Join us for Kyushu 2026

A Rare Culinary & Cultural Journey Led by Chef Hiroko Shimbo

I invite you to experience Japan's island of Kyushu with me, a place I know deeply and love sharing. As a chef, instructor, and lifelong student of Japanese cuisine, I’ve spent years building relationships that allow me to offer access beyond typical travel.

This intimate tour brings you into the world of local artisans, producers, and historic sites that are not available on standard itineraries.

Kyushu, Japan’s southern gateway, has been shaped by centuries of exchange with China, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. Its food, culture, and history are unlike anywhere else in Japan.

I will guide you on the journey, sharing not only the places we visit, but the stories, traditions, and people that bring them to life.

Why This Tour Is Special

Exclusive visits made possible through personal connections
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Deep cultural immersion in Kyushu’s rich and global heritage
Unique culinary experiences with regional masters
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A small group for a more personal, high-quality experience


Join me for an unforgettable journey in 2026, and discover Kyushu the way it is meant to be experienced.

Join Me for an Evening at
De Gustibus Cooking School

I will be a featured chef at the Les Dames d'Escoffier Event at De Gustibus Culinary Studio in New York on April 27 from 6-8 pm.

Join us as these Dames demonstrate dishes from their cookbooks, featuring Japanese-American and Calabrian cuisines, along with desserts from Magnolia Bakery — all paired with thoughtfully selected wines.

I will be sharing dishes from Hiroko’s American Kitchen, which received the International Association of Culinary Professionals Award for Best American Cookbook of the Year in 2013.

My contribution is a second course featuring spring bites: spring pea soup, duck and eggplant, and a potato-and-apple salad. Each dish showcases how Japanese flavors — dashi stock, shoyu (soy sauce), miso, and mirin — can create truly universal, contemporary preparations.

Image credit to Photo ABC

Nyugaku-shiki: The First Steps of a New Journey

April marks the start of the new school year in Japan, celebrated with Nyūgaku-shiki 入学式, the entrance ceremony. For children beginning elementary school, it’s one of life’s biggest milestones—a moment when they step into a wider social world and begin learning the knowledge and skills that will guide them as they grow.

In the photo, an ichinen-sei—a first-year elementary school student—stands dressed in formal clothing with a randoseru on their back.

The randoseru backpack itself is iconic: nearly one-third of the child’s height and weighing about 2.5 to 3 pounds.

Its size and structure symbolize both the weight and the promise of this new beginning, capturing the excitement and responsibility of entering school for the first time.

Last year in Tokyo, I visited OHBA, a randoseru maker founded in 1935 and renowned for its meticulous craftsmanship.

The shop oversees every stage of production—from selecting materials to shaping, stitching, and finishing. Creating a single randoseru involves around 150 individual steps.

Since children use the same backpack every day for all six years of elementary school—roughly 1,440 days—durability and construction quality are essential.

Mono no Aware: The Beauty of What Cannot Last

Mono no Aware is an emotional sensitivity first captured by the aristocrats of the Heian period.

It's a way of appreciating, loving, and grieving the things that come and go—flowers, seasons, relationships, moments. 

It expresses the human recognition that we cannot control the universe’s constant change. People cherished beauty and the fragile concept because it could not last, and they often wept over its passing.

So how do I understand mono no aware at my age, after living through so many changes—both joyful and painful?

I don’t have a conclusion, because I’m still in the middle of my journey. What I do know is this: every change I’ve experienced has shaped me, strengthened me, and guided me to where I stand now.

I will continue to cherish the universal rhythm of mono no aware—the quiet awareness that everything changes—until the very end of my path.

My teaching at the Culinary Institute of America will resume on March 30 for three weeks to cover the last block, Japan as Inspiration, of the Japanese Concentration Program. I look forward to welcoming my students to my lab classroom. 

April Recipes

Chinatown in New York City turned out to be the best source for fresh bamboo shoots this year — a truly lucky find.

I went to several stores in the area simply to check their availability, since my students had asked whether fresh shoots were still in season—they hoped to use them for the Inspiration program.

I bought some for them and some for myself to make takikomi gohan with takenoko (early spring bamboo shoots).

Below are the recipes for preparing the shoots and using them in the rice dish:

As spring settles in and new beginnings take shape, I hope these stories and seasonal recipes bring you a sense of freshness and inspiration.

Thank you for being part of this community, and please feel free to share my newsletter with anyone who may enjoy learning about Japanese food, culture, and traditions.

— Hiroko