Kyoto Sake Tasting & Brewery Tour That Changes How You Understand Sake
Your Japan Trip Gets Better Once You Truly Enjoy Japanese Sake
The Only Sake Tour Specialist Based in Kyoto’s Fushimi Sake District
Based in Fushimi—Kyoto’s historic sake-brewing district—we work closely with local breweries and industry insiders to offer an experience you won’t find elsewhere.
Led by local sake experts, our tours go beyond tasting. Through guided tastings and food pairing, you’ll learn how to identify flavors, understand labels, and confidently choose sake that suits your palate—in ways that stay with you long after the experience.
Sake is way deeper than most people ever discover — the rice, polished down a lot or hardly polished at all, the water, and how it’s brewed. Understanding it takes more than a quick explanation. It takes real depth.
That’s why our guides don’t just lead a sake tour now and then. Sake is what they focus on, study, and pursue — International Sake Sommeliers and certified sake professionals. A guide who visits a brewery once in a while can share facts. Ours can help you understand.
A Fun, Insider Sake Experience in Kyoto
This experience is both enjoyable and insightful. You’ll taste, compare, and explore different styles of sake—guided step by step—so by the end, you naturally know what you enjoy and how to choose sake with confidence.
A Quiet, Private Space to Explore Sake
Our tastings take place in quiet, private rooms designed for conversation and discovery, where you can slow down, ask questions, and truly enjoy the experience.
Meet Our Certified Sake Experts
Certification is just the starting line. All of our guides are certified. But we don’t stop there. We train together every month through tastings. Every year, we travel across Japan to meet the kuramoto and toji who make the sake, and learn directly from them. Some of our guides have even brewed sake themselves. Because sake is far deeper than any textbook. This is what makes a KISE guide different.
Take a tour with us and you will: -Discover the history of sake and the Fushimi Sake District of Kyoto whilst touring a traditional brewery/museum
-Come to understand the differences in flavour and smell and how these are produced. You’ll focus on the secret methods of sake brewing which have been passed down for generations
-Get the chance to compare the differences between Western wine and beer production and sake brewing, to understand what makes the sake brewing process so unique
Sake Tasting with an Expert
Through our expert-led tasting session you’ll get the chance to learn the unique characteristics of different varieties of sake. You will also discover which type you most prefer and how to identify your favourites on menus and bottle labels
Our expert will help you notice the difference in taste between ‘junmai’ sake (which has no added alcohol or sugar) and alcohol-added sake. We’ll also explain the effects of rice-polishing on the aroma and flavour
Pure rice sake, refined sake, cloudy sake, aged sake – we’ll help you discover the distinguishing characteristics of each type.
Food Pairing
Discover the way the taste of sake can completely change when paired with different dishes. We hope that the food pairing section of our tour will also allow you to find out a little about Japan’s food culture, as well as sake.
Reviews by Our Guests
Amazing. – Wonderful experience. Learned so much about sake. Just fantastic.
Christopher W 2026-09-19
Great sake learning experience – A great way to learn about the history of sake and understand the basic differences between the various types. Kyoko was very friendly and knowledgeable, and we enjoyed plenty of… read more samples to compare during the tasting. Definitely recommend this for anyone new to sake.
HowickNZ 2026-09-18
Totally recommend – One of the best alcohol brewery tours I’ve ever done. Very enlightening and the sake was delicious. Came out with a deeper appreciation and understanding. Both your guides were incredible… read more and would do it again.
Carlos M 2026-09-16
Kyoto Sake Tour – It was a wonderful tour. The guide was very informative and helpful.
Bay Area J 2026-09-11
Excellent – Amazing experience! Rieko was patient, organized, thoroughly fun/engaging. Small group size meant a lot of time for her to answer our questions! Tasted 7 types of sake plus a few… read more bonus ones! Well worth your time if in Kyoto and want to learn the basics on sake. Highly recommend!!!
Cruiser177246 2026-09-08
Informative and delicious! – Highly recommend this tour if you’re even remotely interested in sake (or wine in general). I learned so much about how the process of making sake highly influences the final… read more taste, which is VERY different from wine-making! I didn’t expect sake to be able to taste strongly of different fruits just from changes in the processing (no fruit additives)! The tasting/food pairing was a great way to experience those differences firsthand. Honestly after this tour I’m convinced more people wordwide need to get on board with sake, especially if you’re a wine person, because it’s such a versatile drink. Our sake sommelier Kotaro-san was an incredible host and extremely knowledgeable. If I’m ever back in Kyoto I’ll definitely be going back here for the advanced tasting tour!
Lauren L 2026-09-05
Great experience – A great tour/experience. Our guide, Kyoko was fantastic. Her English is fluent so she was able to fully explain all the nuances of the many different options with sake.… read more I highly recommend doing this tour.
John B 2026-09-04
A Fantastic and Informative Sake Experience in Kyoto! 🍶 – A fantastic sake experience in Kyoto!
I really enjoyed this experience. The guide was excellent and created a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Everything was explained through interesting stories in… read more a very clear and easy-to-understand way. We also had a very nice group, which made the sake tasting even more enjoyable. I learned much more than I expected about sake—its history, how it is made, the different types, how to taste and appreciate it, and especially how different sakes pair with different foods. I can now share a lot of interesting information about sake with my friends. Highly recommended!
Emeliane K 2026-09-04
Sake Tasting Beginners – Loved it!!! Kiyomi explained everything clearely & passionately was a perfect experience!
Online Sake Classes are designed to meet the interests of all sake lovers, whether you are a sake beginner, a sake enthusiast or a wine, beer or whisky lover. We invite you to explore the deep world of sake through our online sake classes. We hope that sake fans all over the world will discover the way to enjoy great sake!
A sake tasting and brewery tour that changes how you understand sake. In Kyoto’s Fushimi Sake District, learn directly from certified sake experts, compare different styles, and discover how to choose sake with confidence.
What makes this experience unique?
Unlike simple tastings, this is a guided educational journey. You’ll learn from local sake professionals who explain brewing techniques, regional differences, and pairing secrets — all in a friendly, hands-on way. Many guests say they leave feeling confident about ordering sake anywhere in Japan.
Where does the Kyoto Insider Sake Experience take place?
All experiences are held in Kyoto’s Fushimi Sake District, an area famous for its water and historic breweries. The district is about 15–20 minutes by train from central Kyoto.
Do you offer corporate or team-building experiences?
Yes! We provide private sake experiences for corporate groups, incentive trips, and team-building events.
Amazing. – Wonderful experience. Learned so much about sake. Just fantastic. 
Christopher W
HowickNZ
Carlos M
Bay Area J
Cruiser177246
Lauren L
John B
Emeliane K
Matthias F
