Suggestions for a Cooking Class?

I have Googled ' Osaka Cooking Classes ' and got far far too many to consider. I thought Osaka being the country's Kitchen for variety of foods would be an appropriate place to begin my search.

However, my wife and I will be ok with doing an enjoyable-fun-casual class anywhere else where one arrives hungry and leaves well fed!

Any suggestions of a Cooking Class in Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Takayama or Kanazawa will be appreciated.

Preparing some of the following are of interest:
Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Kushikatsu, Gyoza and Soba Noodles in a chicken Ramen are of interest.

Class size max 8. Cost: less than 12,000 Yen per person.

Thanks for any replies.

Ronzac

Osaka is best known for Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, and Yakisoba. Try to look into cooking classes for these dishes. Here is a list of cooking classes specializing in those dishes https://airkitchen.me/list/osaka/category/okonomiyaki/

The skill level for Okonomiyaki is not too high so it would be a good course to take.

Thanks PatrickSF,

I am now going through the 22 possibilities for an Okonomiyaki cooking class in Osaka to find the most suitable one for my wife and I.

Cheers
Ronzac

Umm, do you need a cooking class for Okonomiyaki? It’s often prepared by yourself anyway.
If you are into this try Monjayaki in Tokyo. Specially around Tsukishima station. That’s a typical Tokyo dish and you prepare it mostly by yourself.

As suggested, all those foods are things that locals naturally learn from friends and family if not the "cook your own" restaurants. If you're having problem doing that for some reason, perhaps what you're looking for is a class designed for foreign visitors. Have you inquired at your local international exchange lounge or city hall?

https://ofix.or.jp/english/

If you are into this try Monjayaki in Tokyo. Specially around Tsukishima station.

Yes! I am happy to see it recommended here.

It is better to make a reservation, or go on a weekday outside peak hours (the queues can be insane!).

Thanks for the tips re a Cooking Class. I will wait until I have done the ' Monjayaki ' Okonomiyaki experience in Tokyo. A bit of - do it yourself - there probably will be enough.

We are more interested in a class where perhaps 3 or 4 dishes are prepared than just focusing on one type.

Cheers

Ronzac

There are a few cooking classes in Osaka via Airbnb "Experiences".
I did a few guided tours via this platform (not in Japan though).

The reason I recommended Okonomiyaki is because a lot of Japanese cuisine is about quality of ingredients as supposed to composed dishes as you see in Western cuisine. I am sure there are a lot of courses to learn how to cook Wagyu beef while there is certainly mastery in cooking these cuts of meat on the surface level what you would learn in a 1 hour cooking course to me seems even more simplistic than cooking Okonomiyaki. Cut pieces of meat place on grill for x period of time flip and continue cooking for another y period of time. I think some sushi courses could be interesting, but this is a cuisine that is highly dependent on the quality of ingredients as well as something that requires a long time to master. I am sure you could learn how to make a hand roll though and that might be interesting for you. I think Tempura could be interesting, but from someone who cooks a lot this is not an easy dish to learn. It has a high skill level and skill curve plus it is not something you would likely want to replicate at home since it involves setting up a deep fryer. Maybe something like ramen would be good as there are multiple elements that go into the dish? (How to make the noodles, how to make the stock, how to make the seasoning "tare", how to make the perfect jammy egg, how to prepare any toppings such as cha siu or any vegetables to be added, how to plate the ramen.) Maybe there is a course that would teach you how to make ramen and gyoza together since these are often served along side each other. A lot of Japanese cuisine specializes in making a specific thing so I don't know if you will find many courses that would teach you how to make 3 or 4 dishes.

It is true that Okonomiyaki is a dish that Japanese people typically cook for themselves in the restaurant, but as a foreigner if you have never had it before I am sure a course would still be fun and I would also add that from a Western perspective, the idea of going to a restaurant and cooking your own food is almost entirely foreign to us and eating at an Okonomiyaki restaurant or similar places like Korean BBQ can be intimidating for the uninitiated. Here is a video of someone visiting an Okonomiyaki restaurant and learning how to make it themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4BIG2RcX1o

a lot of Japanese cuisine is about quality of ingredients as supposed to composed dishes as you see in Western cuisine (...) A lot of Japanese cuisine specializes in making a specific thing so I don't know if you will find many courses that would teach you how to make 3 or 4 dishes.

It's true that compared to restaurants in Europe, there are lots of specialized restaurants in Japan...
But, kaiseki cuisine has a wide variety of dishes, for example. You can also find many "small" dishes in izakayas, and some can be really fancy. There are also many regular restaurants that offer daily menus, with dishes changing everyday!

I disagree that they don't have composed dishes... Nabe or sukiyaki in winter, are quite comparable to French stews. Nikujaga, chawanmushi and potato salad are also classics, and they are not mono-ingredients dishes. It's just that they are mostly soy-sauce or dashi based, instead of cream based.

