Our experience is all about real Japanese home cooking — the kind of food we actually cook and eat with our family.
Before your visit, you can choose one main dish and two side dishes from the menu below.
Japanese steamed rice, miso soup, and our everyday family salad are always included.
MAIN DISH — Please choose one
Japanese Hamburg Steak (Hambagu) — Recommended!
Hambagu is a very popular Japanese home-cooked dish made with seasoned ground meat and shaped like a hamburger steak. It is juicy and comforting, and it is one of my husband’s favorite meals. This is one of my recommended dishes!
Grilled Salmon
Grilled fish is a classic part of Japanese home cooking. Salmon is simply grilled and served with rice, miso soup, and small side dishes. This is a very typical Japanese family meal.
Japanese Curry Rice
Japanese curry is one of the most popular comfort foods in Japan. It is thick, rich, and usually milder than many other Asian curries. It is a meal that many Japanese people grow up eating at home.
Tsukune with Green Peppers
Japanese-style seasoned chicken meatballs (tsukune) served with green peppers. This is inspired by one of my favorite dishes to order at a Japanese izakaya (Japanese-style pub).
Nikujaga
A classic Japanese home-cooked dish made with meat, potatoes, onions, and other vegetables simmered in a sweet and savory soy-based broth. Nikujaga is one of the dishes that many people associate with traditional Japanese home cooking.
SIDE DISHES — Please choose two
Dashimaki Tamago
A soft Japanese rolled omelet flavored with dashi. I make this almost every day for my husband’s bento lunch. It is a simple dish, but a very familiar part of everyday Japanese home cooking.
Spinach Ohitashi
A classic Japanese vegetable side dish. Spinach is lightly cooked and seasoned with a savory dashi-based sauce. It is simple and light and is commonly served as part of a Japanese meal.
Asazuke Cucumber
A light and refreshing Japanese quick pickle. Cucumbers are lightly seasoned and pickled for a short time, giving them a fresh and crunchy texture.
Hiyayakko
Chilled tofu served with simple Japanese toppings and seasonings. It is especially popular during the warmer months and is a common way to enjoy tofu in Japan.
Japanese Potato Salad
Japanese-style potato salad is creamy and mild and is a popular side dish in Japanese homes and bento lunches.
Nasu no Agebitashi
Eggplant is lightly fried and soaked in a flavorful dashi-based sauce. The eggplant absorbs the savory broth and becomes soft and juicy.
Carrot Kinpira
Thinly sliced carrots are stir-fried and seasoned with Japanese flavors such as soy sauce and mirin. Kinpira is a common side dish in Japanese homes and bento lunches.
ALWAYS INCLUDED
Japanese Steamed Rice
Freshly cooked Japanese white rice is an essential part of Japanese home cooking and something we regularly eat at home.
Miso Soup
Miso soup is one of the most familiar dishes in Japanese homes. It is made with miso paste and dashi (Japanese soup stock), with ingredients such as tofu, wakame seaweed, vegetables, and other ingredients depending on the day.
Our Everyday Family Salad
This is the salad we actually eat at home almost every day. It usually includes lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, chicken tenderloin, shirasu (small white fish), wakame seaweed, and soybeans. The ingredients may change slightly depending on the day.
The exact ingredients may vary depending on the season and availability.
Rather than restaurant-style Japanese food, I would love to introduce you to the dishes that Japanese families actually cook and eat at home.
Please let me know your choices before your visit so I can prepare the ingredients for you.
Nikujaga literally means “meat and potatoes”, from two of the main ingredients niku (meat) and jagaimo (potatoes). It’s a comfort food for the Japanese and it is a very popular meal cooked at home. It is often considered “mother’s cooking” (“ofukuro no aji” おふくろの味 in Japanese) as each household cooks it just slightly different. The food itself is very simple and homely, and the warm bowl of your mother’s nikujaga brings one back to their roots. It is probably the most popular dish among all kinds of nimono (煮物 Japanese stewed dishes).
Rice is a staple food in Japan. In all most every family, there is a rice cooker. There is variety of Japanese rice brands such as Koshihikari and Hitomebore.
Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup. It's base is "dashi" (Japanese fish stock) and Miso paste. Common added ingredients are Tofu, Green onion and deep‐fried tofu but differs by personal preference. The type of miso is different from region. In western and Easter Japan white miso is mostly used.
Welcome to our Japanese family home!
This experience is more about sharing a real Japanese family dinner than taking a formal cooking class.
