Recommended Kyoto Food Tours to Fully Savor Kyoto's Culinary Delights
Kyoto, known as a city symbolizing Japanese culture, is one of Japan's most popular tourist destinations. It's particularly famous for its numerous shrines and temples, and its traditional cityscape that preserves a sense of history. Japanese cultural elements passed down for generations, such as Kinkakuji and maiko (apprentice geisha), are still deeply rooted in Kyoto.
Kyoto is also renowned as a gourmet city in Japan, featuring a wide variety of restaurants across different cuisines. Particularly, there are many restaurants serving traditional Japanese cuisine, which are popular among foreign visitors for their elegant Kyoto-specific atmosphere.
In this article, we'll introduce exciting Kyoto food tours that allow you to fully experience the city's culinary delights.
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Recommended Kyoto Food Tours
Nishiki Market Brunch Walking Food Tour
This Kyoto food tour explores Nishiki Market, known as "Kyoto's Kitchen". Nishiki Market is a shopping street about 390 meters long, lined with various food stores. With a 400-year history, it's said to have originated around 1600 when a full-fledged fish market was established. You can enjoy local cuisine while learning about Kyoto's traditional food culture.
A recommended shop is Nishiki Hirano, a side dish store with over 100 years of history. Their popular item is the fluffy dashi-maki (rolled omelet) cooked with dashi broth. When participating in this Kyoto food tour, be sure to taste the freshly made dashi-maki.
Nishiki Market is just the right size for walking around. However, as you'll be going back and forth through the market visiting shops, it's advisable to wear comfortable shoes.
Note that eating while walking is prohibited in Nishiki Market. This is because the market is crowded, and eating while walking could lead to troubles such as staining other people's clothes. If you want to eat what you've bought, use the eat-in spaces provided by each store.
Nighttime All-Inclusive Local Eats and Streets, Gion and Beyond
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This Kyoto food tour allows you to explore the nighttime streets of Gion and its surrounding areas. While strolling through Kyoto's cityscape, you can eat local cuisine at restaurants and standing bars, and enjoy nighttime entertainment such as geisha performances.
After meeting at Gion Shijo Station, you'll explore the Gion area and enjoy representative local dishes and drinks. Knowledgeable tour guides will lead you, providing learning experiences that you couldn't get on your own.
Next is a stroll through the western areas of Kamogawa River, such as Pontocho and Kiyamachi. Pontocho is one of Kyoto's representative geisha districts, densely packed with traditional Japanese restaurants and tea houses. On the other hand, Kiyamachi is a bustling area popular among young people, lined with numerous izakayas and bars.
Dishes you can taste during this Kyoto food tour include Kyoto-style tofu, marinated Kyoto green onions, and simmered root vegetables. With an additional option, you can also enjoy Kobe or Omi beef. Anyone 13 years or older can participate in the tour, but those under 20 cannot drink alcohol.
Kyoto Foodie Night Tour
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This Kyoto food tour takes you to popular spots and hidden gems in Kyoto. You can taste obanzai (Kyoto's traditional home-style dishes) and izakaya cuisine served at local restaurants. The tour starts at Nishiki Market. You'll visit 2-3 shops in the market and sample dishes representative of Kyoto's food culture.
Afterwards, you'll visit several shops serving Kyoto cuisine and explore the Pontocho district, where you can learn about Kyoto's history and geisha culture. Pontocho is popular among Japanese people too. The tour guide always makes sure to visit when in Kyoto. It's an area where you can feel the ambiance of Kyoto, so it's enjoyable just to walk around. You might want to ask the local guide for recommended shops and visit them later.
If you participate in this Kyoto food tour from May to September, it's recommended to ask to be taken to a place where you can see "noryo-yuka", riverside terrace seating set up by restaurants. When the lights of the noryo-yuka are lit at night, you can enjoy a beautiful night view with the lights reflecting on the river.
The Award-Winning PRIVATE Food Tour of Kyoto: The 10 Tastings
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This Kyoto food tour allows you to fully enjoy Kyoto's gourmet foods loved by locals. You can sample award-winning Kyoto delicacies such as gyoza, takoyaki, and ice cream. Around Kennin-ji Temple, try the gelato with Japanese pepper and stick gyoza.
