7 Beer and Food Tours in Japan to Build an Afternoon Around

1.Insider Sake Brewery Tour with Sake and Food Pairing

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

Meet an English-speaking sake expert at Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum in Fushimi. You’ll tour the brewery museum, taste 10 or more sake styles in a private tasting room, compare them with otsumami, and leave with a practical cheat sheet for ordering in Japan.

“The tour was a mix of informative and fun. The exploration was unexpectedly fun. And especially we got very lucky with a fantastic group of folks.”

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2.Sake Brewery Tour with Tasting and Kobe Beef Bites

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 11 reviews · 150 minutes - 3 hours · from $83

Spend 2.5 to 3 hours exploring Kobe by train and on foot with an English-speaking private guide such as Allysa. Visit a sake brewery museum, sample several sakes, try Kobe beef nigiri in Chinatown, sip a fruit drink, and finish at Meriken Park with its earthquake memorials, Be Kobe monument, and Kobe Port Tower.

“Allysa was great. First off she spoke perfect English and was easy to understand unlike every other tour we've done in Japan. As we toured the sake museum she explained in detail everything we were looking at while others on a bus tour had to rely on videos and couldn't ask questions. It was nice to get on in the city and not just ride a bus. Touring with Allysa was like being with a favorite niece. Wish she could be with us on all our excursions”

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3.Nara – Craft Beer, Sake, and Food Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 9 reviews · 3h 30m · from $96

Spend 210 minutes walking Naramachi with a bilingual guide such as Melody or Remy. Taste fresh mochi, kaki no ha zushi, up to five sakes, Nara craft beer, local snacks, ramen, and regional food. Expect 4 to 5 km of walking, with some tastings and shop visits subject to opening times.

“Only ok for us foodie/beer enthusiasts: Shops were good, guide nice but it required a LOT of effort from us to make conversation let alone discuss the food/drink. Her expectation seemed to be that the guide role was to walk us to 4-5 shops and pay the bill for us. We ended tour early, felt it would have been more enjoyable, just as informative and cheaper to visit each business on our own. Despite visiting mochi shop earlier than planned, demonstrations were done for the day by 2:45pm, so pls consider shifting time of tour earlier. It seemed they had no special arrangements with any shops, just made a reservation…”

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4.Hiroshima Night Tour: Craft Beer and Local Bites

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 8 reviews · from $78Best value

Meet guide Levi at Orizuru Tower at 6:00 pm for a three-hour walk from the Peace Park to three local brewpubs in Tokaichimachi. You get three craft beers, dinner-sized snacks, cultural insight, and a relaxed small-group night capped by Hiroshima’s riverside views.

“Levi was a wonderful tour guide, really easy to have a good chat with. Gave a bunch of wonderful suggestions of places to visit for food, drinks, etc”

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5.Nara – Craft Beer, Sake & Food Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 7 reviews · from $97

Start near Nara’s Higashimuki shopping street at 2:30 pm for a small-group walk through Naramachi. Taste five sakes at Harushika, sample craft beer, eat mochi and persimmon-leaf sushi, visit an Edo-period townhouse, and finish with a local Japanese meal. English and Japanese guidance is guaranteed; French may be available by request.

“Unfortunately, this was a complete waste of time and money. The walking tour did not provide any information about Nara itself... except that a placard on a building means it's historic (duh!), but our guide didn't even read the placard to us Read more”

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6.Sauna experience with great view & tour to enjoy food, blue beer

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $118

Spend about three hours beside frozen Lake Abashiri in two Okhotsk-wood barrel saunas. Warm up with scented löyly, cool off in the snowy air, watch anglers and white-tailed eagles, then enjoy smoked Abashiri seafood and optional drift ice blue beer. Towels, sandals, water, insurance, and sauna fees are included.

“We have eaten super well and wonderful care, especially FatimaAuto-translated”

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7.Nada Sake Brewery with Food Tour Professional / All Inclusive

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $103

Join guide Nahoko or another Table a Cloth Food Tour guide for a private walk through Nada’s sake district. Visit Nishinomiya Shrine, a sake museum, two breweries, and optional sweets shops. Two sake tasting glasses at each of two breweries, museum entry, and bottled water are included.

“We had this private tour with Nahoko-san, who was very friendly and easy to talk with 😊 . She described how to reach the meeting location in details, so we met quickly. There was a map where we agreed which places to visit first and she Read more”

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