (July 1 to 31) is the Gion Matsuri known as one of the 3 extraordinary celebrations of Japan, coming full circle in a monstrous motorcade on July 17. The first framework example of the roads has been held. Numbered roads run east and west, Shijo-dori ("Fourth Street") being the busiest. Karasuma-dori, running north from the Japanese National Railways station, partitions the city generally into equal parts. Under it is one of the two lines of the metropolitan tram. Kyoto denotes the Bon Festival with the Gozan no Okuribi, lighting fires on mountains to control the spirits home (August 16). The October 22 Jidai Matsuri, Festival of the Ages, observes Kyoto's famous past.

If you are interested in traditional crafts from Japan, make sure to check out our friends and their website, they can offer you a lot of interesting items!

Tokyo Ramen Tours

Tokyo Ramen Tours

Are you a fan of Japanese food? Do you like ramen especially? If you do, you need to check out Tokyo Ramen Tours!

Ramen

Japanese cuisine is a famous around the world and you can find Japanese restaurants almost everywhere. But all that cannot compare to the variety and quality of cuisine you can enjoy when in Japan itself. From fresh sushi and tasty miso, to the famous wagyu beef, Japan has many kinds of amazing dishes, but today we are going to talk about Ramen. Ramen has that irresistible appeal when it served at your table fresh and steaming, inviting you to start what you know will be an amazing meal. When Ramen became a well known dish in Edo Era Japan, it was considered a basic food which could be bought for a small price and had a similar taste wherever you bought it. In today's Japan, however, there is a huge amount of Ramen shops, each with hundreds of tasty and unique variations.

Types of Ramen

In the event that you stroll into a Japanese ramen shop and request without asking for a particular sauce or base, you will most likely find shoyu ramen sitting before you. "Shoyu" essentially means soy sauce in Japanese. The soup comprises of a vegetable and chicken base with an infusion of soy sauce. Miso ramen was popularized in Hokkaido and it is made with fragrant soybean glue that is sauteed together with ginger and garlic and combined with pork stock. Curry ramen was first made in 1965 in Hokkaido. The soup is mostly made with bones of pork and vegetables and curry is used as seasoning. For quite a while, the Tokyo ramen was the nation's meaning of the standard ramen bowl. It's clean flavors of fish and chicken gives us a sign of the Tokyo ramen's unassuming beginnings, which is probably going to be soba served in a straightforward dashi soup for workers. Today, the dashi is simmered with shoyu and chicken stock. Shio ramen is a pale, clear, yellowish juices made with a lot of salt and any blend of chicken, vegetables, fish, and ocean growth. At times pork bones are likewise utilized, yet they are not boiled for as long as they are for tonkotsu ramen, so the soup stays clear and light. While the substance of genuine Japanese ramen is mostly in the broth, toppings are critical in making ramen the most famous of all Japanese noodles. If you like this you can try a good Tokyo ramen tour.

Tokyo Ramen Tours

So why not learn more about this tasty Japanese food and try the famous ramen variations and have fun doing it. You can do all that on a Tokyo ramen tour. Find and book a reliable and experienced guide and you will have an amazing time. If you decide to do it we recommend you take a look at Tokyo Ramen Tours. There you can find several amazing Tokyo ramen tours that will take you on a fun and delicious ramen-tasting adventure on the streets of Tokyo, all lead by the experienced local guide Frank who is, as you can guess, a huge fan of ramen and its many variations.

So all in all, if you are visiting Tokyo and want to try something new and different we wholeheartedly recommend you book a tour with Frank and Tokyo Ramen Tours. You will surely have a lot of fun, learn something new, and have some amazing meals.  

Japanese Home-style Cooking Class

Japanese Home-style Cooking Class 

 

Japanese Home-style Cooking Class is just the thing you need to make you Japan stay even more memorable. All fans of Japan and Japanese culture know that Japanese food is also amazing and full of delicious types of food. Japanese cuisine is truly a unique and delicious one. Seafood is often eaten, frequently flame broiled, yet in addition served raw as sashimi or in sushi. Fish and vegetables are likewise deep-fried in a light batter, as tempura. Aside from rice, staples incorporate noodles, for example, soba and udon. Japan likewise has many stewed dishes, for example, fish products in stock called oden, or meat in sukiyaki and nikujaga. If you want to learn to prepare Japanese food yourself there is a perfect new way to do it. Book a Japanese cooking class or a Sushi class while you are in Japan and learn from a good and experienced Japanese cook.

