Edible Japan with Tanpopo Journeys
Off-the-Beaten-Track Culinary Tour
Welcome to Japan, a culinary hotbed, and a world-class food destination. On this week-long tour, you will be traveling to Tokyo, Nagano, and Yamanashi with a food blogger/chef to explore the best of Japan’s culinary traditions. Together, we will visit the Tsukiji fish market and take a cooking class there, shop in Kappabashi (Japan’s “kitchenware capital”), and try some delectable street food in the bustling city of Tokyo.
In the second part of the tour, we will take our curiosity to the countryside to learn about where the food comes from and how ingredients are prepared, visiting a wasabi farm, touring a miso brewery, preparing soba noodles, and staying overnight at a century-old farmhouse. We will also relax in hot springs, sample Japanese whiskey, and visit cultural sights to nourish ourselves, body and soul.
This tour is offered twice a year: at the first sign of spring, and during the harvest season in the fall.
Note: Itinerary dates are listed below. Please contact me directly if you are interested in other possible dates to better suit your travel plans.
Highlights
- Master sushi-making, a class at the Tsukiji Fish Market
- Shop in Kappabashi, in the “kitchen town” of Asakusa
- Take a bullet train to Nagano for vegetarian cuisine and a Zen temple experience
- Visit a wasabi farm to learn how wasabi is grown and harvested
- Tour the 500-year-old Matsumoto Castle
- Ponder the history and process of making miso at a miso brewery
- Relax at a traditional hot spring and enjoy a multi-course kaiseki dinner
- Sample world-class sake in the lakeside town of Suwa
- Visit a knife shop
- Tour the Suntory Distillery and learn about Japanese whiskey
- Take a soba-noodle-making class in the mountain town of Yamanashi
- Stay overnight in a community farmhouse
Trip Video
Request Booking
Minimum 4 people for private group, or check our bookings page for upcoming trips.