If you want to learn how to make great sushi in time for the picnic season, try the Sushi making class at the contemporary Japanese restaurant: SO Restaurant!

Held every Saturday afternoon in May, the two-hour course starts at 3.30pm. You'll be able to enjoy your creations just in time for dinner...

The classes are £60 pounds per person. Sign up on the sushi-making website or call 020-7292-0767.

SO Japanese Restaurant is located in the heart of Soho, at 3-4 Warwick St. Piccadilly, London, London W1B 5LS.

Catch Kodo at Royal Festival Hall on Saturday 6th June and Sunday 7th June!

Both shows start at 7.30pm and tickets range from £9 to £35.

'Kodo returns to London, direct from Sado Island, with a performance never seen outside Japan. Ekkyo: Trans-border features premier dancer, Chieko Kojima, alongside fresh dance, vocal and drum compositions. Lavish costumes, huge drums, and Kodo's legendary precision and power deliver an exotic synthesis that explores new territories, and the boundaries between.'

Ever wish you could be back in Japan – just for a day? There are plenty of places right here in London where you’ll feel like you’ve crossed the world without spending a penny on airfare. No culture shock, no language barriers and no visa required – check out authentic Japan on home turf!

Sick of friends telling you that Wagamama serves great ‘Japanese’ food? And that YoSushi has a futuristic conveyor belt system, just like in hi-tech, space-age Japan?

Asakusa Restaurant, Mornington Cresent, is the antidote for those more enticed by delights such as Sake Gashira (salmon head), than wimpy pseudo-Asian noodles and California rolls. The mama-san of this restaurant is larger than life, and the menu is too. There’s so much of it that it’s written all over the wall on boards. The sake is served in masu, traditional wooden cups, with salt. You can even order in Japanese, without getting a blank look from the waiters!

Do you long to hear wind blowing though the bamboo, just like in times of yore? Erm, no, I never heard that much in Japan either.

But nonetheless… if you visit Kew Gardens, be sure to search out the lovely Minka house and the surrounding Bamboo garden. It’s a little off the beaten track, but if you make the effort you will be rewarded by a uniquely serene setting. The traditional 1900’s Minka farmhouse was painstakingly dissembled in Japan and reassembled in Kew in 2001. Contemplate its lengthy journey listening to the rustling of the 500 varieties of bamboo.

“Do you like choux?” Japanese friends and students would ask me, out of the blue. “Shoes?” I’d repeat, confused. “Yes, especially red ones!” Then they’d give me a cream-filled puff. It took me a while to make the connection…

Beard Papa capitalises on the Japanese love of choux pastry, stuffing tasty little buns with vanilla cream or green-tea flavoured cream. The Oxford Street shop has done well with Londoners eager for a fresh taste of Japan, via France. The staff of Beard Papa, mostly Japanese, are proud of their pastry puffs in a charming way that is so rare to find in the UK.

Catch How to Visit Japan Without Leaving London: Part Two next Tuesday!

Shhh! It’s a bit of a well-kept secret that Hammersmith Park boasts a small but perfectly-formed Japanese Garden, originally commissioned for the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910.

Painstakingly constructed, even the bridge crossing the pond was brought in especially from Japan, brick by brick!

It was rescued from neglect in summer 2008 by Friends of Hammersmith Park Japanese Garden and experts from Japan. To keep the garden in shape in 2009, there will be a ‘General Tidying Session’ on May 30th, from 11am-3pm. Get your wellies on and email jb.ex100@yahoo.co.uk to join in.

Following the restoration work on Saturday, there will also be a garden party on Sunday May 31st, from 12pm-4pm! Taiko, bon dancing, story-telling and Japanese food will make this a great day out for the whole family.

Download Garden Party Event Flyer

Orbital Manga is the nucleus for connecting with all things manga, anime and cosplay in London.

Even better – there’s a wide selection of the latest manga titles available in English. So, it’s just like being in Japan, except you can actually read everything! Yay! Located just around the corner from Leicester Square, at 4c Orion House, Upper St Martins Lane, this slice of Japan couldn’t be closer to home.

The British Museum’s Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries have recently been refurbished to tell the chronological tale of Japanese culture from ancient prehistory, to the present...

There are paintings and prints, exquisite Samurai treasures, everyday objects, even modern manga.

When you enter the gallery, you will note the lovely tea-house. The London-based Urasenke Foundation Chado group does demonstrations there on a regular basis – contact the museum for more information about times and dates.

Have you found a little part of Japan in London? I'd love to hear about it!

Josy, Sharon, Steve, Vanessa, Neil and Abs from JETAA London are going to dress up in inflatable sumo outfits and run for 5km around Battersea Park on 20th June!

This sumo silliness is all to raise money for Gemin-i.org (www.gemin-i.org), a charity that provides online educational resources to the developing world.

If you’d like to join them, email Josy at londonevents@jetaa.org.uk. The Sumo Fun Run is open to everyone – not just serious runners!

If you don’t want to be part of the team, you can still support them: “We are going to look ridiculous... and are going to do our best to run despite our silly suits, but we need your help to raise money! Please visit:

www.justgiving.com/jetaasumo

to sponsor us. We would love you to get involved too - so please come along to Battersea Park and cheer us on/laugh at us!!”

Every year, JETAA London runs the Careers Information Day to help JETs returning to the UK this summer and those looking for a change in career. This year, the event will be in the afternoon on Friday, 25th of September on the HMS President.

They are currently looking for volunteers to join the CID rganising committee. Roles range from selling sponsorship and exhibitions, to recruiting speakers, helping out on the day, producing the brochure, managing registrations and more!

If you can offer you help in any way they are keen to here from you. Also, if you have some career advice to pass on to other JETs then why not speak at the event? JETAA are looking for people who would be prepared to give a short workshop (including Q&A) on their career field.

If you’d like to get involved, email Ed at cidregistration@jetaa.org.uk. Visit the JETAA London website for more information, or to sign up for the day.

Taiko Meantime is a popular Greenwich, London-based Japanese drumming group. They have a lot of great events coming up this summer, not only in London but all around the UK!

FA cup final, Wembley (30th May) - 'Taiko Meantime launch the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium! Watch out for us on TV'.

Diorama Festival (24th June, 1st and 31st July) - 'We'll be playing at the foot of the Euston Tower, London for lunchtime shows on 24th June, 1st July (flute and drum duo) and 31st July. This year we're excited to welcome back Nobuko Miyazaki, our great Japanese bamboo flute player, who will join us on the first two shows.'

Glastonbury Festival (27th and 28th June) - 'Taiko Meantime return to Glastonbury for four shows in the Theatre field, accompanied by the fireshow in the evenings. Also featuring Nobuko Miyazaki.'

5th UK Taiko Festival, Exeter (3rd July) - 'Meantime headline the annual UK Taiko Festival, joined by other greats in UK and international Taiko.'

WOMAD, Charlton Park, Wiltshire (24th, 25th and 26th July) - 'We'll be holding workshops and performances at this year's WOMAD Festival at Charlton Park.'

Taiko Summer School, Farnham, Surrey (3rd to 6th August) - 'This four-day intensive Taiko course will propel your current Taiko skills into a new league. Both musically and physically, this course will be challenging and fun. Last few places remaining'.

Details for all of these performances and workshops can be found at www.taikomeantime.com