Tokyo: Sushi Making Class & Japanese Cooking with Local Chefs

4.97

(147 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“In Japan, rice is not just food — it’s respect,” our instructor said, patting a little mound of sticky rice between her palms. I’d never thought about it that way. The classroom was tucked above a busy street in Tokyo, but inside it felt calm — just the faint clatter of knives and the low hum of someone practicing their Mandarin (Li, the assistant, was helping a couple from Taiwan). My hands were already sticky from trying to roll maki sushi without squishing everything flat. I guess there’s an art to not overthinking it.

Before we started making anything, they ran this funny quiz about sushi etiquette — like what you do with ginger or how not to drown your nigiri in soy sauce (guilty). Our guide switched between English and Chinese so everyone could follow along. When she demonstrated temari sushi — those little round ones — she made it look easy, but mine turned out more like lumpy snowballs. She smiled anyway and said “good effort!” which helped me relax. The smell of vinegared rice mixed with fresh salmon and cucumber made me hungry long before we sat down to eat.

I didn’t expect to laugh so much during a cooking class, but there was this moment when my shrimp kept sliding off the rice and Li tried to show me how to press it gently — “not too hard,” she said, “like holding a baby bird.” Everyone kind of lost it at that. They offered sake too (optional), but honestly I was happy enough with tea and chatting about Tokyo neighborhoods. There’s something about eating what you’ve made yourself that sticks with you — maybe because you remember every awkward step along the way.