My mom and I are going to Japan for three weeks in March/April. Both of us love to cook and I love to bring back spices/ingredients as souvenirs and gifts for my friends and family. She’s getting up there in years and wanted to see as much of the country as possible as she’ll probably never be able to come back, so we are taking a cruise but spending 3 days on either side in Tokyo and Kyoto.
While we come from California and have lots of access to a variety of Asian markets, are there any ingredients that are best to get in Japan and can be legally/easily transported back to the US? Especially if those ingredients are expensive here but easily obtainable or at least somewhat cheaper there.
In addition, if anyone has gone to an amazing cooking class or has gone on a great food tour in either Tokyo or Kyoto, let me know! Unfortunately she doesn’t really like seafood, but she might be convinced to eat small amounts of it; she doesn’t mind it when it’s an ingredient like dashi or bonito flakes. (I’ve heard that sometimes you can let the chef know at an omakase restaurant about certain food preferences but I don’t know if that’s true. We aren’t sure if we will do an omakase or kaiseki dinner yet.
by idegosuperego15