It was our 3rd time coordinating “The Culinary Tour of Japan” in this September for the students who would learn Japanese Cuisine at the Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park. Total of 9 students participated in the tour for this year.

It was a part of their Japanese Cuisine Bachelor’s Degree Concentration. As it had been upgraded from an elective course to the bachelor’s concentration this year, all students who chose this program were mandated to join this tour. We, Soul of Japan Foundation, coordinated the whole tour this year, too.

This tour took place in Mie, Osaka, and Tokyo and it was fully supported by our members and  many other supporters of Soul of Japan Foundation.

There were several sites we visited for the first time this year, such as Tsujiriichi Honten in Uji. Tsujiriichi Honten was the tea producer with a long history. Students experienced hands on lecture of how to steep 5 different kinds of tea, which were “Koi-Cha” (thick matcha), “Usu-Cha” (thin matcha), ‘Gyokuro” (high quality green tea), “Sen-Cha”(green tea), and “Houji-Cha”(roasted green tea).

They visited the bamboo shoot farm of JA ZEN-NOH in Kyoto.

They had the formal Kaiseki dinner at Minokichi Takeshigero in Kyoto. Chef Satake, Madome Satake told about the tradition of Japanese Cuisine. Chef Anthony, who trained at Takeshigero explained more detail about their dishes.

At Toraya Main Branch in Kyoto Ichijyo, they got a lecture on the history of Toraya and watched the demonstration of Wagashi making.

They had a tour at Toyosu Fish Market which had moved from Tsukiji this year.

The tour was guided by Chef Yanagihara of Yanagihara Cooking School, and Chef Tedsuka of Oomorikaigan Matsunozushi.

On the same day, students learned about tools that were unique to the traditional Japanese cuisine at Yanagihara Cooking School.

Students experienced soy sauce making process at Kikkoman HQ in Noda.

They learned about knives and knife sharpening method at Kai HQ in Tokyo.

At the HQ of Suntory Holdings, they got a lecture of their activity, especially the ones related to their projects for sustainable development in the world.

Many thanks for the collaboration of The Tsuji Group, Iio Jozo Co.,, Ltd., Nagatani Seito Co., Ltd., and GANKO FOOD SERVICE Co., Ltd. hosting the study tour this year again. Also they enjoyed great food at Yakiniku & Sukiyaki Jun by ZEN-NOH International Corporation, Tempura Arai, Oomorikaigan Matsunozushi, Unagi Cuisine Shinkawa, Restaurant Poco a Poco, and Iemon Salon at Shibuya HIkarie.

We wish the all the participants could learn not only the knowledge and techniques of Japanese Cuisine, but also the culture, tradition, and history of Japanese Cuisine thorough this tour before headed back to the U.S.

We, Soul of Japan Foundation will continue supporting visitors to Japan experiencing and learning Japanese Cuisine in depth.

Soul of Japan held the second special seminar of 2019 at the event space of Mie Terrace on Monday, October 7th. The title was “Learning New Perspective of Japanese Wine and Koshu Wine”.

We invited Mr. Ken Hasebe as a lecturer, who is a board member of JAPAN Sommelier Association, the owner of the Hasebe Liquor Store in Yamanashi, and the winner of the 9th National Wine Adviser Competition by JAPAN Sommelier Association  in 2016. He explained about the current market of Japanese wine as well as the perspective for the future of Japanese wine.

Mr. Hasebe gave a lecture about the history of wine making in Japan, the change in the annual wine consumption in Japanese market over time, the current situation of wine industry in Yamanashi, and reason why Yamanashi wineries attract more people recently. Along with the introduction of  the characteristics of wines made from Koshu varietal or Mascat Bailey A varietal which had been uniquely developed in Japan, we served four selected different wines and four Japanese dishes paired with each wines.  The executive chef, Chef Ueno, from “Kioicho Ransen”, one of our members, exclusively developed the menu for our seminar.  Many participants were surprised that how each pairing went well together.

