Our Tablet Experience Is Coming Soon
Our website is currently optimized for desktop viewing. We are preparing a dedicated experience for smartphones and tablets, which will be available soon.
In the meantime, please visit us on a desktop computer to explore Chef Mika’s Culinary Excursions.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Our Mobile & Tablet Experience Is Coming Soon
Our website is currently optimized for desktop viewing. We are preparing a dedicated experience for smartphones and tablets, which will be available soon.
In the meantime, please visit us on a desktop computer to explore Chef Mika’s Culinary Excursions.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Our Mobile & Tablet Experience Is Coming Soon
Our website is currently optimized for desktop viewing. We are preparing a dedicated experience for smartphones and tablets, which will be available soon.
In the meantime, please visit us on a desktop computer to explore Chef Mika’s Culinary Excursions.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
A privately hosted culinary excursion through Tokyo, Onomichi, Kobe and Kyotoーthoughtfully designed for one private party of one or two guests at a time.
Culinary Journey Beyond the Ordinary
This journey is a deeply personal invitation into the places, people, and moments that have shaped my life. Having lived in the United States while maintaining lifelong roots in Japan, I offer a unique perspective on both worlds—and a deep appreciation for the quiet beauty of everyday Japanese life.
Traveling through Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, and Onomichi, we will experience Japan through its celebrated culinary traditions. Each destination—from Michelin-starred dining to intimate neighborhood bars—has been chosen for its sincerity, warmth, and enduring human connection.
Far more than a conventional tour, this is an invitation to experience the true spirit of Japanese hospitality (Omotenashi). Rather than pursuing luxury for its own sake, we celebrate the poetry of ordinary life—the atmosphere of a neighborhood at dusk, a spontaneous conversation, and the profound care behind a perfectly prepared dish.
I look forward to sharing this world with you.
2027 Scheduled Journeys
February 14 – February 24 April 11 – April 21
February 28 – March 10 October 24 – November 3
March 28 – April 7 November 7 – November 17
February 14 – February 24
February 28 – March 10
March 28 – April 7
April 11 – April 21
October 24 – November 3
November 7 – November 17
11-Day Journey at a Glance
Day 4 — Wednesday
Journey to Kobe
Day 5 — Thursday
Kobe
Day 6 — Friday
Kobe
Day 7 — Saturday
Journey to Kyoto
Day 8 — Sunday
Kyoto
Day 9 — Monday
Return to Tokyo
Day 10 — Tuesday
Tokyo
Day 11 — Wednesday
Departure
Filmed safely from behind the yellow safety line.
Toyosu Market
Day 3 — Tuesday
Onomichi
Onomichi
Day 1 — Sunday
Arrival in Tokyo
Day 2 — Monday
Journey to Onomichi
Day 3 — Tuesday
Onomichi
Day 4 — Wednesday
Journey to Kobe
Day 5 — Thursday
Kobe
Day 6 — Friday
Kobe
Day 7 — Saturday
Journey to Kyoto
Day 8 — Sunday
Kyoto
Day 9 — Monday
Return to Tokyo
Day 10 — Tuesday
Tokyo
Day 11 — Wednesday
Departure
Day 1 — Sunday
Arrival in Tokyo
Day 2 — Monday
Journey to Onomichi
Guest Stories
What Is a Culinary Excursion with Chef Mika Like?
Fun, surprising, delicious—and filled with experiences you would be unlikely to discover on your own.
Mika-san is outgoing, curious, and loves to laugh almost as much as she loves great food, sake, and beer. She brings a remarkable depth of knowledge about Japanese food and culture, but her interests extend far beyond the culinary world. More than simply being your guide, she becomes a wonderful travel and dining companion—someone whose enthusiasm and personality make the journey as memorable as the food itself.
Your adventure begins when you arrive in Tokyo, where Mika-san will personally meet you at the airport and help you navigate the train system into the city. The next morning will likely begin early—which, conveniently, works well with a little jet lag. You’ll head to Toyosu Fish Market and stand in line alongside other devoted sushi fans to enjoy one of Tokyo’s best sushi experiences. Mika-san will make sure you are seated in front of the right chef, where you can enjoy incredibly fresh fish straight from the market until you simply can’t eat another piece.
A.W. 'Tony' Scott
Los Angels, California
And yes, a Sapporo Akaboshi Beer (Sapporo Lager Beer) is perfectly acceptable with breakfast sushi. Kanpai! Don’t be surprised if the people sitting nearby include famous chefs who have already finished their morning shopping. During one visit, Mika-san recognized the Japanese gentleman sitting next to us. He was the chef of one of Tokyo’s finest tempura restaurants. Before we knew it, Mika-san had arranged for us to dine at his “temple to tempura” in Ginza—a tiny restaurant with only eight seats, where the chef prepares each piece individually for his guests. When we arrived, the other diners were visibly surprised to see us. The restaurant felt almost like a private club. And the tempura? Absolutely extraordinary.
