Get an excellent introduction to the cuisine of Kyoto on this small-group guided tour of the city's best food spots. Start at the deliciously vast 400-year-old Nishiki Market, nicknamed 'Kyoto's Kitchen,' where over 130 food shops and stalls beckon your taste buds. Stroll through the market with the guide, learning about the history of food in the city and taste many dishes unique to Kyoto, including pickled vegetables, fried fish cakes, Japanese pike conger eel, mochi and Japanese omelet. After the market, visit a shrine dedicated to the god of education.

Small-group guided tours of Kyoto's food scene
Spend some time wandering around Nishiki Market, home to 130 food stalls
Sample some foods unique to Kyoto, including pickled vegetables, fried fish cake, and Hamo
Small-group tour ensures ample amounts of attention from the guide

What's Included

Local and Professional guide
Food tasting
Lunch (Tofu skin, Local home cooking, Hamo Tempura, Minced beef cutlet, Probiotic drink))

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Transportation fee to meeting point
Other personal expenses
Extra foods

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Daimaru Kyoto
79 Tachiuri Nishimachi, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 600-8007, Japan
[Meetup]10:15 am in front of the South West Main entrance of DAIMARU KYOTO. *In front of the "Shijo Takakura bus stop" along big Shijo street. *This is NOT FUJII Daimaru.

End point

Rissei Garden Hulic Kyoto
310-2 Bizenjimachō, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8023, Japan

What To Expect

Nishiki Market Shopping District

1 hour 40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Nishiki Tenmangu

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Teramachi-dori Street

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Takoyakushido Eifukuji Temple

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Rissei Garden Hulic Kyoto

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Minimum drinking age is 20 years in Japan
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

Most travellers can participate
If you have any food restrictions, please let us know in advance definitely.
If you will come with a stroller, please let us know in advance. Nishiki market is very crowded sometimes.
If you have severe dietary restrictions, it may not be possible to arrange food for you.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
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

Reviews

5.0

136 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 136 reviews

Fun, yummy and informative!

Jennifer_H, Aug 2023

Kenji did a great job explaining the food in the department store and the food market! He considered our food preferences and we ate delicious snacks along the way.

Excellent

Georgia_S, Apr 2023

Our tour guide was amazing, great English and very informative. A lovely man. We would go on more tours with him. The tour was interesting and we are glad we did it.

Great tour, and our guide, Naomi, was fantastic!

Francis_E, Jan 2023

We loved our tour. Naomi was our tour guide and she shared some information of her history with Kyoto and the history of the market, temple, and area. She talked about the food we sampled and was friendly with all the shop keeps which made it clear to us she was good company. She came prepared for us and told us about the rules of the market, and had a backpack equipped with extra cleansing wipes and chopsticks in case her your group needed it. She told us where to keep a lookout for Maiko and Geishas and what other shops and things she likes doing in the area that were not part of the tour. We told her about where we were going and she gave us additional recommendations. We were the only ones on the tour and she was very patient with us allowing us to peruse other shops. Overall she was friendly, kind and knowledgeable. My partner and I agree the walking allowed us to see and observe more, and even after our tour was done we were both sad to no longer have Naomi as our guide. Thank you Naomi!!!

Great Japanese food experience

Rashad_M, Nov 2022

This might have been the best food tour I had in my life. Everything was so tasty and such a great experience. I did this tour November 2019.

A must do experience for families!

Keisha_A, July 2022

My 10yo son and I had a great food tour with our guide! She was patient, gave us an opportunity to buy items as we went through the market, and gave us a good understanding of the local food and culture in the area. This made a great addition to our Kyoto visit and encouraged us to try different food items throughout the rest of our stay!

Food tour

Joy_B, July 2021

I enjoyed my time with my guide. I ate food I would not have tired and explored places I would go back to if I ever find myself again in Japan.

Great guide and best market experience in Japan

Christopher_M, Oct 2019

Hiromi was a super guide with a thorough background of Kyoto and Nishiki market. Must to experience in Kyoto.

Amazing tour!

Sara_G, June 2019

I had a great experience with this tour! Tour guide (Aki) was friendly and very knowledgeable. She was easy to find at the meeting spot and was a joy to be with for a few hours on the my first day in Kyoto. No one else had signed up for the group tour so it was a private tour! Wonderful to walk through the market with someone who knew the ropes and when it wasn't crowded (mornings are pleasant, afternoon are horrendously crowded in the market). She also explained many other aspects of Kyoto culture besides food along the way and I learned so much! Do not hesitate to book this tour!

