Premium 10-Day Japan Culinary Journey with Street Food Tours, Cooking Classes & Shinkansen Travel

From conbinis in Tokyo to okonomiyaki in Osaka, Japan’s reputation as a food-lover’s paradise is well-earned. Over 10 days, this small-group culinary journey travels through Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nagoya and Tokyo, with guided street food tours and hands-on cooking classes built into every stop.

Begin in Osaka – nicknamed ‘Japan’s Kitchen’ – with a walking street food tour through Tenjinbashi’s covered shopping arcade, sampling takoyaki octopus balls, crispy kushikatsu skewers and the city’s signature okonomiyaki pancakes, before a stop at a local 7-Eleven for everyday Japanese snacks and a walk through Dotonbori’s neon-lit food stalls. In Nagoya, a guided tasting introduces you to tebasaki — the region’s fried, glazed chicken wings — and in Tokyo you’ll wind through neighbourhood backstreets in search of the city’s legendary chicken sando. You’ll also savour Kobe beef at Wakkoqu’s teppan counter, enjoy a sake tasting at Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum and spend time grazing your way through Kyoto’s Nishiki Market.

This gastronomic odyssey is framed by a wealth of hands-on experiences and classes. Master the spatula with an okonomiyaki-making class at OKOTSA, learning to build the savoury pancake layer by layer under a local chef’s guidance. In Nagoya, uncover the secrets of udon- and gyoza-making from scratch. In Tokyo, a guided miso tasting rounds out the culinary education with an introduction to this extraordinary ingredient, the bedrock of so much Japanese cookery.

Travel between cities in comfort with three journeys aboard the Shinkansen, Japan’s high-speed bullet train – a chance to watch the countryside (and, if the weather is clear on the Nagoya–Tokyo leg, Mt Fuji) pass by at up to 300 kilometres per hour.

This is your chance to experience Japan the way culinary insiders do, uncovering flavours and traditions off the tourist track.

Travelling to Japan? Here’s what you should know.

Insider Series tours are designed and curated by celebrity and expert hosts. This tour is informed and inspired by Gary Mehigan’s culinary adventures.