I came up with this idea of Japanese cooking classes for international travelers in 2012 when I was preparing to leave for INSEAD in Singapore for my MBA. Wandering around the city of Tokyo, I often saw foreign travelers going out of their way to see places that locals would never really go. And even more sad was that those visitors did not seem to have any opportunity to interact with any locals.

Through my own experience of traveling abroad, I believe one of the most interesting parts of traveling is meeting local people. Because Japanese people are not so great at speaking english, I can imagine that travelers have so many difficulties on their visit.

So, if there was an opportunity for travelers to be able to interact with local Japanese, I believe their travels would be even more enjoyable. This is the core of my business idea and how Cooking Sun is designed. Food in Japan is amazing, but when it comes to learning how to cook Japanese food or really understanding the culture behind it, not so many people know. So, if people want to try Cooking Sun, they can learn some basic knowledge of what Japanese food is about, and not only that, they can get better understanding of Japanese culture/local life/etc. with our friendly local Japanese staff.

Ten months have passed since I started Cooking Sun, and it is so far so good. I wish to be able to reach out to more people who are coming to Japan and hopefully meet them here at our cooking studio.