Eating in Japan with the locals is not an everyday experience, that's why the advice is to try Nagomi Visit to eat local cuisine with a Japanese family.
It's been almost a year since mine trip to Japan and like many others before me, I can only say that it was one of the trips that most excited me. And it was not just because of the beautiful and interesting things that I saw, but because, despite having traveled a lot, I had never felt so clear that I had happened in a world completely different from mine.
We spent the first two days sitting in a bar watching the people go by, how they moved, how they dressed, how they interacted. I felt in a movie, one of the best I've ever seen. And the feeling of amazement remained for all twenty days of the duration of our journey.
Among all the activities, I would like to recommend one in particular, which allowed us to get in touch with the Japanese and above all to know a truly special person.
Thanks to the beautiful Tokyo, illustrated book by Sara Menetti (which among other things I strongly recommend to buy), I discovered that there is a Japanese Eatwith called Nagomi Visit and which, like its American cousin, allows you to get in touch with the locals.
In order to have your Japanese dining experience, you will have to subscribe to the site and look for the location that suits you best (for example I have chosen Tokyo). Once this is done, you will have to choose the date and time you prefer in the booking form and enter information about yourself: who you are, what you do, why you have chosen to try Nagomi Visit. All this information is important because, they are your presentation card to be able to be hosted! You will therefore not be able to see the menus or the people hosting you in advance, as happens with eatwith. Indeed, we say that it is exactly the opposite (even if the purpose is the same!)
After submitting your request, all guests in the requested area will be able to read your profile information and decide if they want to welcome you on the dates you requested. After a few days, Nagomi Visit will send you the profiles of all the people who have accepted your request and it will be your turn to choose.
There are families with a lot of grandmother and cat, couples, singles, young and old, those who give Japanese cooking lessons and those who just want to eat together, but all united by the desire to know a culture different from their own, to put basically their knowledge of English and to open the doors of their home to you. You can see the photos and what kind of cuisine they offer, read the comments of those who have already been guests and get an idea of the hosts.
My dispassionate advice is to understand their level of English in advance, since otherwise the conversation could get complicated and to choose the area well, since Tokyo is huge.
We have known Wakana and her husband and we couldn't have been luckier.
She picked us up at the station, introduced us to her neighborhood (Sendagi) and the typical shops and then offered us a wonderful dinner, letting us try a lot of typical Japanese dishes and talking about what it means for her to live in Tokyo .
There was so a lot of feeling that, during our last days in Tokyo, we met and went out to dinner to continue talking about his travels and ours. Not to mention all the places he recommended and the magnificent Smoked Tofu he made us discover.
I can only recommend the experience, if only to get a closer taste of the proverbial Japanese welcome, which I don't think has any equal in the world. Their kindness is incomparable and they always do everything to make you feel comfortable, like at home.
