Happy New Year, everyone. Thank you for your support in 2025.

In 2026, I will work hard to make new recipes, so I ask for your continued support.

Last year, the number of foreign visitors to Kura Cooking nearly reached 300. With the increase tourist from abroad, I truly feel that more foreigners are interested in Japanese cuisine. When I started Kura Cooking 12 years ago, I hoped Japanese food would one day be prepared in homes around the world. Now, I feel that this is becoming a reality.

Many wonderful guests came to Kura Cooking in December.

A Belgian family living in the Philippines flew directly from the Philippines to Centrair Airport. When they arrived, a TV reporter asked them, “What are you doing in Japan?” and they replied, “We are going to make ramen and gyoza at Kura Cooking,” Nagoya TV was interested in their cooking and wanted to record the lesson.

It was aired on TV on January 5th. The guests looked very happy.

My next guests were lovely couple from HongKong.

Along with their request to make Japanese cuisine, they wanted to make heart-shaped uiro (Japanese traditional steamed cake).

They made the healthy, non-fried pork cutlet, vegetable tempura, ball-shaped sushi, miso soup, and heart-shaped uiro very skillfully. And they finished everything.

My next guests were sisters from Armenia requested miso-simmered udon, so they made udon noodles from scratch.

They were very interested in the process of making udon by foot-stomping, and delicious udon was produced. The soup, using Kura Cooking’s original miso, perfectly complemented the noodles. It became the ultimate miso-simmered udon.

In Addition, members of a group studying Chinese held a Christmas tea party at Kura.

It was wonderful to talk with them about traveling and other things.

In another class one student brought lots of apples and we tasted 10 different apple varieties.

Everyone was very surprised at how different each apple tasted. Then, they thought about which apple would suit which dish. Finally, the foods we made together were all very delicious- apple meatloaf, apple and sweet potato salad, sweet potato pastes with apple, rice with apple and potk, apple soup covered with pie crust, apple daifuku and apple cake.

I also used apples in my regular Japanese cooking classes.

This year I had a plenty of Kogyoku apples, so everyone savored their delicious flavor.

In the afternoon tea class, we enjoyed Betty’s Christmas Tea from the UK and Lupicia’s White Christmas tea.

In one class, we made apple and sweet potato scones, matcha flavored apple rice flour cake, bacon and mushroom bread

In another class, we made minced meat scones, apple cake, and wreath bread

I believe we delivered fulfilling lessons to everyone in December.

I will work hard in January; I appreciate your ongoing support.

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