Kitabi Travel

Kitabi Travel Formally FLOR Patisserie. An immersive, out of the ordinary experience awaits you. Travel with
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We take pride in using only the freshest and best quality ingredients in our pastries that have been sourced from overseas (Japan, Belgium, and France), and locally. Other than using traditional Japanese techniques, We also do not use baking powder, artificial rising/softening agents, stabilisers, or preservatives in our products. The soft yet moist quality of our cakes is achieved from the natura

l aeration of eggs being whipped to their full peak. Other outlets:

• 13 Stamford Road, #01-11
Capitol Singapore

• 53 Upper East Coast Road
S(455214)

Did you know it takes at least 3 weeks to produce katsuobushi — but only minutes to make dashi with it?We drove to Makur...
01/04/2026

Did you know it takes at least 3 weeks to produce katsuobushi — but only minutes to make dashi with it?

We drove to Makurazaki, the katsuobushi capital of Japan, to find out why.

Inside the factory, we watched the process up close. Skipjack tuna, filleted, simmered, smoked over hardwood — again and again — until the moisture is almost entirely gone. The entry-level arabushi alone takes weeks. The finest honkarebushi? Up to six months of smoking, sun-drying, and fermentation cycles. When you tap two pieces together, they ring like wood.

Then we sat down for the workshop. Different grades laid out in front of us, each one shaved and steeped. The same fish, the same basic process — but the flavour gap between them was enormous.

And then the dashi. Hot water, katsuobushi, a few minutes. That’s it. The stock that underpins almost all of Japanese cuisine, made in the time it takes to boil a kettle.

We tasted it plain, so there was nowhere to hide. Clean, deep, quietly complex. Nothing like the packets at home.

This is what we mean when we say Kitabi goes deep into food culture. Not just eating — understanding. And the best part? The learning doesn’t stay in Japan. It comes home with you. Into your kitchen. Into the meals you make for the people you love.

That bowl of miso soup you make next week might just taste different.

Kagoshima Spring Tour 2026

The day we learned about Amami culture.We spent half a day at and learned that the Amami Islands are actually a group o...
28/03/2026

The day we learned about Amami culture.

We spent half a day at and learned that the Amami Islands are actually a group of islands — almost 2 hours by flight from Kagoshima. Most people don’t know that. We didn’t either.

What we also didn’t know: for centuries, Amami weavers were required to hand over their finest tsumugi silk textiles to the Satsuma lords in Kagoshima as a form of taxation. They weren’t even allowed to wear what they made. The weaving, the dyeing, the kumihimo braiding — made under obligation, shipped away.

And yet the craft survived. Refined across generations. Still alive in the hands of the people who taught us that day.
We tried all three. Our hands were clumsy. Theirs were not. That gap — between what we could do and what they had spent a lifetime learning — said everything about what it means to truly carry a tradition.

This is why we travel in a group no larger than eight. So there’s room to slow down, to ask questions, and to leave knowing something you didn’t before.

Kagoshima Spring Tour 2026

If you drink tea seriously, you already know what temomi-cha is.You know it is the oldest method of hand-processing tea ...
22/03/2026

If you drink tea seriously, you already know what temomi-cha is.

You know it is the oldest method of hand-processing tea in Japan. You know the leaves must be rolled for six to eight hours without stopping — that the skill lives entirely in the hands, passed from master to apprentice over decades. And you probably know that watching it done, let alone doing it yourself, is nearly impossible outside of Japan’s most closed circles.

This is that opportunity.

We secured private access to the Temomi-cha Association in Shirakawa-chō for a group of eight. Over five days you will harvest the leaves yourself at dawn, spend a full day at the master’s side learning the roll, grind your own matcha, and taste the difference between tea made by a machine and tea made by someone who has given their life to the craft.

Between sessions — Mino ceramics in Tajimi, tea dashi dinners, a mountain ryokan that belongs entirely to your group, and the ancient streets of Gujo Hachiman on the final morning.

This tour exists because of years of relationships. It runs twice. It holds eight people. There is nothing else like it.

─
12 – 16 May · 3 seats remaining
26 – 30 May · 4 seats remaining

→ Link in bio to enquire.

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Most trips you are just passing by, this trip- you are part of history and culture, meeting and getting to know local ar...
19/03/2026

Most trips you are just passing by, this trip- you are part of history and culture, meeting and getting to know local artisans and learning from them.

Washi papermaking isn’t something you watch. Not here. Our group, always small and private, stood at the frame, felt the fibres move through the water, and made something from almost nothing — using Nagashizuki, a craft so significant UNESCO stepped in to protect it.

No crowds. Just eight travelers and a craftsperson who has dedicated their life to this. An intimate learning experience.

