Cook at Home with Japan's Most Popular Youtube Chefs

Nationwide Entertainment Stayhome

2020.04.22

Using your social distancing days in quarantine to up your cooking game? Try out some Japanese home cooking!

These Japanese Youtubers might not give all their instructions in English, but fortunately, we don't really need them! They're kind of perfect whether you're really looking for guides to Japanese home cooking, or you just want some delicious-looking food porn to zone out to ASMR-style.

🐩 Cooking with Dog

Cooking with Dog is a beloved Youtube channel featuring the mysterious Chef, who goes unnamed, and the adorable dog host Francis, who watches over every episode. Chef starts every episode talking a little about the origins of the dish she's preparing, before cooking the dish in her homey kitchen. Her calm, steady approach to preparing and explaining each dish makes it a joy to watch.

The channel first started uploading videos in 2007, with a new one coming out every Friday, slowly growing in popularity until Cooking with Dog reached more than 1.5 million followers. Pretty impressive considering the low-key nature and simple production! But the accessible step by step instructions, delivered with a warm smile, are hard to resist.

Unfortunately, the canine cohost Francis passed on in 2016, leaving Chef to prepare the meals without her, but that doesn't mean Francis is gone entirely! You still see her presence in the videos in all kinds of ways. So give them a watch, and see if you can follow along!

Official Website ・ Youtube Channel

🍙 nigiricco

Bento boxes, and the carefully prepared food inside, have existed in Japan for centuries, in one form or another. These days they're an economical and tasty choice, and people all over the world admire the bento lunches of Japan for their delicious, healthy contents, and insta-worthy presentation.

But what do you do if you don't have a Japanese mom or dad to prepare your bento lunch for you before school or work every day? Well, you'll just have to make your own! Nigiricco consistently puts out new videos with English subtitles, introducing people to all the interesting options there are in the bento world. Videos, for example, on how to make a "filling bento with just 3 things," "a simple bento kids will love," or "7 spinach recipes you can make in just 5 minutes." Whether you've been making lunch for years, or you're just starting, it's a good place to look for new ideas.

Official Website ・ Youtube Channel

👩🏻‍💼 Tina's Life

Despite only being around for a year at this point, Tina's Channel already has more than 400,000 followers, and some of the videos have topped 5 million views. That's because the channel's videos all follow the daily life of Tina, a normal office worker living on her own in Tokyo. She takes you through her daily routines, cooking breakfast and lunch, and tells you about her hobbies... It's all an interesting look into how she lives, but also totally relatable, making it comfortable to follow right along.

Instagram ・ Youtube Channel

👵🏻 Grandma's Recipes

We can thank 40 creations for this project, started as an effort to spread smiles, delicious flavors, and an appreciation for the recipes of grandmas all over the world. On top of publishing a book featuring 100 recipes from grandmas hailing from 15 different countries, this channel now posts videos featuring Grandma's Recipes from around Japan.

If you've ever wanted to learn how to make meals like osechi (お節, Japanese new years food) and get taught by the chefs who know best, while hearing some charming grandma anecdotes along the way, this is the place.

Cookbook Official Page ・ Youtube Channel

👘 Kimono Mom

Kimono Mom Moe sure looks like she could be a kimono model, doesn't she? It probably won't surprise you to hear that she spent 6 years in Kyoto as a genuine maiko/geisha. These days, however, she films her life in Tokyo, making healthy food for her young family, and sharing frequent cameos from her daughter Sutan with her Youtube audience.

Moe and Sutan make a cheerful team, bouncing around the kitchen while still trying to end up with lunch or dinner! Watch the videos for beautiful kimono, silly kid antics, and tasty-looking Japanese food!

Instagram ・ Youtube Channel

Stay Home, and Stay Entertained!

Don't get bogged down by social distancing, check out these videos and get inspired to work on those cooking skills! If you really commit to it, by the time you can invite friends over for dinner again, you'll be ready to wow them with some Japanese home cooking. So let us know how it goes, and if you have any other favorite Japanese Youtubers, on the Japankuru twitter, instagram, and facebook!