Kyoto Premium Night Foodie Tour In Gion(9+dishes + Sake Tastings)

Great food. Really knowledgeable and cool guide. She answered are questions and showed us some great eating places.

Kumi was a delight to chat with about local food and also very knowledgeable on all the aspects of the places we visited. She also gave a lot of great tidbits about the areas night life and past history such as the Geiko and Maiko culture. What a fabulous time!

We thoroughly enjoyed our evening with Rika! She is delightful, charming, enthusiastic, very knowledgeable about our different foods & beverages! She even brought charts to explain about rice growing & its use in making sake-while we had our sake tasting. we even had opportunity to taste different sakes at both one of dinner venues & at another bar location. We learned about waygu & different Japanese beef 🥩 including Kobe-& then tasted it in one of our dinner menus! Rika shared a bit about Geisha & Maiko cultures as we walked through Gion area! She is so interested in sharing Japanese culture, food in general—AND we found out about her passion for ballroom dancing!!! she even showed us an excerpt! She made this evening one of our best travel experiences!!!

Nami was a great tour guide and we had fun! Food choice was great and we enjoyed it. Highly recommended!

One of my favorite things to do while traveling is booking food tours. To me it is great way to learn about a dish’s cultural significance and historical knowledge of the area where the food tour is held, so I was particularly excited to do one in Kyoto. Unfortunately I feel this tour missed the mark. We were taken to 3 spots, the first one being a full course meal, a “sake tasting” on the second, and dessert at the third. I will say the food was delicious, BUT we got no explanations on what we were eating or why the locations were selected. It was essentially a dinner party. Thankfully the evening was enjoyable since it was a great group of people, but I would pass on this as I felt I didn’t learn anything with the experience— especially being in Kyoto that has so much history. Recommend looking at a different tour.

This was one of the best food tours we have been on. Our guide was great and took us to some hole in the wall spots we would never have found on our own. The food was delicious.

The tour was great! We met at a historical statue that Yuuki told us about and then walked through both the Gion and Pontocho districts to head to 3 different places for food and beverages. Throughout the evening, Yuuki was a WEALTH of knowledge! She shared history, culture, language, customs, etc with us. She was so open to any questions we had. For example, I asked about protocol at temples and she explained how I could respectfully approach and interact with them. The food was the best we’ve had on tours in Japan. And as always, it’s so fun to meet new people from different places all over the world and share our love for this country!

It's always fun to meet new people. And it acclimates you to the city you're in. We love food tours. This one was good. Not exceptional as the food is typical for that town.

Yuki was a delight and very accommodating. She made me feel like a friend instead of a tourist. All her recommendations were EXCELLENT!

Yuki was splendid! Yuki was both knowledgeable and excellent company, a perfect personality to host a food tour. We obeyed all the street laws too! I'd give 6 stars if I could.

Yuuki was an incredible guide! She is deeply knowledgeable about the region, culture and history of Kyoto. The restaurant choices were great and the logistics were seamless. Highly recommend

Yuki was very friendly and personable. We enjoyed learning about Kyoto food and culture in the different districts. The food was great and so were the drinks- even for the pickiest eater in our group! Enjoyed the company of our group as we tried to get to know each other just a little bit! KAN PAI!

Rika was an excellent guide! She did a terrific job of explaining each stop and keeping the conversation flowing. Our group was 7 in total which was great.

For a price comparable to one Michelin-star restaurants in Japan, we expected unique food stops, exceptional quality, and genuine culinary insight. Instead, we were shuttled between three nearly empty restaurants serving cheap, fixed “tour group packages” with mediocre food and alcohol. The most premium offering was a few tiny pieces of sashimi seemingly cut from the tail. Our guide was friendly but lacked specialized knowledge of Kyoto’s food and drinking culture. Earlier that day, we explored nishiki market independently and enjoyed excellent sushi, A5 wagyu, and tempura etc for roughly one-third of the price. I suspect many glowing reviews come from tourists experiencing Japan through rose-tinted glasses. By any reasonable standard of food quality, authenticity, or value, this tour was deeply disappointing. Save your money and explore Kyoto’s food scene independently.

Yuuki was terrific—so knowledgeable about the food and culture. A delight to spend time with—delicious food and wonderful conversation. A great evening in Kyoto.

I had a delightful food tour with Yuuki. In addition to tasting some new foods, I learned more about Kyoto history and culture in Japan.

Great guided and delicious food in interesting parts of the city

Wonderful time. Everything was delicious and Rika was lovely.

Yuki was a great tour guide, very knowledgeable and passionate about his city, and was an awesome host to make the whole experience fun!! Thumbs up👍

Yuuki was an exceptional guide into Kyoto's food world. She took us to 3 venues where we ate a variety of Japanese food. She patiently explained what each dish was and when there were options for us to choose, identified her recommendations. As a bonus she gave us a few history and culture lessons along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed her tour. Thank you, Yuuki!

Fantastic experience - our guide Masa had everything set up for us and knew the area very well. Food as well as company were great!

We enjoyed Rika our tour guide she was lovely. I didn’t care for the food on the tour. There was lots of sake tastings and we learned some nice things about the geiko district.

We enjoyed our evening with Rika, however, the food was not as wonderful as we expected for the price.

The guides were fantastic. 5 stars. The food quantity was not substantial enough. The quality of the wagyu beef was the lowest in my entire trip in Japan so far. Just a few small pieces and very chewy and fibrous to my surprise. Sake was great!! I did appreciate tasting and learning about what we were eating from the guides as some items I never tried previously.

