Recently Viewed
Kyoto Sake Tour: Discover Hidden Bars
5.0
18 Ratings
Kyoto
Embark on a guided tour of Kyoto’s hidden breweries and indulge in local cuisine, sake, and craft beer. Discover the city’s pub culture and gain a deep understanding of sake from a certified sommelier.
Embark on a guided tour of Kyoto’s hidden breweries and indulge in local cuisine, sake, and craft beer. Discover the city’s pub culture and gain a deep understanding of sake from a certified sommelier.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
Kyoto - Dive into Kyoto’s culinary delights, cultural experiences, and sake at a “machiya izakaya” (a traditional Kyoto townhouse turned bar restaurant specializing in drinks and small plates).
Mingle with Kyoto locals at their beloved neighborhood “standing bars.”
Enjoy premium sake and Japanese craft beer at specialized venues. Each tour will…
- Kyoto - Dive into Kyoto’s culinary delights, cultural experiences, and sake at a “machiya izakaya” (a traditional Kyoto townhouse turned bar restaurant specializing in drinks and small plates).
Mingle with Kyoto locals at their beloved neighborhood “standing bars.”
Enjoy premium sake and Japanese craft beer at specialized venues. Each tour will include 2-3 venues, tailored to your tastes and preferences.
What's Included
- An assortment of tasty adult beverages
- Dinner
- An assortment of tasty adult beverages
- Dinner
What's Not Included
- Insurance of any type
- Insurance of any type
Additional Information
Pub crawls – or “nomi aruki,” as we call them in Japan – are an excellent way to see a side of Kyoto that tourists usually miss.
Your guide, Kenji, spent many years working at a sake brewery in Hyogo. His duties included the pleasure of tasting over 1,000 sakes from breweries in Japan – and around the world.
Kenji will take you to two or three special…
Pub crawls – or “nomi aruki,” as we call them in Japan – are an excellent way to see a side of Kyoto that tourists usually miss.
Your guide, Kenji, spent many years working at a sake brewery in Hyogo. His duties included the pleasure of tasting over 1,000 sakes from breweries in Japan – and around the world.
Kenji will take you to two or three special bars with delicious food and drinks tailored to your individual preferences. Explore Kyoto’s sake, craft beer, and food culture with Kenji, a certified international sake sommelier, right in the heart of Kyoto!
Even if you don’t consume alcohol, you’re welcome to enjoy Kyoto’s delicious cuisine with us, but all guests on the tour need to be at least 20 years old.
It’s very important that we know about any dietary restrictions you might have. Please let us know when you make your reservation.
Group size: 2 - 4 people
- Not suitable for individuals under 20 years of age, due to the legal drinking age in Japan
Location
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation - Kyoto Branch
Go to the intersection of Shijo and Karasuma streets. Look for the imposing Mitsui Building on the northeast corner of the intersection. There's a photograph of this building in the photos above. I'll be standing out front. You'll know me by my LINNELL'S backpack.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(18 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Laura_m
Jan 18, 2025
We had a wonderful night... - We had a wonderful night drinking sake and enjoying delicious food with Kenji. He is an exceptional guide with a lot of knowledge about sake and Kyoto. This tour was the highlight of our visit to Kyoto. I highly recommend to anyone that wants an authentic experience with sake and food.