There are many types of delicious Japanese dishes you will love to eat and learn to make. Sushi rice and seafood, etc. rolled in dried seaweed sheets. There are innumerable assortments of sushi rolls varying in fixings and thickness. Sushi rolls arranged "back to front" are exceptionally prominent outside of Japan, however once in a while found in Japan. Put just, sushi is raw fish served on rice prepared daintily with vinegar. It's in the assortment of flavors and surfaces – like tart, rich uni (ocean urchin roe) and stout, juicy amaebi (sweet shrimp) – that things get fascinating. In spite of sushi's elevated picture, it has a humble origin: street food. Ramen are normally categorized by their soup base, despite the fact that variations that combine the different bases are normal. Japan might be known for its delightful baked goods and cakes yet, strangely, a standout amongst its traditional treats is shaped like a sea bream. Taiyaki is a hot waffle-like baked good loaded down with sweet azuki bean paste, chocolate, cream or here and there cheese. Tempura is a dish of battered and fried fish, different seafood, or vegetables. Extraordinary consideration is given to the way the ingredients are cut just as to the temperature of the batter (super cold) and oil (extremely hot) for profound frying, with the goal that each piece is a chomp of freshly fried flawlessness.

If you want to find a good and reliable Tokyo cooking class we recommend Emi’s Kitchen. Emi's Kitchen offers both a very popular sushi class (includes 3 kinds of sushi and miso soup) and a good Japanese cooking class (includes 1 main dish, 1 side dish, rice, miso soup and Japanese dessert) all from a comfort of a home environment. You will learn both how to make Japanese dishes and how to prepare the right ingredients. Emi will also show you how to present your food to impress your friends and family and even offer you some amazing sake if you want. Keep in mind that the Japanese cooking course and the sushi course are held for a minimum of 2 persons. All in all Emi’s Kitchen is a perfect place for you if you want to learn about Japanese cuisine and bring that knowledge and delicious food back home. 

Japanese Cooking Class

Japanese Cooking Class

I am sure many of you are huge fans of Japan and its amazing culture. And if you are a fan of Japan you are most likely a fan of Japanese cuisine as well. From sushi and miso to ramen and wagyu beef there are many amazing and unique types of Japanese food to taste and enjoy. Some of you would probably like to know how to prepare these amazing Japanese dishes yourself and perhaps surprise your family or friends with a delicious Japan dinner or treat yourself after a hard day of work. Fortunately there is a great way to learn the secrets of Japanese cuisine and also have a lot of fun doing it. And you can do just that if you book a good Japanese cooking class while you are on your trip to Japan.

But first you must consider and learn all about different kinds of Japanese dishes. Japanese cooking incorporates the regional and traditional dishes of Japan, which have created through hundreds of years of political, financial, and social changes. The customary cooking of Japan depends on rice with miso soup and different dishes; there is an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes frequently comprise of fish, cured vegetables, and vegetables cooked in juices. Sushi is the most celebrated Japanese dish outside of Japan, and a standout amongst the most mainstream dishes among the Japanese themselves. In Japan, sushi is typically enjoyed on exceptional events, for example, a festival. Ramen (egg noodles in a salty soup) is Japan's most loved late-night feast. It's additionally the ideal case of an imported dish – for this situation from China – that the Japanese have made totally and delectably their own. There are four noteworthy soup styles: tonkotsu (pork bone), miso, soy sauce and salt. Fukuoka is especially acclaimed for its rich tonkotsu ramen while sharp miso ramen is a claim to fame of Hokkaido.

Japanese rice is short grain and winds up sticky when cooked. Most of Japanese rice is cleaned to expel the hard external skin (rice grain) and consumed as hakumai ("white rice"). White rice is the establishment of Japanese cooking and is served with most meals. Soba – long, slim buckwheat noodles – have for quite some time been a staple of Japanese food, especially in the mountainous locales where solid buckwheat develops superior to rice. Albeit in fact Chinese, gyoza are presently a key piece of Tokyo culinary life. Nibble measured and rich, these dumplings are regularly loaded up with a blend of pork, cabbage and nira chives, at that point plunged into a tart mix of soy sauce and vinegar. Dissimilar to most Japanese nourishments which come in to some degree meager portions to enable you to realize when to quit eating, it's truly simple to continue requesting round after round of gyoza until you are going to explode. The noodles are served in either a hot, soy sauce-enhanced juices, or at room temperature on a bamboo mat with broth on the side for dipping. Miso soup may appear to be misleadingly basic, yet it's a fundamental Japanese sustenance that is presented with any customary feast. The soup is produced using dashi stock – either fish or kelp stock – joined with miso bean paste to bring a savory umami element to any meal. Tofu and cut green onions, just as ingredients like fish, mollusks, and pork, can be included and may change by the season.

So if you decide that you want to go on a Japanese Cooking Class with a skilled local cook, look no further then Emi's Kitchen where you can take Japanese cooking class in a friendly home environment. You will learn to prepare all kinds of Japanese dishes and have a lot of fan doing it! Emi's Kitchen offers both Japanese home style cooking class (includes 1 main dish, 1 side dish, rice, miso soup and Japanese dessert) and a very popular sushi class (includes 3 kinds-temari, gunkan-maki, nigiri and chawan-mushi-Japanese steamed egg custard, and miso soup). Also if you want Emi can offer you Japanese sake for a small fee and you can enjoy it with the prepared food. Keep in mind that the classes are held for a minimum of 2 persons and maximum is 18, and if you want to come alone it is possible if there are more people who booked on that day.  Check out Emi's Kitchen and book your class as soon as possible since the quantity is limited!