If OP could find a cooking class that does a "teishoku" kind of meal, or a bento, that would make 4 different dishes (or more). Eg, some side dishes (okazu) like nanbanzuke/tsukudani/potato salad, and maybe a tonkatsu as the main dish? Urgh, writing that just made me hungry now... xD

@Mellye I wasn't suggesting that there weren't composed dishes in Japanese cuisine just pointing out how Japanese cuisine typically differs from Western cuisine to manage OP's expectations. (Although I don't even know if they are a westerner or not.) I think you have some good recommendations ... I thought about mentioning hotpot as well.

I think Katsu Curry might be a good dish to learn and one that OP could probably replicate at home. How to make pork cutlet (in course they will use deep fryer, but I have made pork cutlets at home by shallow frying in a skillet), how to make the curry, how to prepare the rice. Perhaps they might include something like how to make a side of miso soup, cabbage salad, or how to make some tsukemono (Japanese pickles) ... now I am hungry.

In Kanazawa there is a restaurant called Coil (I have never been there, but it looks good) the concept of the restaurant is basically a “build your own” hosomaki (sushi with nori on the outside) Not a cooking course, but you select the ingredients you want in your hosomaki and they bring the ingredients out to you with I think some printed instruction on how to make/ assemble the hospmaki. The restaurant group has two other restaurants in Kanazawa called Tile and Barrier although they are different in concept one serves rice bowls with seafood and the other is maybe seafood/ sushi … they are all highly ranked on TripAdvisor.

Thanks again to PatrickSF and Mellye for your comments and recommendations. (Sorry for late reply but I have been away from my computer.)
The video by 'Japan ByFood' is brilliant and is just the experience desired. We are staying in Namba early November and will definitely order Menu Items 1 and 2 at AJINOYA HONTEN.
Maybe we can ask to make our own Okonomiyaki as Shizuka (video Host) did. Fingers crossed!

Comparing their Okonomiyaki to what we will have already enjoyed in Tokyo at Monjayaki will be fun.

I have bookmarked 'Japan byFood' to look at other videos Shizuka has made. Her presentation and friendly style are most inviting to see more of her Japan videos.

We will be in Kanazawa in October and will try the Hosomaki - 'Build Your Own' experience at the Coli restaurants. Ta PatrickSF for this tip.

Re a cooking course, maybe we do one in Osaka mainly for the fun involved working with a cook and eating what we prepare. I am not a cook but trying a variety of different foods in Japan is a major interest.

I will keep an eye out for restaurants with Kaiser cuisines, hotpot with Katsu Curry and Teishoku type meals.

Thanks again for your replies.
Cheers
Ronzac (An Australian living in Germany with my German wife.)

Ajinoya Honten is one of the most famous Okonomiyaki restaurants ... just be aware that it will be crowded an you might have to wait online for a bit. I think it is possible to make a reservation online.

Thanks Patrick. I will check out the website of Ajinoya Honten later today and make a reservation if it's possible. Ta for tip.

If not bookable, waiting in a queue there will build the excitement. :-)

Cheers
Ron

Hi PatrickSF,

I just tried to book Ajinoya via their preferred method in the website. Wow!

I get responses like:
No bookings available between October 5th and December 14th AND
ditto " September 25th and December 14th.

A message pops up that states (my understanding) : Bookings for month X can be made on the 1st of month (X-1). Maybe their ON means FROM.

I would like to dine there somewhere between Nov 2nd and Nov 6th. I will try again 1st October.

Do you know if one can just rock up on the day and wait in a queue?

Cheers
Ronzac

BTW Do you have any other favourite (delicious food or cook-your-own) restaurants worth booking well in advance? In Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe or Takayama. Ta for any tips.

I don’t reside in Japan (I am from the US). I am just good at picking restaurants/ doing research. I am pretty sure you can try to go to Ajinoya on the day and just wait in queue like most restaurants in Japan. If not you could try Okonomiyaki Mizuno which is equally famous and nearby. If neither of those work use google maps pick an area and select “restaurants nearby” then choose the “cuisine” drop down menu and select “Okonomiyaki” anything with more than 4 stars should be good.

As far as other restaurants finding restaurants in Japan is definitely more challenging for me than in USA/ Europe. On my upcoming trip I am most excited about a reservation I got in Kyoto for a restaurant called Monk. However, reservations are very hard to get and they are gone within seconds of opening (they open two months in advance and I missed out on my first two attempts, but by some luck got it on the third (and last possible day for me)

There are a lot of places in Tokyo I want to try, but unfortunately will only be there for two full days. The cuisines in Tokyo I am most interested in trying are Ramen, Tonkatsu, and Pizza (Tokyo is known to have really good Neapolitan style pizza.)

