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.
Visit a historic sake museum in Fushimi’s sake district, then sit down with an expert for a guided tasting of 10 carefully selected sakes. You’ll leave knowing not just what you like, but how to pick. The experience that changes how you see sake forever.
“I completely feel confident in knowing the types of sake, what I like and how to order it now.” — Julie Keshmiry ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google Review
1.5-Hour Sake Tasting Experience
Great Introduction
Understand sake in 90 minutes
Start with 30 minutes of sake basics, then taste 7 different sakes with food pairing, guided by a friendly expert in a private room. You’ll leave knowing which style you like and how to find it again easily on any menu or label. Perfect for first-timers, groups, and families.
“I was not a sake consumer before this tasting but I will definitely enjoy the right sake for me in the future!” — P Russell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Google Review
Advanced Sake Tasting Experience
For Deep Diver
Beyond Junmai Daiginjo
Most people think Junmai Daiginjo is always the highest quality sake. We disagree. This experience goes beyond what most sake guides will ever tell you. You’ll explore traditional brewing methods, minimally polished rice, and rare fermentation techniques through 10 specially curated sakes.
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
Learn about sake! – A great experience. Shogo was a great guide: friendly, very knowledgeable, with great communication skills. We learned a lot just what we had hoped for. In addition, the… read more food pairing really helped us put the information we learned from Shogo into practice. If you’re interested in learning about sake, this is the tour to take.
Davidf7752 2026-11-09
Don’t miss experience – I learned so much about sake! It was a fun experience.
cas6179 2026-11-09
Japanese sake is the best! – I live in a region of Washington State, USA, with over 400 wineries. The process for making Japanese sake was fascinating. The guides presented the information easily, thoroughly, and now… read more I know why I like Japanese sake better!
Amoret B. 2026-11-05
Amazing sake! – Nanase was amazing! She made the experience very fun and interactive
Masyn M. 2026-11-03
excellent experience – Chika was a very knowledgable and engaging tour quide. The museum was interesting and she added extra insights. The sake tasting was extremely interesting. I would definately recommend this experience
scarysara 2026-11-02
Sake time tour – Nanase was amazing!!! We had so much fun at this sake pairing with food. Loved learning all about sake and trying it even more. Our girl was knowledgeable and fun.
kimberlysZ6190BP 2026-11-02
Excellent afternoon – This was an excellent experience. Shogo was very knowledgeable and interesting and the tasting at their office was outstanding. The pairings worked well and showed us the distinctions between the… read more sakes. Today’s tour and tasting was a highlight of my time in Kyoto.
Winellama 2026-11-02
Sake masterclass – Kotaro was a very knowledgeable and experienced tour guide. I was thoroughly engaged the whole time.
Gerard Y. 2026-11-02
Highly recommend, great afternoon. – We had such a great time. Kyoto, our guide, was awesome. She taught us so much about sake and its history while making the afternoon fun and enjoyable.… read more The tasting was really interesting, and I now have a much better idea of which types of sake I like (and which ones I don’t!). We also had the chance to meet people from all over the world, which made the experience even more fun. A wonderful afternoon and a great 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.
Learn about sake! – A great experience. Shogo was a great guide: friendly, very knowledgeable, with great communication skills. We learned a lot just what we had hoped for. In addition, the… read more food pairing really helped us put the information we learned from Shogo into practice. If you’re interested in learning about sake, this is the tour to take. 
Davidf7752
cas6179
Amoret B.
Masyn M.
scarysara
kimberlysZ6190BP
Winellama
Gerard Y.
