Glistening in the northeast pocket of Kyoto, the Zen temple Kinkakuji was the grand retirement villa of an ancient shogun. This golden pavilion was originally built as an example of the wealthy aristocratic Kitayama culture some 600 years ago, each floor representing a different style of architecture and the top two covered in signature gold. 

You can enjoy a quiet moment in the resident tea house after viewing the temple across the pond, or find the streets surrounding filled with Japanese-style coffee shops (kissaten) and street stall cafes selling matcha sweets, parfaits, and snack foods on a stick. There are lovely souvenir shops and a specialist in bean sweets, but for a lick of luxury, stores near Kinkakuji serve ice cream with edible gold-leaf! Leading in and around Kinkakuji, restaurants selling every Japanese food from conveyor-belt sushi to teishoku lunch sets with local ingredients. Not far down the road, the temple of Ryoanji and its famous rock garden presents a contemplative attempt at enlightenment, but only for those who can view all 13 rocks formations simultaneously. Shining and surrounded by a satisfying selection of souvenirs and foods, Kinkakuji is Kyoto’s golden delight.

Kinkakuji

Bordered by Osaka and Nara, Kyoto Prefecture shares a close friendship with its prefectural neighbors but represents a more sophisticated side of the Kansai region. Rich in history and traditional culture, Kyoto City served as the capital of Japan for over a thousand years before the switch to the eastern capital of Edo, now Tokyo as we know it today. Featuring a slow-paced atmosphere, Kyoto Prefecture stretches up across Kansai to gaze out upon the Sea of Japan. Scenic villages of kayabuki (thatched roof) farmhouses, bamboo groves, and funaya (boat houses) weave across the prefecture along with countless historical and religious monuments.

Surrounded by glorious mountains, Kyoto City is the long-serving cultural capital of Japan, filled with thousands of temples and shrines, alongside hundreds of gardens, museums, and galleries. Masters of the tea ceremony and ikebana flower arranging, Kyoto’s creative art scene goes back to the days of the traditional artisan, where local craftspeople still run tiny storefronts in narrow alleyways, specializing in all things handmade and custom-designed. This extends to the wonderful food of Kyoto, too, where gorgeous Kyo Ryori or Kyoto cuisine pops with color and flavor, healthy dishes made from locally-grown vegetables and produce, arranged beautifully every time. Multi-course kaiseki cuisine is best when dining alfresco on a kawadoko, a deck by the bank of a river, where tea houses and restaurants selling Kyoto cuisine thrive during summertime. Stunning in every season, Kiyomizudera Temple offers amazing views of the city and tastes of traditional Kyoto sweets, Kyo-gashi. Kyoto was also a pioneer of the humble plant-based Buddhist cuisine, Shojin Ryori.

Sake flows through the veins of Fushimi, famous for its thousand red torii gates of Fushimi Inari Shrine, but better known by locals as one of the top three sake-producing districts in the country. With over 40 sake breweries in Fushimi, it’s the second largest brewery district in Japan with a legacy of making top-quality sake. Kyoto Prefecture is also home to the city of Uji, known for its high-quality matcha green tea production and the World Heritage Site, Byodoin Temple (whose picture is featured on the 10 yen coin). With glowing red leaves in the fall and cherry blossoms emerging in spring, Kyoto Prefecture is a pocket of tradition and serenity where mountains and forests meet the sea. Nature and art are ingrained in every aspect of life in Kyoto, from its architecture and gardens down to artisanal products and finely crafted food.

Kyoto

Featuring beautiful landscapes from mountain to sea, Kyoto Prefecture conveys traditional Japanese culture through its architecture and gardens, art and artisanal crafts, and delicious local cuisine made from regional produce. 

Glittering panels of gold beam across the pond and gardens of the decadent Kinkakuji. Surrounded by traditional Kyoto cuisine options and snack food, this famous golden pavilion (decorated in gold leaf) features a pond and a tea house.

Gluten-free

Halal

Kosher

Vegan

Vegetarian

Pescetarian

Stroller accessible

Family-friendly

With 2 drinks

Although beautiful all year long, the ancient city of Kyoto truly shines when the Kyoto cherry blossom season rolls around each year. Temples peep out from clusters of pink Sakura trees, and petals dust the waters of the rivers crossing the city. Sakura season is a lovely sight to behold, although it’s certainly one that’s fleeting. Enjoy a wonderful Hanami season of cherry blossom viewing, and join a Kyoto Cherry Blossom Food Tour to experience the Sakura in Demachiyanagi like a true Kyoto local.

Demachiyanagi sits to the north of Kyoto City, a little way out of the center. It’s a transit hub whose trains connect the northern mountains with the central city and beyond to Osaka, yet is also a popular spot to see Kyoto cherry blossoms. During a Kyoto Cherry Blossom Food Tour, you’ll wander through the Demachiyanagi area as you taste local street snacks and drinks, taking in the beauty of the Sakura as you go. You’ll explore the local Matsugata Shopping Street, and visit the historic Shimogamo Shrine, marking the place where the Kamo and Takano rivers meet.

For an experience that’s off the beaten path, slow down and enjoy the Kyoto cherry blossoms in Demachiyanagi, a peaceful area with access to Mount Hiei and Mount Daimonji. Enjoy the views, where you’ll see other families, friends, students, and couples line the river banks, enjoying the Kyoto cherry blossoms together. You’ll taste some festive snacks, but finish the tour with a seasonal dinner featuring 100% handmade soba noodles at an authentic local noodle restaurant. Enjoy the festive atmosphere with some local sake and regional side dishes, before finishing off your special, seasonal Kyoto Cherry Blossom Food Tour with a famous traditional dessert that’s made locally in Kyoto. Enjoy the night views of the beautiful Sakura as you end this wonderful evening Hanami in Demachiyanagi, an unforgettable spring experience in Kyoto.