Between meals, visit Kennin-ji, Kyoto's oldest Zen temple. You'll also stop by Nishiki Market, known as Kyoto's kitchen. Nishiki Market offers a wide variety of ingredients from dried goods like nori and kelp to matcha sweets. There are also plenty of shops where you can quickly eat foods like takoyaki or boldly grilled seafood on the spot.
After enjoying the gourmet foods at Nishiki Market, why not visit Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine, which is loved as the god of learning? Rubbing the cow's head in the shrine grounds is said to make you smarter, and it's very popular among tourists.
Tea Experience Tours
Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya, NISHIKI
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This Kyoto food tour offers a unique experience where you can participate in a tea ceremony while wearing a kimono. You can experience two Japanese traditional cultures, kimono and tea ceremony, simultaneously. The tour is conducted in small groups of up to 8 people per session, allowing for individual tea ceremony instruction.
Upon arriving at the venue, you first choose your favorite kimono from those prepared. Female participants can also receive hair and makeup styling to match the kimono. Once preparations are complete, the tea ceremony begins. You'll learn about the history and utensils of tea ceremony while being taught how to prepare matcha.
The experience concludes with enjoying matcha and Japanese sweets. Taking photos of yourself performing the tea ceremony in kimono will surely be a highlight of your Kyoto trip.
Note that children under 7 years old are not allowed in the venue.
Private Kyoto Tea Ceremony Experience by Tea Master at Local Home
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This Kyoto food tour offers a chance to experience traditional Japanese tea ceremony. You'll learn how to prepare matcha using traditional tools and the proper etiquette from a certified tea ceremony instructor. After learning about Japanese tea ceremony, you'll immediately put it into practice. While being mindful of tea ceremony manners, enjoy matcha prepared by the instructor and Japanese sweets from a long-established confectionery shop.
The sweets used in the tea ceremony are traditional Japanese confections that vary according to the season. They are gluten-free and vegan, so anyone can enjoy them. You'll receive a booklet detailing what you've learned during the experience, allowing you to review the content at your leisure after returning home.
The great thing about tea ceremony experience tours is that you can learn about Japanese culture all at once. You can experience various aspects of Japanese culture, such as drinking matcha, eating Japanese sweets, and spending time in a tatami room.
Note that socks are required when entering the tea room. Bring socks or wear them to the tour. If you don't have socks, you'll need to purchase them, so be aware.
Izakaya and Bar Hopping Food Tours
Kyoto Bar Hopping Nightlife Tour in Pontocho
This Kyoto food tour explores bars in Kyoto's Pontocho area. Together with a local guide, you'll spend about 3 hours visiting izakayas and bars in Kyoto's backstreets.
First, you'll explore Pontocho and take photos at the famous red lantern spots. The first izakaya is a place where you can taste local cuisine and Japanese alcohol. Enjoy cold draft beer along with yakitori and sashimi. Afterwards, the guide will take you to local favorites such as standing bars serving Kyoto sake.
It's a good opportunity to try unfamiliar dishes while listening to the guide's explanations. It's also recommended to try communicating with locals with the help of your guide.
Kyoto Night Foodie Tour
This Kyoto food tour allows you to experience Kyoto's food culture at night. The meeting point for the tour is in front of the Statue of Izumo no Okuni at Gion-Shijo Station. While exploring the old streets of the Gion area, the guide will teach you how locals enjoy their nights.
The restaurants you'll visit during the tour are mostly hidden gems that you wouldn't find without insider knowledge. At the first shop, you can enjoy Kyoto cuisine such as obanzai and yuba, along with delicious sake. The second shop has a retro atmosphere where you can enjoy tempura and fish dishes. At the last shop, you can indulge in desserts and coffee.
A local guide will explain and order for you, so even if you're unsure what to eat, you can relax. Try challenging yourself with traditional Kyoto cuisine favored by locals.
Conclusion
In this article, we've introduced recommended Kyoto food tours where you can enjoy Kyoto's cuisine. Kyoto is a place where you can savor Japanese cuisine and sweets made with seasonal ingredients.
While it's good to visit shops listed in tourist guidebooks, you might want to visit places popular among locals. That's where participating in Kyoto food tours is recommended. Local guides will take you to carefully selected restaurants where you can enjoy authentic Japanese food.
With explanations from knowledgeable guides, you can gain a deeper understanding of Japanese culture. Participate in Kyoto food tours and experience the local food culture beloved by Japanese people. These tours offer a unique and immersive way to explore Kyoto's culinary landscape, making your visit to this historic city truly unforgettable.
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