Amazing Experience, High Recommend This Sake Tasting!! - We had such an amazing time at this sake tasting adventure. We love sake but didn’t realize how much there was to learn about the delicious beverage, and Kyoko taught... read more us everything and more!! It was so fun to listen to her expertise, ask her questions, and enjoy a fun time with only another two guests. The first 20ish minutes were learning all there is to learn about sake and we felt like we are now able to identify which sake we actually love vs struggling to pick one at the store based on price. After that, we tried the sake alone and then tried it again with our food pairing. SO COOL as this actually changed the ranking of the sakes we liked. I highly recommend this activity for anyone interested in sake or just a fun activity to do in Kyoto.

  Really good experience with Kotaro guide  - Kotaro was a really good guide, quite patient and demonstrated a deep knowledge about sake culture and history. I highly recommend him.

  Understanding the basics of Sake  - I am a passionate Sake drinker. As I mentioned in my introduction at the tour, I say I drink a lot of Sake compared to friends and family around me.... read more I even have a consistent stock of Sake at home with my wines, usually based on sake I have tasted in a restaurant or elsewhere and then purchased off the internet.

I never really understood what gives the various sake their respective flavours, what to look out for when buying sake or what makes the price difference. Lastly which sake pairs best with which foods.

After this tour under the guidance of very knowledgeable Kotaro, our guide, I feel totally enlightened and have a good idea what to look and go for when buying sake in future.

You get taken through some sake history at the museum, where one gets an introduction into the basics of sake production, including rice polishing, the essential koji mould, yeast etc, which is brilliant to get an understanding of what makes the difference in taste and in price.

Then you come to the "fun" part: the tasting and food pairing 😃

We tried a total of 11 different Sake giving you a full circle of the sake varitied and ranges. We even tasted a 12 year aged sake. These were also paired with various foods and flavours including sweets/desserts.
The tour took about 3 hours and our group consisted of 12 guests and one guide. Our guide Kotaro was brilliant. If I have an opportunity I will be doing the "advanced tour".

Definitely recommend doing this tour, not only for sake fans, but also those who enjoy having the occasional glass of wine!

  Excellent, knowledgeable tour followed by a very enjoyable tasting. - We had a wonderful time, guided expertly around Gekkeikan Sake Brewery by Kyoko. We received a detailed history of the brewery, as well as a very knowledgeable explanation of the... read more sake brewing process and it's unique Japanese quirks.

Following the tour we enjoyed a preliminary tasting in the brewery itself, where we were able to try 日本酒 (Nihonshu) that is only available to taste or purchase directly on site.

After the tour, we were then treated to a very professional tasting session where the different types of 日本酒 we're explained to us as we tasted, and eventually each was also paired with a variety of Japanese おつまみ, or drinking snacks.

All in all, a phenomenal experience.

きょうこさん、教えてくれてありがとうございました！

  A great afternoon and insight into sake  - What a great afternoon, the tour of the brewery with information about how sake is made through to a wonderful, tasting session. The tasting was incredibly well done, crossing referencing... read more across types and then also comparing with food. This was incredibly professional and well done. Do I understand sake, no, but I certainly know a lot more now than I did before and am prepared to order on my own. The two guides we had were excellent.

  A wonderful journey learning about Sake in Kyoto  - It was amazing!!! The whole experience was enjoyable, very educational and Miyuki was so well prepared everything was Perfect!!! I highly recommend this and I am looking forward... read more to her advanced Sake experience.

  Good sake of experience.  - Slideshow informative, sake and food pairing delicious. Had a great experience, worth the time and money to learn about Japanese food and sake. Kiyomi was terrific.

  very interesting.  - Very interesting. I have had a fair amount of sake, but really never understood what I was drinking. Interesting to see its history and how it is made. It is... read more a lot like wine as we learned about pairings of different types of sake with different types of food. Very interesting. Mo Mo our guide was excellent.

  All About Sake!  - The presenter was very knowledgeable and likable but needs to edit her presentation. It was too long and could be better organized. She would be much better if she shortened... read more her speech, served the sake in between her explanation of the different kids of sake instead of waiting until the end. But again, she was likable and very enthusiastic.