Tokyo Wagashi Making Classes(29)

I joined this workshop at the Ikegami Baien Plum Garden in Tokyo’s Ota ward. Sayaka-san, who offers sweet-making workshops in Minami-Magome, greeted us at the garden entrance and guided us to a traditional house next to a koi pond, sharing fascinating details about the garden. We toured the wooden house with its different tearooms before settling in one for the class. Each of us had a personalized name card with kanji characters for our foreign names, a thoughtful touch. Before starting, Sayaka led us through a short meditation to help us focus. The class was conducted in English, and we received a color printout with each step to make cherry blossom-shaped wagashi. At the end, we sampled the sweets with matcha tea, which we prepared ourselves. We whipped the tea powder to the right foam level and poured it into beautiful tea cups. While sipping the tea and enjoying the sweets, we admired the autumn garden and listened to the sounds of water in the pond as the sun set. She was the sweetest teacher, explaining everything in detail in English on top of having prepared a color printout with all the necessary steps to make our sweets. She offered to take our photos and on top of the workshop, guided us through the garden pointing out the outstanding landscape and trees. A wonderful experience!

Where to start with the praises for the fantastic class Yuko hosted!! We are a family of three (with a chatty and restless 6 year old) from Australia. Yuko was very patient and went above and beyond what I expected in the booking. I now have a new favourite wagashi, thanks to Yuko! The class kept my daughter busy, and the view out the window was so lovely. If you go in March/April the view will be filled with Cherry Blossoms. We were there in Winter (December), while many trees were bare, we could see maples and the children play across the canal. Yuko's English is very good and her lovely husband, Michael, came down to greet us with an Aussie hello. Thank you for this wonderful experience, Yuko! We would love to come back again when the cherry blossoms are blooming. Highly recommend!

I thoroughly enjoyed the sakura nerikiri class in a charming teahouse nestled in a traditional Japanese garden. The teacher, fluent in English, guided us gently through the art of making these delicate sweets. The class began with a calming meditation, and we concluded by savoring our creations with matcha during a serene tea ceremony. I highly recommend this class to those who want a hands-on experience of traditional Japan!

It was a great fun with Yuko. First of all, I was given very detailed instructions how to get to Yuko house. Then, almost three hours passed unnoticeably as I was so involved in details of making wagashi. Yuko was hospitable and knowledgeable. After making pieces of edible art I enjoyed a short introduction how to make matcha. Absolutely stanning view from the window complemented the entire course. Thank you Yoko for your time, smile and patience. I will come back for more in the future.

Great,,, good experience for learning 🥰