Kyoto Night Tour: Local Food and Entertainment

Experience the best of Kyoto’s local cuisine and vibrant nightlife on a small group walking tour. Sample regional specialties, mingle with locals, and get a glimpse of Kyoto’s nightlife scenes.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights

6:30pm You’ve done the daytime temples, gardens, and academic thing, had a bit of rest, and are now ready to set about seeing what the night has to offer. We’ll meet at Gion Shijo Station, then start with an educational walk through the justifiably famous Gion district, which is located on the east side of the Kamogawa River. Learn about the geiko (and…

What's Included
  • Dinner
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Two Alcoholic or Non-Alcoholic Beverages (one in each restaurant)
What's Not Included
  • Drinks beyond the two included. Additional drinks can be purchased directly from the restaurants if you wish.
Additional Information

Join a group of no more than five others on a unique, comprehensive evening tour of Kyoto’s food and nightlife districts! You’ll socialize with locals, taste regional delicacies at two diverse standing bar eateries (although we occasionally sit at one or both), and receive an eye-opening introduction to the various evening entertainment scenes in Kyoto,…

Location
Minamiza Theater
We will meet in front of Minamiza Theatre, which is right at street level of Gion Shijo Station exit 6
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(449 Ratings)
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Teresa_s
Aug 14, 2025
Great first night experience in Kyoto! - Great first night experience in Kyoto! Laura was our guide and was great! She explained about geikos (geisha) and maikos and we were lucky enough to see a geiko walking through the neighborhood. We had a great time visiting a shrine and Laura explained the differences between a shrine (Shintoism) and a temple (Buddism). After visiting the geiko area and a shrine the food tour part began starting with a stand up bar/restaurant serving multiple small course and sake. The second restaurant was the main course with multiple types of dishes and sake.
Review provided by Viator
Tracybk6066fe
Jul 27, 2025
Gion at Night - Our tour guide, Laura, did a wonderful job of showing us around the Gion area. She was very knowledgeable of the area. She was absolutely delightful as she led us around. The food at our two stops was delicious. However, our second stop was a very small shop which would have been charming if we hadn't been in this very small room with a rowdy group that smoked our whole visit. We couldn't enjoy our meal because of all the smoke, we just wanted to get out of the little shop. Our guide was very apologetic as she said the circumstances were very unusual.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kirwancarla_m
Jun 24, 2025
Gion you'd likely never find on your own. - Bryan H. was excellent! My adult daughter and I had the great fortune of being the only people on this tour. Bryan gave us background on geisha, maiko, Kabuki, and the Gion district. We also visited some Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. The two eateries at which we dined were definitely ones we never would have found on our own and the experience was splendid! Bryan is a personable host and he clearly loves Kyoto and the Gion area.
Review provided by Viator
Bruceb590
Jun 14, 2025
Good food and drinks with great Irish guide! - Nice walking tour of old town Kyoto, with some interesting and funny history thrown in. Oisin was an excellent guide and he took us to a couple of small restaurants and drinking establishments.
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Sebastian_f
Jun 10, 2025
Fun and informative - Really fun night tour with a great guide - thank you! I loved hearing all the insights into Japanese culture from an expat’s experience.
Review provided by Viator
Douglas_j
Jun 10, 2025
Fun times in Kyoto with Maya - Maya was very knowledgeable and fun to be around. She ordered us a variety of different food options to try. We had an excellent time.
Review provided by Viator
Shreyas_p
Jun 2, 2025
Our tour with Jamie was... - Our tour with Jamie was great! We learned a lot, tried some great dishes from two places we would not have found on our own, and got good recommendations for the rest of our trip. We had specified our vegetarian/pescetarian dietary preferences, and this was accommodated well without any compromise in experience.
Review provided by Viator
Michele_b
May 24, 2025
an evening full of surprises - Here is a very pleasant evening walking in the Gion district with Ferdinand a pleasure it is a well of knowledge of this site moreover he spoke French. We discovered two Japanese restaurants with locals without him we wouldn't have gone home Only small Hic the meeting place we had Information at exit 5 and the other 6 of the metro according to the documents of Viator and the provider. the chance was the meeting of ugo who had in charge of another group and which led us towards Ferdinand My suggestion: put a photo of the place in support of meeting place would be “Top”
Review provided by Viator
Connector42852340011
May 23, 2025
Great and very interesting night in the Gion district - Jamie was great! We really enjoyed our tour. We would never have found or known the spots in the Gion. She was fun to be with and she knew so much about Japanese culture. We would line to thank her for a great night.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rob_a
May 8, 2025
Our guide, Jaime, was a... - Our guide, Jaime, was a great fit for our small group of 8 friends. She was from Australia and now lives in Japan. No issues with understanding her and she made some outstanding modifications to the evening on the fly. The food was fantastic and plentiful. Thanks Jaime!
Review provided by Viator
From $115
up to 8 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).