Japanese model Yuri Sugunama, a.k.a “Yurippa,” is taking us on the third trip in her series series where she goes to personally experience Japanese culture and cultivate new hobbies. This time, she gets involved in a cooking lesson to make springtime temari sushi! Yurippa has always had an interest in homemade cooking but never really had the opportunity to challenge herself to it. So, how did she do...?

uki-uki cafe is located in Daikanyama which is just one stop from Shibuya on the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line. It's an easy place to get to just 5-minutes from the station tucked away in a quiet residential area. Upon opening the door to the café, you are greeted with a fresh space full of green plant life. You'll totally forget about the hustle and bustle of the city.

Teaching the lesson is uki-uki cafe's representative, Ayumi Kashiwabara. She's a food co-ordinator who promotes happy cooking that you'll unintentionally want to take a photo of. Not only does she serve food that makes your everyday dining table evermore buoyant, she also holds cooking lessons every now and then. "Call me Ayu-chan-sensei, okay?" she says with a pose. She's extremely friendly!

Today's challenge is making two items: 'temari sushi' and 'spring mizore soup.' First off, the temari sushi! You begin by mixing together 250g of rice with 25ml of vinegar, 15g of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. This is then divided into 8 portions. Spread out some clingfilm and place ham in the middle. Then put one portion of rice on top and roll. Do this for all 8 portions. Roll the ham and rice into one and when taking the clingfilm off make sure that they stay together and don't separate.

Next is making plum lotus roots. Fill the holes of the lotus roots with bainiku plum. Use your finger to delicately press it all together. It's easy if you use a tube for this part. An excited Yurippa exclaimed, "This is the first time in my life I'm making food using bainiku plum!"

At this point, Ayu-chan-sensei added a small touch: "It'll look gorgeous if you do it like this." With just a little twist, she made it look even more fantastic by putting on thinly sliced lemon and sprinkling over some pepper. The two of them looked like they were having fun cooking next to each other.

Before dishing up the temari sushi, it's time to make the mizore soup. Add two teaspoons of Japanese dashi to 120ml of water and mix in one teaspoon of soy sauce, one teaspoon of sake, one teaspoon of mirin, and a little salt. Bring to the boil and just add some grated daikon. Daikon skin has nutritional value, so wash it thoroughly and rub dry.

Finally, add green beans into the mizore soup, put in wheat gluten, and... "All done!"

Yurippa's colourful temari sushi and mizore soup is complete and perfect for spring. Going out and adding seasonal a lunch mat, pair of chopsticks and tableware is fun too.

Yurippa was happy, commenting: "I can feel that food made by hand really is more delicious! It was easy and didn't take long, plus I like how exciting it looks. I want to invite my friends over to my house for a meal."

Cooking lessons are held once in a while at uki-uki cafe where you can learn how to make food that'll make your ordinary days more fun. If you think a cooking lesson is a little too much to handle, then just pop in to the café for a kawaii meal. Coming face to face with the food at uki-uki cafe will surely make your day that much happier.

Japanese model Yuri Sugunama, a.k.a “Yurippa,” is taking us on her next trip in this series where she goes to personally experience Japanese culture and cultivate new hobbies. Yurippa loves chocolate – she eats one tablet of the stuff day. In this Valentine’s-special second entry, Yurippa sampled different chocolates that are popular right now.

For Valentine’s Day in Japan, it’s custom for girls give guys chocolate and convey their feelings towards them. Guys return the favour on a day called White Day, which falls on March 14. So, since there’s one month to go before the big day, that means the most delicious chocolate in the world is about to hit shelves in Japan – popular both in Japan and overseas.

The first pick was the classic “KitKat,” a very well-known brand in over 100 countries. The Japanese brand of KitKat is actually made in Japan. It’s received much attention around the world for its original flavours. It’s also known for being associated with exam season for students – the word KitKat in Japanese (kitto katto) almost sounds like the phrase “Kitto Katsu!” which means “You will surely win!”

Yurippa tried out the new “KitKat Chocolatory” series, created by the chef and owner of “La Patissier Takagi,” Yasumasa Takagi. The “Sublime Valentine’s Assortment” costs ￥2,400 (tax excl.) and includes 7 KitKat bars with 6 different flavours. There’s dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, matcha, raw, and a pink coloured ruby flavour. It’s a great selection to share and eat together with people.

The centerpiece of the collection is new Ruby KitKat, developed by the Swiss chocolate makers Barry Callebaut over a period of more than 10 years. The chocolate uses no colouring agents – the pink colour is made naturally to create an entirely new chocolate. Yurippa gave it her stamp of approval, saying it’ll be popular with girls for its vivid pink colour. She couldn’t contain her surprise for this newfound chocolate, saying “The berry flavour has a sour taste, but it’s different from strawberry chocolate. It’s something I’ve never tasted before.”

Next on the list is “Tea Chocolate Premium Matcha 7”. Costing just ￥1,000 (tax excl.), these chocolates are made by Shizuoka Matcha Sweet Factory “Nanaya,” who are known for producing the world’s most rich flavoured matcha gelato. These matcha chocolates don’t hold back on the milk so as to bring out the fragrance and taste of the tea leaves to the max. The set comes with 7 different matcha chocolates of varying intensity and 1 houjicha flavoured chocolate.

