Nagoya Cooking Class & Supermarket Tour with Local Akiko

Most Nagoyans eat their local specialties at restaurants because few people know how to cook them at home.

A hands-on cooking class in Nagoya where you meet a local host, Akiko, tour a neighborhood supermarket to learn about Japanese ingredients, then cook classic Nagoya dishes (tebasaki fried chicken, misokatsu pork cutlet sandwich, and tenmusu shrimp tempura rice ball) in her kitchen, finishing with a meal you prepared. The class lasts about three and a half hours and includes dashi stock made from scratch.

The experience

Akiko meets you at JR Kasugai station, about 20 minutes from central Nagoya, and walks you to the local supermarket where she shops. This is not a tourist market but the everyday place where Nagoyans buy their groceries. She points out the ingredients that define the region's cooking (the red miso, the cuts of pork, the seafood), and explains how each one works in the dishes you'll make. If you want to take ingredients home, she'll help you choose and carry them.

In her home kitchen, you cook three dishes side by side with Akiko. You'll make tebasaki, the fried chicken Nagoya is known for; misokatsu, a pork cutlet sandwich built on red miso; and tenmusu, shrimp tempura packed into a rice ball. She teaches you to make dashi stock from scratch: the foundation of Japanese cooking that most home cooks buy ready-made. The cooking takes about an hour, and then you sit down to eat the meal you built, with local alcohol included.

This is a private experience in someone's home, not a commercial cooking school. Akiko is an expert cook who wants to share how Nagoya food actually gets made, away from restaurants. Dietary restrictions and vegetarian options are available if you let her know when you book. The menu can shift with the season.

What’s included

• Private supermarket tour with Akiko where she introduces you to local ingredients.
• hands-on cooking class in her home kitchen where you make tebasaki, misokatsu, and tenmusu.
• dashi stock made from scratch.
• the full meal you prepared.
• local alcohol.
• private, personalized experience with a local expert cook.

Options for this experience

2 options

Market visit, cooking session and lunchGuide in English, Spanish or Japanese · 10:30

Market visit, cooking session and dinnerGuide in English, Spanish or Japanese · 17:00

You pick the guide language when booking.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 10:30 and 17:00

Book up to1d before

AgesAdult (12 and older) · Child (5 to 11 years) · Infant (under 5): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish and Japanese

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48 h

Prices and times updated 11 days ago

Operated by Traveling Spoon

Is this one for you?Choose the market and cooking option if you want to understand where Nagoya ingredients come from before you cook with them. Pick the lunch or dinner slot depending on which meal time works better for the rest of your day in the city.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and Japanese.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 11 years); Infant (under 5): free.

What is the difference between this supermarket tour and a regular market tour in Japan?

Akiko takes you to the local supermarket where Nagoyans actually shop for groceries, not a tourist-facing outdoor market. It's the everyday place where residents buy the ingredients they use at home, so you see what real local cooking starts with.

Do I need cooking experience to join this class?

No. Akiko teaches you how to make each dish step by step in her kitchen. You work alongside her and learn the techniques as you go, starting with dashi stock and moving through the three main dishes.

Can I take ingredients home after the supermarket tour?

Yes, if you want to. Akiko can help you select and purchase local ingredients at the supermarket to bring back with you, though it's optional.

What happens if I have dietary restrictions or allergies?

Tell Akiko when you book. Vegetarian options are available, and she can adjust for allergies and cooking preferences. The menu may also vary by season.

Is hotel pickup included in this experience?

No. You meet Akiko at JR Kasugai station. She'll be waiting there after you arrive by train or other transport.