Kyoto · KYOTO FOOD TOURS

Eat Your Way Round Kyoto: 15 Food Tours

92 tours  ·  from $7 a head

Kyoto cooking is quiet and seasonal, and most of it hides behind a curtain on a side street. These 15 food tours cover Nishiki, Pontocho and the Gion counters, with prices and how many stops you get.

Ramen Cooking Class at Ramen Factory in Kyoto - Building Broth and Choosing Toppings
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Ramen Cooking Class at Ramen Factory in Kyoto

1.Ramen Cooking Class at Ramen Factory in Kyoto

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,937 reviews · from $131Our pick

At Ramen Factory Kyoto, an instructor guides you through making noodles, preparing soup and toppings, and building a bowl to suit your taste. The 90-minute class ends with lunch, and vegetarian, vegan, and Halal preferences can be accommodated on request. Instructors have included Mahiro, Moeka, Haruka, and Fuku.

“It was loads of fun!! And super tasty! Was great to do smth all together and learn smth new! A fun way to eat Ramen”

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Kyoto Night Foodie Tour in Gion (9+ dishes + 6 Sake tastings) - Through Gion Shirakawa and toward Pontocho
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Kyoto Night Foodie Tour in Gion (9+ dishes + 6 Sake tastings)

2.Kyoto Night Foodie Tour in Gion (9+ dishes + 6 Sake tastings)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,762 reviews · from $163

Spend about three and a half hours walking through Gion and Pontocho, stopping for Kyoto dishes such as obanzai and for sake at a standing bar. A guide leads a group of no more than seven, adding local food and neighborhood context along the way. The tour is priced at $163.49 per person and starts and ends by the Statue of Izumo-no-Okuni.

“Hide was an excellent guide. He is very good with conversation and showing and recommending us spots for the rest of our trip in Kyoto”

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Kyoto: Izakaya Bars Guided Walking Tour - Kawaramachi: lanes, temples, and local context
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Kyoto: Izakaya Bars Guided Walking Tour

3.Izakaya Bars Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 815 reviews · 3 hours · from $25Best value

Spend three hours walking Kyoto’s Kawaramachi and Kiyamachi districts with an English-speaking local guide. You’ll hear about the area, visit izakayas and bars that can be hard to find on your own, and sample food and drinks at your own expense. Guides have included Moto, Taiga, Mia, and Lyou. The group is usually 5 to 10 people, and the tour is for ages 20 and over.

“Really good food and drinks and an excellent atmosphere on the night out!”

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Sushi Making in Kyoto! Same-day bookings welcome! - Friendly guidance for first-time sushi makers
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Sushi Making in Kyoto! Same-day bookings welcome!

4.Sushi Making in Kyoto! Same-day bookings welcome!

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 713 reviews · from $53

At Sushi Master Kyoto Kawaramachi, you’ll get a short introduction to sushi and Japanese food culture, then make nigiri and rolls with help from English-speaking instructors. The 90-minute class includes ingredients, your sushi meal, and a small gift. Sake and soft drinks cost extra. Instructors Kioko and Rio have led sessions, but staffing may vary.

“Super fun sushi making workshop. My son and I chose Temar sushi. The guidance was top notch and entirely in English. Highly recommended!Auto-translated”

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Kyoto: Insider Sake Brewery Tour with Sake and Food Pairing - Learn what changes the flavor
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Kyoto: Insider Sake Brewery Tour with Sake and Food Pairing

5.Insider Sake Brewery Tour with Sake and Food Pairing

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 704 reviews · 3 hours · from $87

Meet an English-speaking sake expert at the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum in Fushimi. Learn how brewing and rice polishing shape flavor, then compare 10 or more sakes with otsumami in a dedicated tasting room. Guides have included Kyoko, Miyuki, Momo, and Chika. You’ll leave with a pocket-size sake guide and a clearer idea of what to order.

“Kyoko, our guide, was so lovely and sweet. We learned so much about Sake and actually got to love it!! It was an amazing experience into the sake world, big thank you to Kyoko for that. We had a fun time and left with so much more knowledge for the "daily life" when it comes to Sake.”

