You arrive in Shirakawa-go, a historic village in Gifu Prefecture recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses. As you make your way to the restaurant, the setting gives immediate context to the experience ahead — this is not a tourist-facing cooking studio, but a working local sushi restaurant listed on Tabelog, Japan’s leading restaurant review platform.

Your guide introduces the session and explains the steps before demonstrating how to press and shape rice, handle fish, and assemble both nigiri and rolls. You follow along step by step, working with the same ingredients used in the restaurant’s regular service.

Your guide leads the session in English, explaining each technique and answering your questions throughout. Whether you are curious about the preparation methods, ingredients, or Japanese food culture, you can ask questions and get answers as you learn.

By the end of the 90-minute session, you have a completed plate of sushi shaped by your own hands. You sit down and eat what you made, finishing the class the way a meal at any good sushi counter should end. The process of making, then tasting your own nigiri and rolls gives the session a clear and satisfying conclusion.