For ramen there are a lot of noteworthy places and a variety of styles I recommend checking out the YouTube channel “5amramen” to get some ideas. A few ramen shops in Tokyo were awarded Michelin stars, but they have since been taken away. There are maybe 15-20 shops that have Michelin Bib Gourmand … you can see these listed on the Michelin guide website. The shops that previously had a Michelin star are “Tsuta” (Shoyu Ramen), “Nakiryu” (DanDan Ramen), “Ginza Kagari” (Tori Paitan Ramen… they have multiple locations) and I think there might have been a couple others. The problem is that a lot of these places don’t take reservations and/ or require jumping through hoops/ waiting on long lines just to eat there. “Iida Shoten” is the top ranked ramen shop in Japan, but it is somewhat remote and nearly impossible to get a reservation. Some of these shops have merchandise deals with 7-eleven that sell bowls of instant ramen fashioned after what you would get in the restaurant. Definitely not the same as restaurant , but I have tried the Tsuta and Nakiryu instant ramens and they are way above the standard instant ramen.

Tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) should be a big hit with your German wife. - “Butagumi” is very well known … I am planning to visit “Tonkatsu Hasegawa”


Pizza - “Savoy” (there are a few locations” “PST” I think it is “Pizza Studio Tamaki”
“The pizza bar on 38th” (this is super fancy in Mandarin Oriental and it is an 8 course set menu, but in won award for best pizza in Asia)

Japan does high brow and low brow very well … you can easily find a restaurant serving a $400-$500 meal and down the street might be a place where you can get an equally delicious meal for $10. Don’t be afraid of getting a meal at the cheaper places or for that matter 7 eleven/ Lawson’s/ FamilyMart.

Monk Kyoto was featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table Pizza series
Savoy was featured on Netflix’s Ugly Delicious series in the pizza episode
You can usually find good videos of popular restaurants on YouTube

A couple of places worth considering (not Japanese food) Jean George at the Shinmonzen (Kyoto)… if not for the food just to see the Tadao Ando designed architecture. Benoit (Kyoto) (An Alan Ducasse restaurant with a view of Kiyomizudera)
Ginza Onedera (Tokyo and Kyoto high end conveyor belt sushi)
551 Horai (multiple locations mostly in Kansai region selling steamed pork buns .. it is Taiwanese/ Chinese “Char Siu Bao”, but very delicious)

If you are interested in a specific cuisine type just search for best ____ in ____ on google should get some good results, but might require some sifting … I like to choose restaurants near the tourist attractions I am going to for efficiency purposes.

Do you have any other favourite (delicious food or cook-your-own) restaurants worth booking well in advance?

Not a favourite, and not a restaurant either, but if you have never done it before, Ippodo tea house in Tokyo sort of lets you "make your own" matcha with a chasen. It is usually a bamboo whip, but they lend a silicone version (more robust, and safer with beginners). I say "sort of" because it is not from scratch. You have to order a koicha (thick matcha), drink it and then they give you hot water to finish it with the whip.

There are probably other tea houses in Tokyo, Kyoto or possibly Uji, that will let you do it from scratch, but not any I have visited (wasn't particularly looking for it either).

Thanks again PatrickSF,

I just checked and found that Okonomiyaki Mizuno don't take reservations. OK. We'll queue up there as with Ajinpoya.

I tried MONK - no luck. Shorter than 2 months notice is not the go.

Ta for Ramen and Tonkatsu tips. Going to Tonkatsu Hasegawa is on our list. Wife's keen.
5amramen's website is impressive.

Re Pizza. If you're a fan. My Wife makes a fantastic Pizza with a Tuna Fish base. She got the idea at
https://www.chefkoch.de/rs/s0/tuna+based+pizza/Rezepte.html

The Pizza on 38th will be worth a look. 8 courses!

We look forward to trying a variety of foods from the convenience stores you've mentioned. Convenience stores here in Germany are NOT on the list of where we would ever get any food. !!! Mind Set change due in Japan.

The steamed buns at 551 Horai will be a must.

And thanks Mellye for the Ippodo tip. I don't even know what Matcha is. Probably a reason to try it:

Cheers

Ronzac

Re Pizza. If you're a fan. My Wife makes a fantastic Pizza with a Tuna Fish base. She got the idea at
https://www.chefkoch.de/rs/s0/tuna+based+pizza/Rezepte.html

Personally as an American the idea of putting Tuna on pizza seems very strange to me. However, Savoy has a Tuna pizza with a corn mayo base. If you saw the Ugly Delicious episode they discuss this pizza. I am planning on going to Savoy, but I don’t think they take reservations and if there is a long line then I might have to skip it.

Yes getting a reservation at Monk is nearly impossible I am very fortunate to have gotten one. They only have 14? Seats and only do two services a night. It is also a 7 or 8 course meal so I am a bit worried that it will be too much for me and my travel partner who have small appetites and there is also the possibility we get served something we don’t like, but I like that it is a modern take on “kaiseki”. If you are interested in the pizza bar on 38th I would try to make a reservation immediately as they also have limited seating and are very popular … btw the 8 courses I believe are 8 slices of pizza … I think the chef makes 1 pizza per course and then splits it up between the diners they might have 6-8 seats.