Every sheet we made was different. Of course it was. Because every person who held that frame brought something only they could bring.

Out here in the Japanese countryside, away from the tourist trail, something quietly shifts. You stop being a visitor. You belong to the place.

Eight people walked into Amami no Sato not knowing what fukugi dye smelled like, felt like, or what it would pull out of...
19/03/2026

Eight people walked into Amami no Sato not knowing what fukugi dye smelled like, felt like, or what it would pull out of them.

By the end, everyone had a handkerchief — and no two were the same. Because no two people see the world the same way.

Two of our ladies weren’t done yet. They sat down at the loom and wove their way into something even deeper.

This is what 8 people can do that 40 never could. Go slower. Stay longer. Say yes to the extra thing.

📍 Amami no Sato, Kagoshima — Fukugi tie-dye & machine weaving

🎌 Small group. Big access. Real Japan.

We learned something this week that honestly made us even more excited about this tour.What we’re offering in Shirakawa-...
03/03/2026

We learned something this week that honestly made us even more excited about this tour.

What we’re offering in Shirakawa-cho — a complete, start-to-finish tea making experience, from picking first flush leaves to hand-processing them the traditional way — is genuinely rare in Japan. Most places offer a taste of the process. We offer all of it, made possible by the trust of craftsmen with a long, long history in this region.

If you’ve ever wanted to understand tea not just as a drink but as a craft, this is the experience we made for you. 🍵

📍 Shirakawa Tea Harvest Tour - May 2026

Small group. Limited spots. Link in bio.

开工大吉！ And hello from Japan! More specifically, Kagoshima!It has been a while since I’ve updated this page. I’ve been on ...
22/02/2026

开工大吉！

And hello from Japan! More specifically, Kagoshima!

It has been a while since I’ve updated this page. I’ve been on an extended break, a first in 15 years! And I’ve been baking breads. Maybe you’ll see FLOR sourdoughs? 😜

It’s strange how things have changed. Back to work means back in Japan, for me at least.

Today, I had an appointment with Kou-san of . Thanks to her, I learned so much about Kagoshima’s history and culture. Did you know the standardization of Japan flag came from Kagoshima? And that Kagoshima people are generally taller than traditional Japanese because they were the first to regularly consume pork and beef.

I love being on guided tours, because I get to learn all these tidbit knowledge. That said, I think it’s safe to say Sengan-en will be part of my next Kagoshima tour. We are discussing to put together something that’s customised, something that you won’t get to access as a normal visitor. Immersion is key, after all.

Anyway, Kagoshima Spring Tour is starting in 2 days! Excited to welcome my first group this new year. 🤗

08/01/2026

Kagoshima Food & Craft
Spring Tour 2026

Last 6 spots left!
3-7 March 2026: 3 spots
10-14 March 2026: 3 spots

Full itinerary up on the website. DM us for more info.

[KIRARA GAKKO]Once an elementary school, now the heart of a town.On our Kagoshima Spring Tour, we’ll be visiting Kirara ...
18/12/2025

[KIRARA GAKKO]

Once an elementary school, now the heart of a town.

On our Kagoshima Spring Tour, we’ll be visiting Kirara Gakko—a former school lovingly transformed into a community space by the locals themselves. Instead of classrooms filled with children, you’ll now find kind-hearted ojisan and obasan keeping the place alive, cooking in the canteen, welcoming visitors, and quietly working to rejuvenate their hometown.

We’ll be hosting a mini lunch workshop here, sharing a meal made with care, stories, and local ingredients. No fancy setting—just warmth, generosity, and the everyday beauty of rural Japan.

This is the side of Japan we love to show our guests.
Lesser known. Deeply human. And unforgettable.

Did you know that the southern limit of making rice sake is Miyazaki in Kyushu. Any more south, it’s too warm to make ni...
15/12/2025

Did you know that the southern limit of making rice sake is Miyazaki in Kyushu. Any more south, it’s too warm to make nice rice sake. Therefore, in Kagoshima, the southern most prefecture of Japan, they make sochu. When Kagoshima people say sake, they mean sochu, potato liquor. That’s because Kagoshima is a big producer of sweet potato.

There are over 40 varieties of sweet potato grown in Kagoshima, that are used for making sochu. The most popular is of course the Kogane Sengan, known for its starchy sweetness and chestnut-like aroma when distilled.

In our Kagoshima Spring Tour next March, we will be dining at a Sochu Bar where we have a good relationship with the chef. Our guests can expect sochu pairing with Izakaya-style food, followed by drink-all-you-can after you’d discovered your favourite sochu. And just maybe, after all the drinking, you would be brave enough to try chicken sashimi?? 😆😆

[Washi Workshop in Kagoshima]This Kagoshima Spring Tour, we are going to a 4th generation Washi Maker’s workshop to make...
08/12/2025

[Washi Workshop in Kagoshima]

This Kagoshima Spring Tour, we are going to a 4th generation Washi Maker’s workshop to make washi, Japanese paper.

