Yamagata Prefecture
An exlusive behind the scenes experience of the intricate art behind the culinary world’s most daring delicacies with Chef Takeshi Suda.
Tora fugu (tiger pufferfish) is one of the deepest enigmas of the Japanese culinary world. Both prized for its delicious flavor and one of a kind texture, this fish is also one of the most deadly ingredients consumed and is an incredibly complexed ingredient to serve. Even one egg the size of a grain of sand contains enough tetrodotoxin to stop a human heart within 30 minutes of consumption.
Despite this extreme risk, this experience with Chef Suda will give you a first hand lesson on the history and unique appeal of this unique dish that has fascinated Japanese people for centuries.
Not to be mistaken with other species of fugu, tiger pufferfish has rich umami flavor and a structured texture that is quite unique from most fugu that are largely flavorless and primarily served as karage or in hotpot cooking. Tiger pufferfish preparation goes behind just removing the poison and filleting, it has many steps to bring out the full appeal of this prized ingredient. These distinct qualities and its beautiful pure white colors make tora fugu a perfect sashimi fish to craft beautiful works of art such as the crane pictured above.
This experience is led by master fugu chef Takeshi Suda with decades of experience working with fugu. He is also a chief judge at the National Fugu Competition and trains chefs from around the world on how to work with this complexed dish. Guests are invited to learn and understand the intricate steps, special license, and skills needed to prepare pufferfish into a beautiful work of art.
Despite the dangerous image which is often portrayed in western countries, eating fugu prepared by a professional and highly trained chef is very safe, and any cases of poisoning are exceedingly rare.
Experience a Fugu Pufferfish Workshop
What's Included
A professional chef will prepare and present locally caught tiger fugu pufferfish in front of you.
You will be able to taste and experience the prepared fugu pufferfish.
Cost
From ¥35,000 per person (with a minimum of 2 participants)
Experience Availability
Year-round
Average Duration
2 hours
Meeting Location
Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture
Minimum amount of participants
2 people
Booking Deadline and Important notes
We ask that guests make their bookings at least 2 weeks in advance.
Experience availability may vary. Reserve to confirm availability. Please notify us at least 3 days before if you must cancel or modify your reservation.
Experience fugu pufferfish up-close and personal
This demonstration takes place in Japanese restaurants in Tsuruoka City in Yamagata Prefecture.
Tora Fugu is a native species of puffer to the waters around Japan with a large amount of the natural caught tiger fish being harvested right off the coast of Yamagata. It should also be noted that wild caught tiger pufferfish is worth far more than the farmed variant of the same species for its deeper and more complexed flavors from its natural diets.
It should also be noted that the tiger pufferfish that Chef Suda uses is specially prepared by the fishermen right upon catching them.
They have the ikejime technique performed on each fugu and Chef Suda then ages them for about 3 days to bring out more developed flavors and a more favorable texture from the meat.
Many fugu restaurants in Japan will serve farmed fugu with wild caught tiger pufferfish prepared to this degree can typically only be had at top level restaurants with meal fees of 350 dollars and above.
Tora Fugu is further the highest grade of fugu in Japan and a single fish can cost upwards of $500.
A surprisingly large amount of fugu has high concentrations of toxins that must be removed with great precision. The chef will first remove these from the pufferfish as he breaks apart its bony body and lay it out on a dish for everyone to see.
He will then extract the fillet of the fugu and prepare to plate it into sashimi for guests to enjoy.
For those who wish, we also invite guests to try cutting and working on parts of the preparation process of Fugu.
Please note that this is based on the judgement of Chef Suda who will need to see your level of skill or familiarity with knives before deciding on what part of the process you can take part in.
The Chef carries the final word and decision on this voluntary part of the experience.
This experience was originally developed as part of a training program for visiting chefs from Europe who carried a deep interest in learning about this unique ingredient and preparation. We welcome inquiries from professional chefs as well and have a deeper program available only for culinary professionals.
This program is notable part of the grand prize for the European Sushi Championship for 2025 and 2026 where the winner of this competition spent 1 week in Yamagata training with Chef Suda.
Fugu Pufferfish Workshop Reservations
You can send a booking inquiry for your experience below. After we receive your inquiry, we will confirm the booking with our partners and send you a booking confirmation email at least 3 days before your desired date.
Please note this form does not confirm the availability of an experience or reserve an experience straightaway.
Please note that this experience has been onboarded on various travel sites in the past.
This experience page represents the current version of the pufferfish workshop and pricing.
The information on this page overrides any other information you may find on other sites and we will not take into consideration outdated or inaccurate information.
Cancelation policy
Our general cancelation policy for this experience is below. Cancelation fees may vary according to exceptional circumstances.
10 business days before date of experience
Free
5 business days before date of experience
50% of total price
3 business day before date of experience
70% of total price