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Kyoto: Ramen Cooking Class at a Ramen Factory with Souvenir - From chicken seasoning to hand-worked noodles
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Kyoto: Ramen Cooking Class at a Ramen Factory with Souvenir

6.Ramen Cooking Class at a Ramen Factory with Souvenir

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 532 reviews · 1h 30m · from $127

At the Ramen Factory, a school established by Kyoto’s Menbaka Fire Ramen, you make noodles from flour, season chicken, and choose a soup and sauce combination. English- and Japanese-speaking instructors guide the 90-minute class, which ends with your own bowl, a souvenir, and the recipe by email.

“We had a fantastic time today at the ramen factory. Our whole family had a great time, our guides were great, enthusiastic and super friendly. It was educational and so delicious. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone visiting the area.”

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Kyoto: Ramen, Gyoza, and Onigiri Cooking Class - Wrapping gyoza one by one
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Kyoto: Ramen, Gyoza, and Onigiri Cooking Class

7.Ramen, Gyoza, and Onigiri Cooking Class

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 445 reviews · 1h 30m · from $90

In central Kyoto, you’ll make miso and shoyu ramen broth, fill and wrap gyoza, and shape onigiri with an English-speaking instructor. Nori and the teaching team guide a small group through a fast, hands-on 90 minutes. Ingredients and equipment are supplied, and you eat what you make. Noodles are not made in class.

“I really enjoyed the class! Everything was prepared and ready for us to cook. There were 3 of us - me and another couple, and there were 3 people teaching and helping. We had fun, we got to eat what we cooked and we could also purchase beer 🍻 for after the meal, if it matters to anyone. All three of us opted-in for beer lol Overall definitely 10/10”

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The Original Small-Group Sushi Making Class in Kyoto - Rice first, then nigiri and maki
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The Original Small-Group Sushi Making Class in Kyoto

8.The Original Small-Group Sushi Making Class in Kyoto

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 436 reviews · from $69

At Atelier SUSHI near Kiyomizu-dera and Gion, Kana guides a group of up to eight through seasoning sushi rice, shaping nigiri, and rolling maki. The 90-minute English-language class uses fresh fish and local ingredients, then you eat what you make. Aprons, gloves, tea, and a lunch or dinner meal are included.

“We had such a great time learning how to make sushi with Kana! Our 12 year old sushi loving daughter absolutely loved it. The class included a lot of food. Highly recommend this experience”

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Kyoto Nishiki Market Food and Culture Walking Tour - Walk the shopping arcades and neighborhood temple
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Kyoto Nishiki Market Food and Culture Walking Tour

9.Kyoto Nishiki Market Food and Culture Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 412 reviews · from $80

Spend about three hours with a small group of up to six, tasting Kyoto foods and exploring Nishiki Market with a local guide. The walk also visits Nishiki Tenmangu shrine, a neighborhood temple, and nearby shopping arcades. Guides such as Keiko, Takuma, and Annie have led tours that pair food tastings with practical cultural explanations.

“Naoko was a wonderful guide! And the tour was such a fun and essential Kyoto experience. I’d highly recommend to other solo travelers.”

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Kyoto: Gion Food Tour 13 Dishes at 4 Eateries - Four restaurants, one progressive dinner
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Kyoto: Gion Food Tour 13 Dishes at 4 Eateries

10.Gion Food Tour 13 Dishes at 4 Eateries

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 408 reviews · from $72

Walk from Pontocho toward Gion with an English-speaking guide, stopping at four eateries for 13 Kyoto dishes and a complimentary drink at two stops. Expect lantern-lit lanes, local food and geisha-culture stories. Guides include Yuvia, Alessio, Amy, Pedro, and others; menus vary, and dietary options are limited.

“Such an informative food tour highlighting delicious food — wonderful introduction to Kyoto cuisine. Our guide, Alessio, was great. Highly recommended.”

