Kyoto: Explore Fushimi, Make Ozoni Soup & Pound Mochi
Discover the culinary traditions of Fushimi, Kyoto, in this hands-on experience and area tour. Taste miso, prepare Kyoto-style ozoni soup, stroll the area, and pound mochi the traditional way!
Highlights
Taste 5 carefully selected kinds of miso soup, appreciating their different flavor notes and deep flavors
Prepare a traditional Japanese meal including Kyoto-style ozoni, a soup with mochi, vegetables, and miso
Explore the streets of Fushimi ward beyond the Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine: see the area’s sights and how its residents go about their daily life.
Experience the mochi-making process, from steaming glutinous rice to pounding it using a traditional mortar and pestle, shaping the dough and tasting it!
Easy to access: Your host will pick you up from Fushimi-Momoyama Station, only a few minutes away from Kyoto Station by train!
10 meals
Experience Details
Most visitors visit Fushimi to see the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine, but there's plenty more to this Kyoto ward. A picturesque residential area covered with canals and lined with cherry blossoms, Fushimi has a fascinating history of sake production and a rich culinary scene. In this experience, you'll explore Fushimi’s culinary culture and heritage while feasting on one of Japan's quintessential foods: mochi rice cakes!
Besides making trendy desserts, mochi are the object of countless traditions. For instance, ozoni, a miso-based soup with mochi rice cakes and vegetables, is an essential part of osechi ryori, traditional foods eaten during New Year. Each region of Japan has its own kind of ozoni: Kyoto's has a white miso-based broth, boiled mochi, and root vegetables. Interested to learn more?
In this tour, you'll learn about the regional varieties of ozoni and miso, taste several kinds of miso, learn how to make Kyoto-style ozoni, and explore Fushimi with a guide. You'll finish the tour on a vigorous note by joining residents in pounding mochi (mochi-tsuki), a long-standing community tradition.
Experience flow:
• Meet your host at Fushimi-Momoyama Station
• Sample five different kinds of carefully selected miso soups as you learn about the regional differences in ozoni and miso varieties
• Participate in a cooking lesson, where you’ll be making Kyoto-style ozoni soup with miso
• Stroll the streets of Fushimi in central Kyoto with your host
• Learn how rice is steamed for mochi and take part in a traditional mochi pounding at Hikari Mochi Nakamura Honpo
• Once the tour is over, your host will drop you off at Chushojima Station
Inclusions
English-speaking guide
Tasting & cooking lesson fee
All necessary tools and utensils
Mochi-pounding experience & mochi to take home
Exclusions
Transportation to and from the meeting point
Meeting Point and Meeting Time
Meet your guide at Fushimi-Momoyama Station, about 11 minutes by train from Kyoto Station. More detailed information and a Google Maps link will be provided upon booking.
Remarks
You can take home any mochi you don’t eat during the experience.
Please wear comfortable shoes.
If you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions, please specify so at the time of booking.
Cancellation Policy
Cancel your booking at least 2 days before the experience start time to receive a full refund minus a 3.2% transaction fee.
Experience Location
Featuring beautiful landscapes from mountain to sea, Kyoto Prefecture conveys traditional Japanese culture through its architecture and gardens, art and artisanal crafts, and delicious local cuisine made from regional produce.
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10 meals
Learn about the essential components of washoku (Japanese cuisine) during this bento making class in Kyoto. Make a balanced meal of six different dishes including tempura, teriyaki chicken, and miso soup, with your friendly cooking teacher.
You might have tried mochi, but do you know how to make it? Stop by this mochi-making class for a demonstration on how to make delicious traditional mochi sweets, and discover the connection between mochi and Japanese history and culture.
In one of Japan’s most beloved sake brewing areas, join your host Yoko for an educational and fun-filled day! Visit a sake museum, taste several types of Japanese rice wine, enjoy a local lunch, and check out a shopping street in the area!
Love izakaya (Japanese pub) foods? This cooking class in Kyoto will teach you how to make a variety of dishes that pair perfectly with sake and beer! Enjoy the cozy, homey atmosphere and learn about the foundational ingredients of Japanese cuisine.