Yurippa expressed her excitement for the delicious chocolate before opening it. “When you open the packaging, the fresh smell of the tea whets your appetite so much you can’t wait to tuck in!”

The chocolate and tea leaves have a good combined balance of 3.1%, and the smell and taste of the leaves kicks in with a strong flavour combination of 21%. “The tea leaf combination is different but my impression of the chocolate changed dramatically!”

“If you eat the chocolates in order as written on the packaging, you can understand each flavour’s intensity much better! This chocolate would go better with hot milk or soy milk than coffee. The richer chocolate flavours are fairly moderate when it comes to sweetness, so if you’re on a diet then you can eat them without feeling guilty.”

The last pick is from the long-standing chocolate maker Mary Chocolate. The KANADE Japanese Sake Truffles (￥1,000) come in 3 flavours – milk, sweet and white – and are topped with carefully selected Japanese sake. Only the finest sake from Japan is used, such as Gokyo Junmai Sake from Yamaguchi Prefecture. Since the truffles contain alcohol, be wary not to hand them out to minors or people that are driving.

“There’s a good balance between the chocolate and sake, and depending on which brand of sake is used, you can enjoy a different flavour on your taste buds from each!”

Yurippa’s favourite was the milk truffle topped with Koyama Shuzo. She was very satisfied having recently acquired a taste for sake. “It brings out the enduring qualities of refreshing Japanese sake and a fruitiness. I really want people who like Japanese sake to try these! If you’re not too good with sake from Japan, then I recommend the white chocolate truffle with Ichiro from Dewazakura. The subtle fragrance of sake that you can feel inside the smooth texture of the white chocolate makes it really sophisticated.”

Yurippa gives friend chocolate to everyone on Valentine’s Day, guys and girls. Why don’t you try tasting this unique Japanese collection of chocolates recommended by Yurippa with everyone?

Japanese model Yuri Suganuma, a.k.a. ‘Yurippa,’ is beginning a new serialized project in which she goes to personally experience different areas of Japanese culture. In this first entry, Yurippa headed to FIGHT CLUB 428 in Shibuya to learn kickboxing, a form of martial art known to be very effective when it comes to dieting and getting rid of stress.

FIGHT CLUB 428 sits in the heart of Dogenzaka, a 7-minute walk from Shibuya Station. Serving up a convenient fitness menu and equipped with a bar, 428’s kick-back and welcoming atmosphere is its charm point.

It’s actually not that well known, but kickboxing is a sport that originated in Japan. Traditionally, it’s a martial art and combat sport that is fought without weapons and uses the game rules of Muay Thai.

The gym itself is clean, and women can also enjoy using the facility without worry. Female members of the gym are generally around the age of 25, and everyone there is extremely friendly, so it’s also a great place to make friends. You can also rent gym clothing if you want, meaning you can drop in empty-handed even if you’re on a trip.

Yurippa took a 1-day course (￥3,000) where she was taught by kickboxing teacher Ohno Umihiko. Just wow, being taught by a former kickboxer... not to mention how handsome he is!

Before starting training, you just stretch your body. Your muscles are quite stuff during the winter season making it easier to hurt yourself, so do it slowly and carefully.

One stretching is over, Yurippa moved onto the training basics – how to skip-rope. She was taught the proper way to jump like you see in movies and dramas: by using your ankles. But she was still a bit stiff somewhere, maybe because she wasn’t used to the jump roping yet, or maybe because she was still nervous from the gym atmosphere.

Moving on, Yurippa finally transitioned to the next phase: how to punch. The teacher wrapped bandage around her fists so she couldn’t injure them.

Once her bandages were on, her fighting spirit came through suddenly and she put on her war face. She settled on her fighting pose and was brimming with motivation!

She focused on jabs for the punching basics, learning to punch straight and how to hook.

The teacher praised Yurippa for having an aptitude for punching which raised her ferociousness even more. She went all out when practicing a finishing punch combination!

Her smug face and pose makes her look like she’s saying “How do I look? Am I cool?”

Don’t forget to rehydrate during training intervals. By the way, you can buy this bottle at the gym.

Next is punching the focus mitts while wearing gloves. Before punching the mitts, it’s customary to set your gloves on them first.

Kickboxing its more effective for dieting than it looks because it uses your whole body. You also have to twist around a lot, so you can really tone up your waist line.

The mid-kicks were a particularly good stress-reliever for Yurippa. If you aim at the mitts and kick with everything you have it makes a really great sound, so can be very exhilarating.

The teacher is very skilled in his way of teaching. Girl-Fighter-Yurippa has been born magnificently! Originally, Yurippa did slow activities such as yoga and was bad at them. She said that the movements in kickboxing are cool and it’s something she wanted to challenge herself to at least once. “Having finally experienced it, it was even more fun than I expected. I want to try continuing it!”

The gym also has a popular bar. The owner Ohno loves alcohol. He wanted more people to know about the gym so he built a bar than anyone can visit easily. The bar also comes with a special bonus: when the gym is full, people can order drinks for just ￥300! FIGHT CLUB 428 – the place where you can kickbox and enjoy a drink on the side. If you’re in Shibuya, then be sure to stop by.