Arrive at a casual sushi restaurant in Otaru, a port city in Hokkaido long associated with fresh seafood and traditional fish handling. As you step inside and settle in, the setting makes clear this is a working restaurant — not a tourist facility — which grounds the session in an authentic local context from the start.

Watch as the chef demonstrates nigiri technique directly in front of you, and follow along, shaping rice and placing fish by hand. A guide is present throughout to translate instructions and relay your questions to the chef, so the session moves at a pace that lets you absorb each step before moving to the next. Work through the process hands-on rather than observing from a distance.

By the end of the session, shape your own nigiri pieces and eat what you have made. The Q&A format means you leave with answers to specific questions about technique, ingredients, or Hokkaido seafood that came up during the session — knowledge tied directly to what you prepared with your own hands.