Before your visit, you can choose the dishes you’d like to try from my menu. We’ll decide on a main dish and a few side dishes in advance, so I can prepare fresh ingredients for your visit.
A typical dinner will include a main dish, a few Japanese side dishes, steamed rice, miso soup, and salad.
When you arrive, you can enjoy the experience however you like!
If you love cooking, you’re very welcome to join me in the kitchen. We can prepare some of the dishes together — shaping Japanese hambagu, rolling dashimaki tamago, making miso soup, preparing vegetables, or learning how we make simple Japanese side dishes at home.
If you’d rather just relax and eat, that’s completely fine too! I’ll prepare the meal for you, and you can simply enjoy being a guest in our home.
You don’t need any cooking experience at all.
Once dinner is ready, we’ll put everything on the table and eat together.
For me, the most important part of this experience isn’t learning perfect cooking techniques — it’s sharing a meal and spending time together.
While we eat, we can talk about everyday life in Japan, food, family, movies, anime, music, Japanese culture, or anything you’re curious about. I’d also love to hear about your country, your culture, and what everyday life is like for you.
My English is still at a beginner level, and the rest of my family speaks very little English. We may sometimes speak slowly, use gestures, or get a little help from a translation app, but we’ll do our best to communicate!
Our baby daughter may also be with us during your visit, and depending on the day, you may meet my husband, mother, or younger brother too.
This is not a restaurant or a professional cooking studio. It’s our real home, and we’d like you to experience the kind of dinner and atmosphere that are part of our everyday family life.
Whether you want to cook with me or simply sit down and enjoy the food, you’re welcome!
Come hungry and make yourself at home. Let’s share a delicious Japanese family dinner and a fun evening together in Tokyo!
Minori
Hi! My name is Minori.
I live in a quiet residential neighborhood in Tokyo with my husband, our baby daughter, my mother, and my younger brother.
I love cooking and often prepare meals for my family. I’m also very interested in other countries and cultures. I haven’t traveled abroad very much yet, but I’ve visited China, the Philippines, and Thailand, and I really enjoyed experiencing different foods, cultures, and ways of life.
One of the reasons I decided to become a host is that I would love to meet people from different parts of the world and learn more about their cultures and everyday lives. I’m currently learning English, and I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to connect with people from around the world while sharing food and conversation together.
A little note about language: my English is still at a beginner level, so I may not always understand everything or be able to find the right words quickly. My family speaks even less English than I do! We may occasionally use gestures or a translation app, but we’ll always do our best to communicate and make you feel welcome.
Our home is located in a quiet residential part of Tokyo, away from the busy tourist areas. Here, you can experience a different side of Tokyo — an ordinary neighborhood, everyday family life, and the kind of home-cooked food Japanese families actually eat.
This is not a professional cooking school or a restaurant. Think of it more like being invited to a Japanese friend’s home for dinner.
We can prepare Japanese home cooking together, sit around the table, enjoy our meal, and talk about Japan, your country, food, family, culture, and everyday life.
Our baby daughter may also be with us during your visit, so you can expect a relaxed, casual, and sometimes lively family atmosphere. Depending on the day, you may also meet other members of my family.
In my free time, I enjoy watching movies and anime, listening to music, especially Mrs. GREEN APPLE, going to saunas, and cooking.
I’m also very curious about everyday life and culture in other countries, so I’d love to hear about where you’re from, your favorite food and music, what you like to do, and what daily life is like in your country!
There are many amazing restaurants and famous sightseeing spots to visit during your trip to Japan, but I hope your time with us can be something a little different — a chance to step inside an ordinary Japanese home and experience a small part of everyday life in Tokyo.
I hope you’ll leave with a full stomach, happy memories, and the feeling that you’ve made a little connection with a Japanese family during your trip.
We are looking forward to welcoming you into our home!
The closest station
Nogata Station
How to get to the station?
From Shinjuku Station: 15mins
Free pick up service
This host can pick up you for free from the closest station!
Exact location provided after booking.
Duration of this cooking class is 3 hours.
Up to 3 people can join Minori's cooking class.
Please go to Nogata Station which takes 15 mins from Shinjuku Station. Then Minori (host) will pick you up there!
It costs 3000 per person.
You will receive the confirmation within 24 hours.
We accepts these cards on airKitchen.
Cancellations up to 48 hours prior to the class begins will be fully refunded by the airKitchen cancellation policy.