Review provided by Viator
F5239fzemila
Jan 5, 2025
Amazing Sake/food experience Kyoto - Lovely evening we had with Kenji-San. Everything was organized perfect, starting in a sake standing bar, where we learned more about the process, and for us tasted the best sakes we ever had. After we had an amazing dinner in a local Yakiniku spot. Highly knowledgeable person, and a tour you can not miss when you’re visiting Kyoto and want to learn more about Japan as a whole. Thank you Kenji!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chanelb_11
Jan 5, 2025
Fantastic tour with an in the know local - Taking this tour with Kenji was a highlight of our trip to Japan. He was so personable and professional and it was extra special to roam around Kyoto with a local. We booked our tour on New Years Eve and he was gracious enough to fit us in and make it work with our itinerary despite some locations being closed for the holiday. He was so knowledgeable about the production process and fine art of making sake (it’s clear he knows his stuff) and his passion for it was clearly evident. Book this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
822lorainem
Nov 30, 2024
Fantastic Food and Sake tour - My sister and I spent a wonderful evening with Kenji-san. We learned about sake as we tasted numerous varieties, and had a chance to sample amazing food at small, "off the beaten path" restaurants. We loved the yakiniku !! Kenji-san is a true professional, interested in sharing his knowledge and love of sake and food. He is personable and attentive. He let our preferences guide the flow of the tour. I am sure he never does the same tour twice. What an experience- highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sightseer36395469477
Oct 13, 2024
Kenji is a master sake sommelier - Our sake tour with Kenji was the highlight of our Kyoto visit! His experience in the sake industry and local Kyoto knowledge were apparent in his excellent choices of venue. We had so much fun learning about sake in the context of night life! Kenji is the master sake sommelier!!! Thanks Kenji!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Extraordinary784658
Oct 8, 2024
"On the inside of Kyoto" with Kenji - san - We spent a great evening with Kenji-san during our second visit to Kyoto, Japan 🗾. Even though we have been here before we still felt a bit unsure about how to find various restaurants (many of them are not that easy to see), as well as to communicate and order with staff. This was a great way to be guided through this process, as Kenji walked us through a series of bars and restaurants. There are so many good eats 😋 Oishii! Kind of wish we'd done this evening with Kenji before, as approaching an Izakaya was much easier after and we were bolder to try new things. We picked up a few phrases from Kenji as well; local staff seem very happy when we at least try to approach them with some Japanese words. Of course others may have other goals than ours, but Kenji will listen to what you say and plan the evening as you go. For us this was a very rewarding learning experience. Thanks, Kenji!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aussiechris045
Aug 30, 2024
A night out in Kyoto to remember - I have been in the hospitality business for 30 years and have a true passion for fine food and tasty beverages! Meeting Kenji out was like going out with a close friend and experiencing local bars and restaurants off the beaten path of Kyoto without all the tourists. Such a great night! A bit of education mixed with lots of flavour. Kenji never made us feel like we were on a time limit but rather just friends going out for a great night. Look forward to staying in touch with Kenji and having a sake and a beer in the near future! Cheers mate!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Road60334115770
Jul 16, 2024
A delicious Kyoto experience with a friendly sake expert - My wife and I went on a pub crawl with Kenji-san as a follow-up to the amazing "kintsugi experience" with him. A wonderful afternoon turned into a fascinating and delicious evening. He took us to one of his favorite izakayas -- a place packed with Kyoto locals unwinding after work. In fact, we were the only foreigners there, something that might have made us uncomfortable if it weren't for our intrepid guide! The three of us sat at the bar, enjoying absolutely delicious small plates of exotic food while learning about sake from a true expert. It was the kind of experience that would have been impossible without Kenji. I happen to speak some Japanese, but the izakaya menu was utterly inscrutable. We certainly needed the help of an insider. After the izakaya, Kenji took us to another of his favorite places, where we tried more delicious sake and absorbed the ambience of a lively Kyoto watering hole where we were again the only foreigners. A pub crawl with Kenji isn't just an education in Japanese food and spirits; it's entree to a side of Kyoto that most foreigners simply don't get to see.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sallyho1355mi
May 26, 2024
A Sake Friend in Kyoto - Kenji is a really interesting and personable fellow. He is a bit quiet and reserved but he has spent a lot of time in the US as a sales rep for the 5th largest sake brewer in Japan. He is very fun to chat with, and he knows a lot about sake. So our evening was like having a new friend in Kyoto take us around to sample sake and food.
Our tour took us to three places. First, an “on the beaten path” sake tasting room where Kenji explained how sake is made and we sampled several types (I happen to like plum sake) and we tried some black cashews. Awesome.
The next stop seemed like a place only the locals would know. Through a parking lot, behind a closed door and then a secret knock or two and voila, you’re in! Here we sampled several different dishes, from ginkgo nuts to potato salad to whole fish (I wouldn’t eat the head). A lot of fun and sake. Kind of a Japanese “Cheers.”
Finally the last stop was a crowded bar with lots of young locals. We sampled more sake and delicacies, or whatever describes chicken necks. By this time, we had our fill of sake, maybe a little too much; well definitely a little too much.
Through it all, Kenji was knowledgeable, generous and an excellent host. A definite must do to experience a non-tourist aspect of Kyoto.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mirko
Apr 11, 2024
Sake, food and culture in Kyoto. - We had an absolutely lovely time with Kenji! We started off at a bar where we learnt lots of interesting facts about sake and had many different types. We then went to a yakiniku place and enjoyed lots of different Japanese meats while conversing about Japanese culture. We finished the evening off at another sake bar and tried many other types from traditional sakazuki cups, with a lot of small izakaya style dishes!
Kenji is really knowledgeable and very pleasant to be with and we had a really lovely evening walking around Kyoto and its bars! Would strongly recommend booking a tour with him if you're staying in Kyoto!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