Traditional washi is made from paper mulberry tree, which you can see from the first video. But did you know that the natural glue that is used to set the tree fibers together comes from a type of plant called the Aibika, and it’s also key to making the washi durable and strong?

Washi in Kagoshima is made only during winter and spring months because the temperature is low enough for the natural glue to thicken. That’s how Washi Workshop, where we make Japanese paper from scratch, is an exclusive spring activity.

Flip to the third picture to see a really cool patterned washi made by the master.

2 tour dates are still available: 03-07 March & 10-14 March 2026

See full itinerary —> Link in bio

One of the teas we’ll be making on our Shirakawa Tea Harvest Tour is Kama-iri-cha 釜炒り茶 — a style of tea so rare that les...
04/12/2025

One of the teas we’ll be making on our Shirakawa Tea Harvest Tour is Kama-iri-cha 釜炒り茶 — a style of tea so rare that less than 2% of Japan’s tea production uses this method.

Kama-iri-cha is pan-fired in a hot iron cauldron, giving it a beautifully rounded aroma, a gentle sweetness, and a whisper of smokiness you won’t find in steamed Japanese teas. And on this tour, you don’t just drink it — you make it from scratch.

We begin the morning hand-picking the youngest tea buds in our dedicated organic plot. Once we’ve gathered about 1kg of fresh leaves, we head straight to the open field by the riverside, where a 3rd generation iron pot is waiting.

Into the warm iron pot they go — and with your own hands, you’ll toss, roll, shape, and coax these leaves through each stage of transformation. Slow, rhythmic, meditative. A craft passed down for generations, shared with you by the tea masters of Shirakawa.

By the end, what you hold is your tea — completely handmade, completely unique, and impossible to recreate twice.

If you’ve always wanted to go beyond tasting tea and truly understand its soul, this experience is one of the most special things we do on the tour.

✨ Shirakawa Tea Harvest Tour 2026
Limited spaces · Harvesting the first flush of the season · Hands-on tea making, cultural crafts, and countryside immersion.

DM us for details or to register.
Come make tea the way it’s been made for centuries — one leaf, one breath, one pot at a time. 🍃✨

一番茶 : First Flush of the Season 🍃In Shirakawa-cho, the very first tea buds of the year start waking up in May. And on ou...
02/12/2025

一番茶 : First Flush of the Season 🍃

In Shirakawa-cho, the very first tea buds of the year start waking up in May. And on our Shirakawa Tea Harvest Tour, we time our visit exactly for that moment — so you get to handpick the precious first flush (一番茶) of the season.

What makes it even more special?
The Shirakawa Tea Association, whom we’ve worked closely with for years, keeps an exclusive organic tea plot just for our group. No crowds, no rush — just you, the soft mountain breeze, and the freshest tea leaves you’ll ever touch.

There’s something magical about bending over the bushes, fingertips brushing against new growth, knowing these leaves mark the very start of the year’s harvest.

A little moment of peace. A rare privilege. And one of my favourite parts of this tour.

📋 Sign up here: https://forms.gle/U3ctFa6nSuJekkRe9

🍃 See full itinerary here: https://kitabitravel.com/tea-harvest-tour-2026

Did you know there’s a shochu brewery 700m underground… inside a gold mine? 🤯And yes — we’re going there on our Kagoshim...
01/12/2025

Did you know there’s a shochu brewery 700m underground… inside a gold mine? 🤯
And yes — we’re going there on our Kagoshima Spring Tour.

But the coolest part isn’t the mine.
It’s this: you can buy your own personalised bottle of shochu and leave it to age quietly in the depths of the mine for five years.

When it’s ready, the brewery can deliver it to a Japan address…
or you can make a special trip back to collect your matured bottle.
(Imagine returning five years later just for that first sip.)

One of those rare experiences you’ll talk about for years. ✨

PS: Yes, that Guanyin-Ma is made of gold.

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We take pride in using only the freshest and best quality ingredients in our pastries that have been sourced from overseas (Japan, Belgium, and France), and locally. Other than using traditional Japanese techniques, We also do not use baking powder, artificial rising/softening agents, stabilisers, or preservatives in our products. The soft yet moist quality of our cakes is achieved from the natural aeration of eggs being whipped to their full peak.

Made with Love and the Finest Ingredients. Other outlets: 42 Siglap Drive Cafe Opening Hours: Mon-Sun : 10 - 8pm Takashimaya Basement 2 Mon-Sun : 10am - 9:30pm