Are you new to Japanese cooking? Is improving your cooking skills one of your resolutions for 2022? Or maybe you want to be able to make that cute and flavourful bento for lunch too?

Tokyo offers a great choice of cooking classes in English for Japanese and also foreign cuisines.

Ditch the language barrier, discover some of the best cooking classes in Tokyo, and become confident in the kitchen.

Finding the Right Cooking Class For You

Here are a few of our recommendations for taking yourself from novice to pro in the kitchen!

Mayuko’s Little Kitchen

Mayuko’s philosophy and classes focus on teaching what Japanese people eat as an everyday meal. You will learn the basics of Japanese food, seasonings, and table customs in a warm, friendly atmosphere. All the classes are taught in English. Choose a course, or if you want to focus on more Japanese cooking skills to apply in your everyday life for meal prep, join the Basic Japanese Cooking Skills class, or the ​​Survival Cooking Class Series to learn about local ingredients and preparations in depth.

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BentoYa Cooking

BentoYa Cooking is heavily influenced by its founder, Akiko’s childhood experiences in her hometown near Sendai, where she worked as a cook on her family’s farm and could appreciate the abundance of whole foods and delicious vegetables. The focus of BentoYa Cooking is on vegetarian and vegan meals, and the cooking class offered is centered on using Japanese ingredients to make delicious Japanese vegan meals that are delicious. ​​All meals are fully plant-based, with no animal products whatsoever. Gluten-free meals can also be accommodated if requested in advance.

Both private lessons, scheduled events, and online classes are available.

Cooking Sun

Cooking Sun is a cooking school that opened in Kyoto back in 2014 and now has a studio in Tokyo. They offer private, group, and online classes and three courses: A wagyu kaiseki (course meal) class, a sushi-making class, and an okonomiyaki and side dish cooking class, both in the studio in person and online. We recommend joining a group class with between 8 to 10 participants that you can book online while referencing the calendar for a cooking class within a very reasonable budget.

JP Home Cook

Jphomecook offers fun and creative sessions focusing on homemade seasonal plates and bento lunches in Tokyo. The menu changes every season, so you can learn to make lots of new and unique dishes throughout the year! Mizuki, the cook, also takes particular care in the presentation, and her classes offer an excellent opportunity to take the first steps towards food photography.

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Miwa Japanese Cooking Class

Miwa’s cooking philosophy is “easy and tasty” Japanese food. She is a mother of 2 young children and works full time, so she understands that no one has the time or the dedication to always make elaborate meals with heaps of ingredients. Her cooking classes include a brief supermarket tour and are designed to teach recipes to people with a busy lifestyle. The classes are in English, and she can accommodate food intolerances or different dietary choices.

Take a look at her blog as well, where she shares hundreds of easy, delicious, and healthy Japanese recipes.

ByFood Website

ByFood is a platform created to navigate Japanese food experiences. You can book food tours and food experiences, cooking classes, read about Japanese food trends and food culture.

Their good point is that on ByFood, you will surely be able to find an experience to suit your taste, needs, and budget, not only in Tokyo but in the whole country. From a sushi-making class in a Michelin star restaurant to a home bento-making class. A practical filter box at the top of the page helps you filter hundreds of experiences available on the website based on date, dietary restrictions, type of food, language, accessibility, and more.

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Tokyo Cooking Studio

Tokyo Cooking Studio, which is conveniently located in Shibuya in central Tokyo, offers culinary experiences that allow you to discover the beauty of Japanese culture and the world through food, focusing on local ingredients and how they are grown and made.

Since the founding chef Yukari Matsushita has lived in the US and has extensive experience as a chef in a French restaurant, Tokyo Cooking Studio offers not only traditional Japanese cuisine cooking classes but also “global cuisine” classes with French, Korean, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese cuisine.

Yukari believes in the group bonding power of food and cooking, and that is why her classes always start with some fresh welcome smoothies so that the participants and the chef can get to know each other before starting the lesson.

Why Not Have A Go At A Cooking Class In Tokyo?

Whatever your goal is, Japan offers a wide range of cooking classes and experiences to step up your cooking skills both in-person and online. Grab the chance, choose the menu that appeals the most to you and get your hands dirty!

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