To complete your registration, click HERE or visit www.japanalabama.com/event-6784432
おうちごはん! (Ouchigohan) - Otsukimi Home Cooking Class
Japanese Home Cooking with Table for Two, Japan-America Societies & Japan Societies in Atlanta/Georgia, Boston, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, North Carolina, Alabama, and USJETAA
Sunday, September 20, 2026 @ 5:00-6:30 PM ET
$10 Members / $15 Non-members
JASG members use code "GEORGIA"
Hosted online via Zoom
( receive an email with the Zoom link and recipe card after registering )
Together with Table for Two, a network of Japan-America Societies, and the US JET Alumni Association, we are excited to host Sept Ouchigohan - virtual Japanese cooking class. The theme for this month will be "Otsukimi - お月見" where we’ll be making :
- Otsukimi Meatballs
- Okura Pickles
- Mitarashi Dango
お月見 (Otsukimi), literally meaning “moon viewing,” is a celebration that honors the autumn harvest moon, historically believed to be the most beautiful of the year. Traditionally held on the 15th night of the eighth month of the old Japanese lunar calendar, otsukimi now falls on a varying date in September or October according to the modern calendar.
In Japanese folklore, a rabbit lives on the moon, endlessly pounding rice into soft, chewy mochi with a wooden mallet. This image—rather than the “man in the moon”—has shaped the way generations of children and adults imagine the night sky. The rabbit and mochi connection also influences the treats eaten during otsukimi: tsukimi dango, small white rice dumplings stacked in a pyramid, are offered to the moon to pray for a good harvest and prosperity.
Debra Samuels leads the program content and curriculum development of TABLE FOR TWO USA’s Japanese inspired food education program, “Wa- Shokuiku -Learn. Cook. Eat Japanese!”. She was a food writer and contributor to the Food Section of The Boston Globe and has authored two cookbooks: “My Japanese Table,” and “The Korean Table.” She curated the exhibit, “Obento and Built Space:Japanese Boxed Lunch and Architecture,” at the Boston Architectural College (2015) and co-curated “Objects of Use and Beauty: Design and Craft in Japanese Culinary Tools,” at the Fuller Craft Museum (2018). Debra worked as a program coordinator and an exhibition developer at the Japanese department of the Boston Children's Museum (1992-2000). She has lived in Japan, all together, for 12 years and specializes in Japanese cuisine. She travels around the country and abroad teaching hands-on workshops on obento, the Japanese lunchbox. During Covid 19 she is teaching live online cooking programs to youth and adults.
おうちごはん！Ouchigohan! – Japanese Home Cooking is a special collaboration between members of the National Association of Japan-America Societies and Table for Two’s innovative food program, Wa-Shokuiku: Learn. Cook. Eat Japanese!, featuring recipes selected to introduce Japanese food philosophy and preparation techniques. Make simple, healthy, home-style Japanese food to enjoy with friends and family. The series is co-organized by he Japan-America Society of Georgia, The Japan Society of Boston, The Japan-America Society of Houston, The Japan America Society of Alabama, Japan-America Society of North Carolina, Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia,The Japan-America Society of Washington D.C. and US JET Alumni Association.
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