A tour only offered seasonally, like a hanami (cherry blossom viewing) tour.

Seasonal Tours

Kyoto Cherry Blossom Food Tour 2020

Regional food

The Downtown Kyoto area is buzzing with local shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars, each boasting their own unique flavors from the beautiful city of Kyoto and its surrounds. With careful craftsmanship embedded in Kyoto’s culture, this extends to the local food scene that’s made from regional produce and high-quality ingredients. Downtown is full of wonderful shops and food stops that are enjoyed by locals, although these culinary delights are often overlooked by tourists. This Downtown Kyoto Local Food Tour is the perfect opportunity to find out exactly what’s behind the food culture of Kyoto, tasting local food and meeting the makers of local products.

Experience “true” Kyoto local food during this food tour, where you’ll visit various stores in the central Downtown area. Your friendly guide will introduce artisanal shops and unique local restaurants selling specialty dishes and ingredients, explaining about the history of Kyoto local food in-depth at different stops. You’ll find yourself exploring the unique underground food halls attached to decadent department stores called depachika, bursting with delicious quality food samples. You’ll visit a unique Japanese chocolate shop with over 15 years of history, and the flagship cafe established in the 1940s that’s famous for its milk. You’ll visit artisanal confectionary shops and old-style traditional cafes, a local pickle shop, a grocery store, a Japanese kitchen tool shop, and even a soba noodle restaurant once famously visited by Steve Jobs. 

Exploring a selection of local shopfronts, you’ll learn the history of these stores and the cooking methods used to make the delicious specialty foods, and local ingredients that make them unique. Along the way, you’ll taste all kinds of street food and Japanese cuisine, such taiyaki (fish-shaped waffles), takoyaki (octopus balls), dashimaki-tamago (rolled Japanese omelet), and many more delicious surprises!

Food tour of a particular area or neighborhood.

Neighborhood/Area Tours

Downtown Kyoto Local Food Tour

Once a villa of the Japanese aristocracy over a thousand years ago, Arashiyama in Kyoto is now a popular tourist spot that’s famous for its glorious bamboo grove. The beautiful bamboo towers over you, a stunning natural sight to behold. Kyoto is also known for its specialty Take (bamboo) cuisine! Discover the best of Arashiyama and the Sagano area during an Arashiyama Food Tour in Kyoto, where you’ll explore the best tourist spots while eating some of local foods along the way.

Taste some regional specialties during this Arashiyama tour, perhaps some you’ve never heard of before! You’ll try things like a tofu donut and Japanese fish cakes, learning about their origins and how they’re made. Never heard of negiyaki or yuba before? You’ll try it for yourself during this Arashiyama Food Tour in Kyoto, which will have you tasting a number of other Japanese foods as you go. You’ll visit a number of significant temples and monuments between food stops, as well as getting the perfect bamboo selfie in Arashiyama. A delicious way to spend a perfect day strolling through the beautiful Arashiyama area, join this fun Arashiyama Food Tour in Kyoto!

Menu:
-Croquette
-Soy milk donut
-Negiyaki (Japanese pancake made from green onions)
-Deep fried fish cake with yuba (a type of tofu-like soybean product)
-Matcha green tea
-Wagashi (Japanese sweets)

Arashiyama Food Tour in Kyoto

With sake

Kyoto is full of beautiful temples and shrines, galleries and gardens, and of course, wonderful Japanese food. The famous Nishiki Market in the center of town is one of the best places to try locally-made produce and local Kyoto foods. In a narrow, undercover market, you’ll find hundreds of shops selling all kinds of fascinating pickles and high-grade sake, as well as seafood and street food galore. Another famous district in Kyoto, Gion is full of shops and tea houses where you can still see beautiful geisha today. Filled with beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets, it’s one of the most picturesque areas in the city; you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time.

Discover two of these iconic areas during a Nishiki Market and Gion Tour in Kyoto, two essential tourist stops to tick off your Kyoto bucket list. Reward your taste buds and experience these iconic attractions during this Nishiki Market and Gion Tour, where you’ll be able to try a number of local Kyoto foods while sightseeing along the way. This walking tour will guide you through the Nishiki Market, strolling along with expert insights from a local guide.

You’ll head for Pontocho Alley, another district with traditional wooden buildings, via the bustling Teramachi Shopping Arcade, as well as Shijo and Kiyamachi Streets. Tasting local Japanese wagashi sweets, you’ll look out onto the Kamogawa River, before heading down to see Gion for yourself (and maybe even spot a geisha if you’re lucky!) Taste the flavors of Kyoto in Nishiki Market, and get a healthy kick of nostalgia in Gion; this Nishiki Market and Gion Tour in Kyoto makes for a great day out sightseeing and snacking on some of Kyoto’s best foods.

Menu:
-Yuba (tofu skin)
-Onigiri rice ball
-Fried fish cake
-Hamo (daggertooth pike conger)
-Japanese omelet
-Sake (Japanese rice wine)
-Japanese wagashi sweets

*The menu is subject to vary depending on the season or the condition of the stores

Food Experiences

Restaurant Reservation

Gourmet Product

Kinkakuji