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Kyoto Foodie Night Tour - Sit down for obanzai and izakaya dishes
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Kyoto Foodie Night Tour

11.Kyoto Foodie Night Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 376 reviews · from $102

Spend about three and a half hours tasting Kyoto-style obanzai and izakaya dishes, sampling food at family-run Nishiki Market shops, and walking through Pontocho. The group is capped at eight, with at least seven dishes and two drinks included. Guides such as Sora, Chika, and Leandra have led the tour, though your guide may differ.

“We had Chikako and her trainee, and it was one of the highlights of our Kyoto trip! We had an amazing experience, and highly, highly recommend this food tour! We never would’ve tried some of the different types of food, sake, and restauraRead more”

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Kyoto Ramen and Gyoza Cooking Class with Professional Chefs - A chef, a translator, and a little Kyoto context
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Kyoto Ramen and Gyoza Cooking Class with Professional Chefs

12.Kyoto Ramen and Gyoza Cooking Class with Professional Chefs

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 282 reviews · from $86

In this 2.5-hour Kyoto class, a professional chef guides you through making ramen noodles, gyoza, and fried rice, with a host translating and sharing cultural context. Food and two drinks are included, and you take home recipes. Groups are capped at eight. The ramen broth uses pork, so the meal is not vegetarian.

“We as a family had the best time! We made lots of delicious dishes and learnt new skills. Rina was so kind to us and so patient. We left so full and made some new friends. Highly recommend this activity.”

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Kyoto: Afternoon Japanese Izakaya Cooking Class - Why this is more than a sushi lesson
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Kyoto: Afternoon Japanese Izakaya Cooking Class

13.Afternoon Japanese Izakaya Cooking Class

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 241 reviews · 3 hours · from $67

At Cooking Sun in central Kyoto, you’ll prepare several Japanese home-style and izakaya dishes with an English-speaking instructor, then sit down to eat what you’ve made. The three-hour class breaks cooking into two rounds, with time to talk about ingredients and food culture along the way. Recipe sheets are provided in many sessions, and Yumi and Yumiko are among the instructors who have led classes.

“We had Thatcher as our tour guide yesterday and she was amazing. She expertly guided us through eating experiences in different districts of Tokyo whilst sharing insightful history on the dishes. Thatcher was so enthusiastic and it made our group get along so well we had truely an amazing time. Thatcher is an amazing guide and we hope we can have her for another tour sometime. Chloe :)”

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Kyoto: Gion & Pontocho Food Tour with 13 Dishes - Shirakawa Lane brings the walk into Gion
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Kyoto: Gion & Pontocho Food Tour with 13 Dishes

14.Gion & Pontocho Food Tour with 13 Dishes

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 235 reviews · 3 hours · from $82

Walk from Yasaka Shrine through Gion and Pontocho with an English-speaking local guide. Visit two dining spots, try up to 13 Japanese dishes and enjoy two drinks. Guides such as Tomoko, Takuma, and Mia lead small groups of up to eight, pairing food with stories about Kyoto, geisha culture, sake, and dining customs.

“Here is the English translation: Minori was an excellent guide. She has a wonderful personality, and she is a very kind girl. We had a truly friendly conversation about Japanese culture. There was also a small tour in the Gion district, where I learned many details about the area. The dishes were very special — I surely wouldn’t have been able to try them on my own, because I wouldn’t have known what to order. There was also a sake tasting, which was likewise very interesting. Thank you very much for the experience.”

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Izakaya Style Cooking Class - Learning dashi and Japanese seasoning
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Izakaya Style Cooking Class

15.Izakaya Style Cooking Class

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 219 reviews · from $71

At Cooking Sun in Kyoto, an English-speaking instructor guides you through dashi, Japanese seasoning and several home-style izakaya dishes. You cook in a traditional wooden house, then share the meal with your group. The three-hour class starts at 2pm, includes ingredients, dinner and an apron, and sends you home with recipes.

“An amazing three hours of cooking, instruction and eating! Cooking Sun was an experience not to miss if you are interested in learning the techniques of Japanese cooking.”

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New in Kyoto Food Tours

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★ 5.0Nishiki Market, Private Sushi class & Sake Tasting in TownhouseFrom $1216 reviews
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