We sincerely appreciate to Mr. Hasebe, Kioicho Ransen, Mie Terrace, Mizunosangyo Co. Ltd., and Suntory  Holdings Limited, for their support.

We wish to continue planning seminars with the theme  “How to Advocate the Splendor of Japanese Food Culture to Foreign Visitors”  in the future.

We are looking forward to having you our next seminar in 2020.

We Supported SKIP 2019 organized by Keio University on Tuesday, September 3rd at Shinjuku Kakiden.  It was the 4th time for us to support SKIP for their “ Japanese Cuisine Day” of their program.

We could successfully complete this program with the support of  Shinjuku Kakiden, the Kaiseki Restaurant, Yamadaya-Manjyu, the Japanese confectionery maker in Shimane, and Chef Tedsuka from Oomori Matsunozushi in Tokyo.

First, there was a lecture about the history of Kakiden, Japanese tea culture, and Kaiseki cuisine by Mr. Yasuda, the president of Shinjuku Kakiden. Then all students experienced the tea ceremony and enjoyed matcha green tea in the traditional Japanese tearoom with the lecture for the manor for the tea ceremony by Ms. Soko Fukuda, the Omotesenke tea professor.

Then Chef Tezuka of Oomori Matsunozushi gave the presentation and demonstration about the history of Edomae Sushi, about the characteristics of wasabi, and about Japanese knives.

After the presentation, all the students were devided into 2 groups and each had experience how to make sushi, and watched the demonstration of how to plate a traditional Kaiseki Bento.

Students learned the tips for making sushi, then actually making their own sushi and enjoy them by themselves. The executive chef of Kakiden explained some rule of the plating a Kaiseki Bento and the meaning of each ingredients. Students learned the depth of Japanese food culture.

They enjoyed the Kaiseki Bento as for lunch along with Japanese seasonal clear soup, “Owan”.

In the afternoon, there was a lecture on the history of Yamadaya, about the pilgrimage in Shikoku, and the culture of hospitality, “Osettai” by the Mr. Takatusji CEO. Students learned how Yamadaya have preserved their tradition of making anko, the sweet bean paste, and how they have challenged to balance with the modern palette.

After the lecture of Mr. Takatsuji, students experienced making a bowl of Matcha with the instruction of Ms. Soko Fukuda along with enjoying Yamadaya’s Signature manju.

We had comments from the participants that “Everything was wonderful”, “It was a great opportunity to re-think about Japanese cuisine, especially about Kaiseki, manjyu(Japanese confectionery, and Sushi culture.”

We are grateful for all the corporation of Shinjuku Kakiden, Yamadaya Manju. Inc., Oomori Matsunozushi, and Ms. Soko Fukuda.

We will continue to facilitate special programs to promote Japanese Traditional Food Culture and hand down the tradition to younger generations.

We held seven days intensive program of our 1st Food Business Management Program (FBMP) at the Nihonbashi Training Center of Japan Learning Co.,Ltd.between Janurary 16 and March 20,2019.  It was the experimental program to build a higher educational food business program in the future.

Our Food Business Management Program (FBMP) is the very first program which is designed for young entrepreneurial professionals and executives who would be the future  leaders of food business industry. The 20 participants from 14 leading companies of our members learned how to identify,understand,and solve the issues that are unique to the food business. They learned from the most experienced minds of culture food business from various fields, such as CEOs of the world renowned food service companies,professors of MBA programs of top companies,professors of MBA programs of top universities in Japan, and other professionals established their own business. The skill set they learned from FBMP would be beneficial for them not only to lead the companies they are working for, but also to become a leader of whole food-related industry in Japan.

We would like to reflect the voices from the participants to progress our FBMP, and we are now planning the 2nd FBMP starting from September 11th to November 20th. Please save your date and RSVP to save your seat for this exclusive opportunity for our members.

Please send an email us at soul-of-japan@chikaraishi.jp to inquire about this program.