Kyoto Food & Culture 6hr Private Tour: Explore Local Delicacies with Licensed Guides

Embark on a 6-hour private tour in Kyoto to explore the city’s local delicacies with licensed guides. Discover surprising flavors, visit Nishiki Market, and indulge in Japanese sweets and green tea.

Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Nishiki Market Shopping District - Nishiki Market (錦市場, Nishiki Ichiba) is a narrow, five block long shopping street lined by more than one hundred shops and restaurants. Known as “Kyoto’s Kitchen”, this lively retail market specializes in all things food related, like fresh seafood, produce, knives and cookware, and is a great place to find seasonal foods and Kyoto specialties, such as Japanese sweets, pickles, dried seafood and sushi.

Nishiki Market has a pleasant but busy atmosphere that is inviting to those who want to explore the variety of culinary delights that Kyoto is famous for. The stores found throughout the market range in size from small narrow stalls to larger two story shops. Most specialize in a particular type of food, and almost everything sold at the market is locally produced and procured.

  • Gion - Exploring the narrow alleyways of Kyoto’s Geisha District—Gion can be daunting for a first-time visitor. Eliminate the worry of getting lost by going on a guided tour. It’s a great way to discover hidden places that locals love, and to hear about Kyoto’s ancient past. Highlights include learning about Geisha culture and rituals, and visiting Gion, Pontocho, and Miyagawacho.
  • The Site of Kitaza - You will have original Kyoto Sweets in the beautiful building renovated from Kabuki Theater. The sweets is traditional one, but you can enjoy it by the unique way. You can eat it just here!!
  • Pontocho - Pontocho (先斗町, Pontochō) is one of Kyoto’s most atmospheric dining areas. It is a narrow alley running from Shijo-dori to Sanjo-dori, one block west of Kamogawa River. The alley is packed with restaurants on both sides offering a wide range of dining options from inexpensive yakitori to traditional and modern Kyoto cuisine, foreign cuisine and highly exclusive establishments that require the right connections and a fat wallet.

Business hours and closing days of the restaurants, bars and shops along Pontocho vary by establishment, but most places are usually open from around 17:00 to 23:00. Some also open for lunch. An increasing number of establishments offer English menus.

  • Kennin-ji Temple - Kenninji Temple (建仁寺) locates very close to the bustle of Hanamikoji and Shijo streets, the grounds of Kenninji Temple are expansive and pleasant to walk, and the two karesansui (dry landscape gardens) here offer the visitor an oasis of tranquility. It is thought to be the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto.
What's Included
  • Licensed Local Guide
  • Customizable Tour of your choice of 3-4 sites from ‘What to expect’ list
What's Not Included
  • Other personal expenses
  • Lunch - Lunch (for yourself and your guide)
  • Entrance fee (for yourself)
  • Transportation fee (for yourself and your guide)
Additional Information

THE tour for a local’s experience of Kyoto’s best food! Our nationally-licensed and experienced English-speaking guides will help you find the best eats while learning about Kyoto.
Kyoto’s dishes have little flashes of flavor that will surprise you from Tofu skin hot pots to eel rice bowls, and buckwheat noodles with a huge fish.
Street food fans must visit Nishiki Market. This 400 year old market is rich in history and food. See some too-cute-to-eat Japanese ‘wagashi’ sweets or the eccentric tako-tamago, a skewered octopus stuffed with a quail egg. Or you can enjoy looking at the pickled foods that locals love! If you are a tea fan, have some rich and warm green tea (matcha), or a green tea parfait to cool down.
Once your reservation is made, please chose 3-4 spots from the tour details and let your guide know your food interests when planning. We hope to guide you soon!

Location
Nishiki Market Shopping District
Nakauoyacho, Nakagyo Ward,
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
5.0
(8 Ratings)
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Natan_z
Jun 19, 2024
Kyoto tour of culture. - Lily have open our eyes to the culture, tradition religion and meaning of the different aspects of Japan. She chose for us a tour that was interesting and educational for all - young and old - to enjoyed. We certainly recommend her for a wonderful trip in Kyoto. Thank you Lily.
Review provided by Viator
Natanz2014
Jun 18, 2024
A knowledgeable guide - Lily was an amazing guide, she thought us so much about Japanese culture And religion . We had a great time and enjoin every minute of it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Awhsnow
Jun 7, 2024
Ichiro is amazing - We did a 6-hour Kyoto food and history tour with Ichiro. He was really great and brought so much context and color. He has a printout for everything and was gracious in answering all our questions.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
O1730wbnatalier
Jun 4, 2024
Highly recommended! - Masaki-san was an amazing tour guide in Kyoto! Even before we left for Japan, he was an excellent communicator through email and together we finalized our agenda for the day. His plan was so efficient, he offered many recommendations, and he even taught us how to properly hail a taxi! Thanks to Masaki-San we had confidence to explore the city deeper on our own. We could not have asked for a better start to our time in Kyoto.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ailoony
Apr 15, 2024
Delightful tour of Kyoto food and culture! - We had a most enjoyable day with Maya who was an engaging guide. We came away with more knowledge of Japanese and Kyoto food culture and thus our visit is more meaningful. Maya brought us to the famous Nishiki market and as a comparison, to the Takashimaya food basement where locals buy their fresh as well as ready-to-eat food items. Maya also introduced seasonal spring treats and brought us to lunch in a rustic duck shabu-shabu restaurant overlooking the river. A visit to Japan is a chance to enjoy its culinary delights and thus this tour is essential to enhance your eating experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brookek778
Feb 14, 2024
Touring Kyoto with an insider - Ichiro was a great tour guide! It was wonderful to explore and eat our way through Nishiki Market with a local. He picked the best food, and pointed us to a few shops making quality crafts. From there, we visited temples and neighborhoods of Kyoto, and Ichiro provided detailed history at each location. He’s very knowledgeable and takes great photos!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Xeille
Oct 11, 2022
A+ Kyoto food and culture tour with Kazz - Kazz was our guide through the food markets and the cultural spots of Kyoto. The experience was amazing! Our guide showed us many iconic and hidden photo spots in the city we would otherwise never have found out. As the cherry on top, the tour took place in the evening, so the gold wash of the sunset enhanced the beauty of Kyoto greatly. Kazz is a great guide and well-connected in Kyoto. He knew all the ins and outs of the cultural and food aspects of the city. On top of it, we are thankful for the numerous photos he took of us during the trip. Looking back at it now, these photos are truly a blessing. They really captured excellent moments and are great to look through for the memories. We would highly recommend him and this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Drewzoo331
Oct 6, 2022
Delicious food and beautiful sites with Kazz - We had an amazing evening with Ryoichi Kazz eating our way through Nishiki market and Gion district in Kyoto. Kazz was very knowledgeable about all the street food and vendors at Nishiki Market. He took us to a beautiful place where we tried matcha. We had a delicious dinner with him, which included a variety of dishes. It was just so wonderful to have him as a guide showing us the beauty of Kyoto. Bonus was he took many great pictures of us with his camera! He is very easy to talk with and is a kind, joyful person. He made this our favorite tour in Japan! Highly recommend him and this tour if you like eating!
Review provided by Tripadvisor