DRINKS TOURS · SAKE TASTINGS IN KYOTO
Good sake tastings in Kyoto sell out weeks ahead and the great ones go first. Below: the 9 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Learn how sake is made, taste 10 styles, and pair them with Japanese snacks on this friendly three-hour Kyoto tour.
“This was our favorite tour of the trip! Very educational and you get a LOT of sake in the tasting portion. I feel like I can order sake confidently at a restaurant now :)”
Explore Kyoto nightlife on a three-hour izakaya walk with a local guide, tasting sake, food, and small bars around Kawaramachi and Kiyamachi.
“Really good food and drinks and an excellent atmosphere on the night out!”
Explore Kyoto’s Fushimi Sake District, tour a historic brewery, taste 10+ sakes, and learn bottle labels, styles, temperatures, and pairings.
“This is a great tour, totally worth your time especially if you want to learn more about Japanese culture and be less afraid when ordering drinks at a restaurant in Japan (or elsewhere that serves Sake!). Kyōko is the perfect tour guide, super professional, friendly, patient and is very passionate about teaching people about the history and culture behind Sake (Nihonshu 😉). She is very approachable and is an awesome teacher, her approach to teaching you how to find what flavours you enjoy was refreshing and made me very motivated to get into the world of Nihonshu You learn many methods along with how to read the labels and what…”
Explore Kyoto’s Fushimi sake district, visit the Gekkeikan museum, and taste up to 18 local sakes on this small-group walking tour.
“We had a great time with Karen (Karie) on our sake tasting tour. She was great to hang out and talk with and the sake and food (food purchased separately at sake tasting restaurant) was very good. It ended up only being myself, my wife, and another adventure loving tourist along with Karie but that made it nice and quant and simple. Definitely recommend. Oh, and we drank “all the sake” and had a strong “buzz” but by no means was “drunk”, so it was a good balance and we learned a lot at the museum as well as during our sake tasting/meal.”
Kyoto sake tasting in Fushimi with seven pours, Japanese snack pairings, expert guidance, and a useful cheat sheet for ordering sake.
“Our sommelier was very knowledgeable. She made sure we understood and appreciated everything. The experience was very well paced.”
Learn how Kyoto’s sake is made, taste seven styles with Japanese snacks, and gain the confidence to read labels and order sake in Japan.
“The experience was amazing. We enjoyed every second. Highly recommended!”
Learn practical Japanese home cooking, eat six tasty dishes, and share an afternoon with friendly English-speaking chefs in Kyoto.
“it was a lot of fun and we very much look forward to trying the recipes again when we return home. I would definitely recommend this as a fun indoor activity. thank you Yumiko!”
Learn dashi, sauces, and six Japanese home dishes in a hands-on Kyoto izakaya cooking class with dinner and recipes included.
“I had a wonderful time learning how to cook various Japanese dishes. The food was delicious. The hosts were kind and delightful. However, they offered us a glass of sake with our meal and I assumed it was already included with what we paid for, but at the end she unexpectedly said we owed 600 yen per glass. I don’t mind paying for it but I feel like they should have said the cost when offering it.”
Tour Fushimi’s sake district, visit Gekkeikan Museum, explore shrines and canals, and taste 18 Kyoto-made sakes with a local guide.
“Fantastic Tour - our guide, Shinya, was very knowledgeable about the sake brewing history of Fushimi and all-round a very interesting guy! The sake we got to try was delicious (and a very generous amount!) Highly recommend this tour while in Kyoto.”
Boat, brewery, crawl or tasting room.
