Sake—traditional rice wine—is Japan’s most famous drink and Kyoto’s Fushimi District is renowned for its sake production, home to over 30 breweries. On this tour, find out how sake is made, discover the many varieties, and learn which sake suits each occasion. Sample seven different sakes, accompanied by tasty Japanese snacks, and leave with a cheat sheet to help you order your favorite sakes while in Japan.

Sake-tasting workshop in Kyoto’s Fushimi district
Sample seven different sake varieties
Choice of afternoon or evening tour departure
Small-group tour with a maximum of 12 people

What's Included

Local English speaking guide
7 Sake tasting (They are carefully selected for you to understand all sake categories from sweet to dry, freshly squeezed sake, and cloudy sake.
Snacks for pairing with sake
Cheat Sheet & Tasting Note (These will help you to choose your preferred sake in the future even you don't read Japanese!
Snacks
Alcoholic Beverages

Transportation to/from attractions
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Kyoto Insider Sake Experience
271-1 Kurumamachi, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-8365, Japan
25 min from JR Kyoto Station : Take a train on Kintetsu Line to Momoyamagoryo-Mae Station. Walk for 9 min from the station. 20 min from Gion-Shijo Station : Take a train on Keihan Line to Chushojima Station. Walk for 7 min from the station. 20 min from Fushimi-Inari Station

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Kyoto Insider Sake Experience

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Recommend to bring a bottle of water
Stroller accessible
Legal drinking age in Japan is 20; customers under 20 years of age will only be served non-alcoholic drinks
Vegetarian option for snacks is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Near public transportation

Children must be accompanied by an adult
Please note the venue for sake tasting session may be changed due to its availabilities.
Recommended to have your lunch or brunch prior to the tour.
Most travellers can participate
Drinking and driving is strictly prohibited by law in Japan. Make sure to come to the tour by public transportation.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travellers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Featured review

364DanaL

Amazing time a variety of tasty nihonshu with great foods pairings. A very informative experience, we learned a lot about sake and ended up taking some bottles home to enjoy here in the US. Highly recommended!

Reviews

5.0

102 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 102 reviews

It was excellent. The...

delphine_C, Aug 2023

It was excellent. The staff was really good, explaining very well how the sake is produced and what the differences are between the different types of saké. The tasting of sake associated with food is very interesting.

Best Nihonsake experience highly recommended

Suellen_B, July 2023

Great experience learnt a lot about how to choose a Nihonsake that we can all enjoy. Very knowledgeable host and wonderful to learn from.

Excellent sake tasting experience

Loren_V, July 2023

Momoko was awesome! She was so informative and made out tasting so enjoyable we now have such a better understanding of sake to apply to our everyday lives.

Unique, fun, and educational

Annie_G, June 2023

We really enjoyed our host. She taught us so much about sake and I can't wait to use what I've learned. I never knew there were so many differences in varieties and now I know what I like. This was perfect for our family of four (adults).

Best Sake Tasting Ever!

Federico_C, May 2023

Rieko was an amazing host and I would definitely come back again. The sake was delicious, the presentation was incredibly informative, and overall it was a great time and a fun learning experience!

Sake lesson and tasting

Suzanne_F, Apr 2023

This was a fun and informative activity. We learned enough about sake that we can now look at a bottle and understand what it might taste like.

Exceptional learning experience

Scott_J, Mar 2023

Great Sake tasting and Snacks. This is a chance to learn about Sake paring with foods and learning about Sake!

Great and tasty experience

Justyna_G, Mar 2023

Our guide was very nice and friendly, we had a great time with her. Her english was very good and she shared a lot of knowledge about sake. We did the 1.5h tour so it was not too much, just the right amount and she presented it quite interesting. The sake for the tasting is very well chosen, so in the end you can write your preferences on a tasting sheet and you will be able to buy the sake you prefer on your own. You can try the sake and later you try it paired with food and you can see how the flavor changes. We had a really great time with our group and it was worth every penny. I can only recommend it.

Our sake knowledge went way up

Paulina_L, Mar 2023

It was wonderful to sit for a while and learn the ins and outs of sake. We learned a lot of practical tips and tried some interesting sake. Highly recommend!

Good learning experience

Mats_A, Feb 2023

I had a great learning experience with Momoko as an excellent teacher. I also appreciated the food pairing a lot.

Great time!

Mike_K, Jan 2023

Very informative. I actually took notes, and used them to pick out my next sake. Perfect amount of time where I didn't lose attention, but still learned and drank enough to feel I got a good grasp of the sake culture. The area around where we met was great to explore afterwards as well.

Good starting point for Sake

Chenyang_Y, Feb 2020

The instructor is very knowledgeable and friendly. The course took 1.5hr from basic knowledge to sake tasting with and without food. Amazing experience.

Very informative and fun!

Brock_B, Nov 2019

We originally booked the 1.5 hour tour but it was cancelled due to a sake festival that was happening that day. As a result the tour operator Kotaro offered us the upgraded 3 hour tour instead the same day just a little earlier. This was such a better option as you learn so much about sake and the different types/taste. You start off with a brewery tour and learning the processes. Afterwards you are given a set of sake to taste and then pair with food. Was a ton of fun!

Great Sake Tasting

364DanaL, Oct 2019

Experiencia embriagadora

Fernando_M, Feb 2023

Muy bien presentada. Con un marco teórico muy adecuado. Hay aprendizaje de la historia y variedades del sake. Muy amables en el lugar. Recomendable totalmente