On another day, Mika-san might introduce you to the lively nightlife of Kobe, an area she frequented during her college years. You may find yourself in a crowded tachinomi—a Japanese standing bar serving delicious small bites in a lively, convivial atmosphere where conversations with complete strangers can quickly turn into new friendships.
Another evening might take you into an unassuming mid-rise office building where restaurants occupy several floors. We once started at a chef-driven counter, where a wonderful female chef-owner and sommelier welcomed us, prepared several dishes, and paired them with excellent wines. Then we went a few floors down to her husband’s restaurant, where we sat at the counter and watched him prepare the evening’s main courses right in front of us.
And then there is Kyoto.
After having your mind blown by incredible beauty while visiting world heritage gardens all day, you may find yourself dining at an extraordinary restaurant in a house that is centuries old. You will be enjoying the highest expression of traditional Japanese cuisine—kaiseki, the original seasonal tasting menu—served by kimono-clad hostesses in a private tatami room.
Three Michelin stars? Check.
The very next day, you might be sitting at an unassuming ramen stall inside a train station, wondering how something so simple could possibly taste so good.
When you visit Mika-san’s hometown of Onomichi, you may be treated to a beautiful plate of fugu sashimi if it is in season. Or perhaps you’ll discover Japan’s answer to McDonald’s: MOS Burger.
There is no “right” or “wrong” way to experience Japan. The point is to embrace the unexpected, enjoy the moment, and have fun experiencing life as the Japanese do.
Throughout your journey, you’ll eat extraordinarily well, discover places you would probably never find on your own, laugh a lot, and experience the kind of spontaneous moments that become the stories you tell for years afterward.
You’ll leave with wonderful culinary memories, unforgettable travel experiences, and—perhaps best of all—a new close friend in Chef Mika.
Jean Su
Los Angels, California
Mika takes you directly to the heart and soul of Japan, places one can not discover as a regular tourist. Underneath the incredible fun, one finds the depth of life, the essence of refined living that stays with you for a lifetime.
Your adventure begins when you arrive in Tokyo, where Mika-san will personally meet you at the airport and help you navigate the train system into the city. The next morning will likely begin early—which, conveniently, works well with a little jet lag. You’ll head to Toyosu Fish Market and stand in line alongside other devoted sushi fans to enjoy one of Tokyo’s best sushi experiences. Mika-san will make sure you are seated in front of the right chef, where you can enjoy incredibly fresh fish straight from the market until you simply can’t eat another piece.
Fun, surprising, delicious—and filled with experiences you would be unlikely to discover on your own.
Mika-san is outgoing, curious, and loves to laugh almost as much as she loves great food, sake, and beer. She brings a remarkable depth of knowledge about Japanese food and culture, but her interests extend far beyond the culinary world. More than simply being your guide, she becomes a wonderful travel and dining companion—someone whose enthusiasm and personality make the journey as memorable as the food itself.
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Meet Chef Mika
Raised in the nostalgic seaside town of Onomichi, Hiroshima, surrounded by a family devoted to culinary craft, I learned early that food transcends mere cuisine—it is a bridge linking memories, thoughts, and human connection. I came to see that true hospitality lives not in accolades or formal prestige, but in genuine warmth and everyday kindness.
My journey spans front-of-house service in French fine dining and traditional kaiseki in Japan, resort hospitality in Colorado, and co-founding and serving in the kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, as a personal chef in Napa Valley, my core ethos remains identical: nourishing real human connection around the table.
This experience was born from a desire to share the Japan I know and love—through its food, its people, and the quiet moments that stay with you long after.
Far from a typical tour, this is an open door to the places I have cherished for decades. Whether enjoying morning sushi at Tokyo’s fish market, sharing a drink at a neighborhood bar in Kobe, savoring the seasons in Kyoto, or relaxing in Onomichi, we will encounter the true sincerity of the artisans who sustain Japan’s culinary heritage.
I warmly invite you to slow down, connect, and savor the subtle poetry of everyday Japan with me.
Our Mobile & Tablet Experience Is Coming Soon
Our website is currently optimized for desktop viewing. We are preparing a dedicated experience for smartphones and tablets, which will be available soon.
In the meantime, please visit us on a desktop computer to explore Chef Mika’s Culinary Excursions.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.