A (Unexpected) Private Tour with a Sake Sommelier - Greg was a phenomenal tour guide. While unplanned to be a solo and private tour, I was able to have Greg to myself for 3-hours where he took me around... read more the Gekkaikan Sake Museum and gave me a full rundown of the history and process of making sake.

After getting a few tastes of sake at the museum, we headed over to the tour’s shop about 10 minutes away where I was given an extremely detailed and informative presentation alongside a flight of 8-9 different sake and food pairings. He taught me how to read sake bottles for certain tidbits of information as to how the flavor might be as well as gave a lot of great advice for future sake to look out for on my trip.

If you are interested in the ins and outs of sake brewing, learn about your own sake preferences, and don’t just want to be given a flight of sake with little to no information, this is the tour for you!

  A must do experience in Kyoto!  - This was excellent. We learned a lot about the process of sake making first, and then tasted 7 different kinds of sake, then paired them again with some food (sweet,... read more salty, sour, bitter etc) to see the difference. Our instructor was excellent. We ended up with a favourite (Junmai Gingyo), and were able to drink more of it throughout the rest of our trip.

  A great introduction to Sake in Kyoto  - This is a great tour for anyone who wants to learn more about Sake, how Sake is made, and how it fits into Japanese culture. Our host and guide Kotaro... read more was very knowledgable and took us through the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum, exploring the history of the family owners and the process of Sake making. We tasted three different varieties of Sake varieties at the museum before moving a short distance to the tour’s Tasting Room. There we tasted 10 different Sakes, and Kotaro showed us how to read the label on Sake bottles, and introduced us to the many different styles of Sake. We had a chance to take our Sake on its own and then again with food (small snacks provided.) All in all, we really enjoyed this tour experience. The location is in a quieter part of Kyoto but it can be easily reached by public transport, and the meeting instructions were very clear and helpful. We would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Kyoto. It was an immensely enjoyable and informative afternoon.

  Sake tour - Our host and guide Greg was delightful. He was very informative, professional with a little humor on the side! It was perfect for those who perhaps began not enthralled with... read more Sake. You are guaranteed to love it even before the education ends! The lesson included 7 Sakes with and without food. I would recommend this tour highly.

  Great Tour!!!!! D NOT MISS THIS ONE  - Wow! this was so amazing, the tour was great (and of course the tasting) But Greg's knowledge and experience made the tour! Bonus he even had a Sake food pairing... read more at a local restaurant and it gets better --- A handy card for choosing your Sake, it has been invaluable to us ordering and purchasing Sake. We really enjoyed Greg and the format he used, easy to understand what a great tour - one of the best we had in Japan. THIS ONE IS A NO MISS TOUR!!!! and it might make you Sake drinkers like us now .

  Fun and educational sake experience  - Our sake tasting experience was both fun and educational. Mayo was our instructor and she was extremely knowledgeable about all facets of sake, from the different types of rice used,... read more to the processes for making sake, to helping us identify which types of sake we preferred. She was also very humorous which made the experience fun.
After a fairly in-depth training, we were each given 7 different types of sake to try. Following this we tried each of the 7 types again but this time with food (chicken, cheese, edamame, etc).
We will think of what we learned every time we order sake back home. Highly recommend this class!
Note: it is a bit far from central Kyoto and there was traffic on the way, so allow plenty of time to get there.

  Must do in Kyoto  - My partner and I had an amazing time on the tour. Coming in with zero sake experience, we both found the tour both super fun and informative. We tasted a... read more great selection with some tasty pairings.
Our guide Greg loses some points for being a Collingwood supporter, but other than that he was super helpful, knowledgeable and funny.

  Best Guided Experience in Japan  - We absolutely loved this experience, a perfect balance of sake tasting and learning experience. Greg was an amazing tour guide and mixed a phenomenal tasting experience with a profound knowledge... read more of sake and its history. An absolute no brainer to sign up.

  Sake edcation at its best!  - The experience was fantastic, from start to finish. Our guide, Greg, was extremely well informed and was superbly kind, funny, and witty. We learned so much at the sake brewery... read more and had a wonderful time at the food and sake tasting. It was defintely an evening to remember. Our group was small, and we had a very personalised experience.