Katsuura Home-Style Tuna Cooking Class

A local host in Nachikatsuura, the tuna-landing town on Wakayama's Kii Peninsula coast, runs this home-style cooking class as an Airbnb Experience. The class is held in a home kitchen setting rather than a commercial studio, reflecting the everyday tuna cooking common in Katsuura fishing households. Instruction begins with breaking down and slicing a tuna loin, then moves through preparation of three dishes: maguro-don, a raw tuna rice bowl; fried tuna cutlet; and tuna miso soup, giving a savory-forward mix with the miso soup providing a lighter, broth-based finish. The class ends with a shared meal of everything prepared. Included are all ingredients, hands-on instruction, and the shared meal; drinks beyond what is served and transport to Nachikatsuura are not included. Groups are small, matching the home-kitchen setting, guiding is in Japanese with the host often able to communicate basic English, and the pace is relaxed. Because the maguro-don course uses raw tuna, substitutions for raw-fish-averse participants should be discussed with the host in advance.