Response from Host, June 2019

Thank you for your review!! It sounds marvelous!! We are glad to hear that Aki helps you to know the Kyoto culture on your first day. Kyoto is one of the most historical and cultural city with a lot of traditional yummy food. We are looking forward to your come back!! Thanks a million. Best Regards, Kazuyuki

Amazing guide. Kaori knows Japanese...

asena m, Sept 2018

Amazing guide. Kaori knows Japanese food, its history and its deep tradition and her English is perfect so we learned so much in such a short time. Because we are living in japan for a few months, Kaori also introduced us to items that would be part of our Japanese Kitchen while providing numerous other resources for us. She is very sweet and knowledgeable and made the day really fun for both my mother and my daughter who is eight. I highly recommend this tour.

I went on this tour with my wife and...

Devin T, Aug 2018

I went on this tour with my wife and 11-year-old son. Our tour guide was Kaori. Kaori was very prepared and knowledgeable. She knew her way around the market and the Gion District. She was able to provide a lot of information as we walked around. It was very hot on the day of our tour, but Kaori made sure the group was hydrated and we took enough breaks to keep us comfortable. I even learned the difference between a Geisha, Geiko, and Maiko. I mentioned to Kaori my family became separated while riding the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto the day prior to the tour. The doors shut while my wife was still outside the train. My son and I were still on the train and the train left. We ended up finding each other later, but the experience was terrifying. Kaori took note of all this to ensure it did not happen again. She knew what time the tour ended and what time our bullet train was going to depart. She made sure we made it to the train station with plenty of time to spare. She hailed a taxi for us and gave the driver instructions on what he needed to do to get us there early. Additionally, she emailed me later to check on us to make sure we made it on the train. She said she was worried about us. Kaori went above and beyond what a tour guide regularly would do. I highly recommend her for your next tour!

I work part-time as a food tour...

Rachel G, Apr 2018

I work part-time as a food tour guide and I try to take food tours on most of my major trips. This was definitely one of the best I've done! Fuji-san was so personable and knowledgeable. We had some small children on our tour and she was so easy going and flexible. We got so much more than what the tour said we'd get and I felt like I learned a lot but in a totally chill atmosphere.

If you ever so choose to go on this...

Carlo V, Apr 2018

If you ever so choose to go on this tour, make sure you come with an empty stomach, as you will go through a number of scrumptious and delectable treats once you get into the market itself. I would also like to say that it was a treat to have Naomi as our tour guide. Not only did she go over how each of the dishes you eat were expertly prepared, she also went out of her way to explain several aspects of the Japanese culture that you come across during the tour.

This tour was one of my favorites, a...

Alfredo G, Mar 2018

This tour was one of my favorites, a different cultural experience, the guides were so nice

I'm not usually someone who does...

Chris H, Mar 2018

I'm not usually someone who does tours but I decided to give this a try and was pleasantly surprised. Naomi our guide was wonderful and we ended up being able to sample a wide array of foods while also learning about them. At the end of the tour they even gave us recommendations on where to head out for drinks and my new tour group friends and I went out after and had a wonderful time.

Fabulous tour! We had two guides...

Maureen R, Mar 2018

Fabulous tour! We had two guides, Aiko and Tanake for our group of 3. They were funny, informative and provided us with just enough of the Japanese cultural history. They knew all of the Nishiki Market vendors and were familiar with their food offerings. Great day! Highly recommend!

Keiko was very nice but if you are a...

helen_l, Jan 2018

Keiko was very nice but if you are a foodie, like we are, this is not the tour for you. All the stalls that Keiko brought us to were not very good. I'm not sure why we weren't taken to the more popular ones. Keiko was more than patient. She allowed us to shop which ran the tour overtime by an hour.

We LOVED our food and culture tour...

Dina M, Sept 2017

We LOVED our food and culture tour in Kyoto. Eriko Ellie was our guide and she did an outstanding job introducing us to the culinary treats of Nishiki as well as notable features of Gion. We had been in Kyoto for a few days already and had some knowledge already, but learned new things nonetheless. We would recommend taking the tour early in one's stay in Kyoto - it will help you get acquainted with the city and provide tips for restaurants. In fact, we were thrilled with Ellie's recommendation of a wonderful tempura restaurant located in an alley off an alley in Pontocho. We also greatly appreciated Ellie's and her colleagues' there were two others assistance in recommending antique kimono shops and other textile-related recommendations. By the end of our tour, we not only were stuffed, but we felt as though we had made new Japanese friends!

Besides being a great insight and...

Greg M, May 2017

Besides being a great insight and confidence builder for experimenting with a new cuisine, this tour was well planned and conducted with lots of tips and information about the food and drink as well as Japan and Kyoto. The soybean grinding in the sweet shop especially was lots of fun.

Wonderful experience, I would recommend...

Carlos M, May 2017

Wonderful experience, I would recommend very much

Our guides, Tatsuya and Yumiko were...

Ian_H, Mar 2017

Our guides, Tatsuya and Yumiko were amazing. Thank you for a wonderful foodie and cultural experience. The official list of items on the tasting menu was just the start, we stopped at many more stalls in the market and sampled and tasted lots of delicacies that we would not have realised were there. This is a must do tour and experience for any visitor to Kyoto.