This was an enjoyable and well organized tour. Our guide Yuki was very personable and fun, well travelled, and well informed in areas from food to rock music. She galvanized our small group into all kinds of fun conversation as we explored the small streets of old Kyoto and tasted some excellent delicacies and drinks at three quite diverse establishments. Highly recommended if you like food, culture and socializing.

Can’t say enough good things about our guide Masa and the food he introduced us to. Had multiple types of food and great sake. Also had wonderful time talking and laughing with Masa and the other folks in our group. I would book again!

Kyoto Premium Foodie Night tour was excellent!! 1: Yuki, our guide was very well versed in the food, traditions, culture, and history of the area. She was easy going and quite fun! 2: The food was great! Everything we had was thoughtfully picked and the presentations were sublime. 3: It is a bit fast paced, so wear your comfortable shoes….AND SOCKS ! 4: Meet up point was clear, direct and easily identified. Great introduction to this Foodie Area by the River!

The tour was great! The guide was great and the food was wonderful. I would highly recommend this tour.

Our guide was very nice and knowledgeable. We expected many stops with small tastings. But we visited 2 restaurants. Each had a set menu with only a few choices.

Rika was a fabulous guide for our night in Gion. She was informative and engaging. We ate a traditional Kyoto restaurant, where we spent the majority of the night. We then went to an izakaya for snack and sake tasting. Ended the night at an empty bar (before it opened for the night) for dessert and drink. Was there with a family of 3 that was super fun. Definitely good value for the money.

Unfortunately this was not a great tour. We have done a lot of food tours and this one did not compare. We basically went to one sit down restaurant and tried 6 or 7 small dishes then went to a stand up tapa place where they were out of our first choice and then we waited a half hour, all while standing, for our one small dish and finally we went to a dark, empty restaurant to pick one of three matcha dessert choices. Food was not great and rather than getting to try small plates at several restaurants we only went to three places. They need to pick different restaurants from the ones currently on the tour and have more than three on the tour. Sad to say , this tour was such a disappointment and definitely not worth the money!

What was booked as a group tour ended up being a private tour for just the 2 of us. Rika was our tour guide and we had a wonderful time with her. The stories she tells are engaging. Food items are unique from what you could get on your own at the Nikishi market. If you are interested in fitting in alot of the traditional Kyoto's specialty cuisine, this tour is for you. Only regret I have, I am a light weight when it comes to liquor so I was unable to finish all the varieties of sakes offered (total 6 different types).

Had a wonderful night out in Kyoto with our very knowledgeable guide. The food and desserts were delicious and we got to see places that we definitely would not have found on our own. Highly recommend!

Paying over $200CAD per person, we unfortunately walked away a bit disappointed. Aside from a taste of Wagyu, this did not feel like a premium tour. Our guide was very nice and knowledgeable, but the overall experience did not match the price point. The food was limited and fairly tasteless, and we were surprised to be charged an extra ¥2,500 for a better sake option or ¥1,000 for a better beer selection. We have had many excellent dining experiences in Japan for about half the price, often with much more food and unlimited drinks, so the value just was not there for us. The guide herself deserves 4 stars, but the overall experience brought it down to 3.

Our guide Yuuki was knowledgeable and passionate about the food and ensuring we had a great experience. During the food tour we went to local restaurants and ate local foods that we would not have had on our own. The food was delicious too.

For a premium food tasting tour we had expected more. The food was good, no problem here, but we had expected more fish/meat and less pickled vegetables and tofu. Having these tours all over the world this was probably my least favorite

We had a fantastic time. Our guide Yuki was fantastic and knowledgeable about the the history of the area and the food. It was a great night.

Yuki (sp?) was an excellent guide as she lead us to three different restaurants. All 3 were delicious. Be sure to bring an empty stomach

Our initial tour in Kyoto was exceptional, and our guide, Yuki, provided an outstanding experience. The evening was marked by high-quality dining, excellent wine, and highly informative insights.

Great variety of food that you might not necessarily try otherwise. Nice restaurants. Highlight of the tour was our guide Chihiro. She is a wonderful person who explained everything well and made us laugh. Thank you!!

I had a great time with Josh, learning about the history of Kyoto and about sports in Japan. Plus, the food and drinks were spectacular. 10/10 reccomend!

Amazing tour. Josh, our tour guide, was phenomenal. Very well spoken and so much knowledge about the area and food. The food and drinks were fantastic and we would highly recommend this tour.

Josh was amazing . Fun, friendly, kind with his time and answering all our questions. I absolutely recommend this tour.

Great experience! We visited three places and had more than five dishes, ending with dessert. Drinks were included in all three stops. Highly recommend the tour. Thank you, Rika, for showing us true Japanese cuisine.

Nice food and drinks ..Restaurants we visited in the evening had great atmosphere. Sake tasting was the best part .

We had an amazing food tour with Yuki. We saw areas of the city we never would have visited without her guidance, learned about the city’s history, and had some fantastic food as well. Can’t recommend enough!

We had an amazing food tour with Yuki. We saw areas of the city we never would have visited without her guidance, learned about the city’s history, and had some fantastic food as well. Can’t recommend enough!

I wanted to experience & discover local food in Kyoto and this tour was superb! Rita explained the history of some places, and we went to 3 different restaurants/bars to try a variety of food and drinks. Everything was delicious! Additionally, Rita talked about aspects of the Japanese culture, both nowadays and from the last. I learned about maikos & geikos, Japanese language and education, work culture etc. All while discovering yummy food. :) That was a great night I thoroughly enjoyed, and can only highly recommend!

My wife and I did this tour on our honeymoon in Japan. We had an absolutely wonderful time with our tour guide, Jimmy. He took us to very fun places with great food and drink, and he kept a very lighthearted and fun vibe. 10/10 would recommend this tour for anyone looking for a night out in Kyoto.