7 Boozy Tours in Kyoto for a Big Night Out

1.Kyoto Bar Hopping Night Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 613 reviews · from $105Our pick

Spend three hours walking from Gion Shijo Station through Pontocho and Kiyamachi, stopping at three local izakayas and bars. Your MagicalTrip guide may be Yumi, Nami, Noriko, Yaya, or another certified host. Expect 3 to 4 drinks, a full dinner of 3 to 4 dishes, Kyoto sake, and plenty of neighborhood insight.

“Loved our bar hopping tour , went to some great restaurants and met some wonderful people , Great way to see some of the back streets 🍷”

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2.Kyoto Local Bar Crawl in Kawaramachi Area

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 378 reviews · from $28Best value

Spend three hours with a local guide such as Taiga, Mia, Moto, or Kazuma, moving from an izakaya to a sake stop and a small Kiyamachi bar. You’ll try yakitori, karaage, sake, and other drinks while meeting a small international group. Food and alcohol cost extra, so budget carefully.

“Excellent tour. Taiga took us to places you will not find yourself and made sure the entire group felt comfortable all along. Can recommend especially for solo travellers!”

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3.Private Food & Sake Tour in Central Kyoto with Sake Sommelier

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 24 reviews · from $230

Join Kenji, a certified international sake sommelier, for a private three-hour evening in Kyoto. Visit two or three bars chosen around your tastes, including a traditional machiya izakaya and standing bar, while tasting sake, craft beer, and local dishes. The tour is limited to two to four people.

“The first half of the evening was a lesson on history and production of Sake/Nihon Shu. This included several tasting at a Sake bar. The second half of the evening was spent eating local cuisine and socializing. Kenji is a wonderful guide and I highly recommend this tour for those looking for something more personalized.”

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4.Bar Hopping Tour in Pontocho Alley at Night

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 18 reviews · 3h 30m · from $120

Meet your English-speaking guide at Gion Shijo Station and spend 210 minutes visiting three Kyoto bars around Pontocho and Kiyamachi. You get 3 to 4 drinks, dinner-sized dishes, local games, and help ordering at small izakayas, with guides such as Miku, J, and Hide leading the evening.

“The tour, Hide, was the defining feature of the night. Warm, confident and knowledgeable, easy to speak with Hide genuinely made the night enjoyable with his conversation and engaging manner. Each stop was interesting and each venue visited had amazing food and good drink, each being charming in their own way and the staff of each establishment gracious with their hospitality. The tour selected well, the night enhanced by the guide, meaning it fell much like a friendly get together than anything else. Would recommend my friends to this night, confident their experience would be as amazing as mine.”

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5.Food and Drink Bar Hopping Tour with Local Guide

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 8 reviews · from $44

Join a local English- or Japanese-speaking guide for Kyoto food and drink hopping. You can request sushi, tempura, yakitori, gyoza, regional specialties, or unusual Japanese dishes. Guides such as Maki, Mark, and Shiyo have led relaxed evenings through several restaurants and local bars.

“Mark our Japanese guide messaged us the day before the event and came to our hotel to meet us instead of us walking to the meeting point. He took us to an authentic Japanese restaurant where we had a set meal which was delicious. We then went to Nijo castle naked summer festival where we were able to see a spectacular lighting show on the castle. Mark kept us entertained throughout and showed us back to our hotel after. He then sent us some lovely photos he had taken of the tour. Would recommend.”

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6.Maiko Happy Hour at a Historic Machiya

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 6 reviews · 2 hours · from $709

At Tondaya, a 140-year-old Kyoto townhouse, you’ll tour historic rooms, watch a maiko perform buyō dance, join a tea ceremony with Uji matcha, try traditional party games, and take photos. English, Chinese, and Japanese support is available, though interpretation may vary.

“We were really looking forward to this cultural experience and paid $555. Australian dollars for the 2 of us . It was so pathetic as the young man who was meant to translate into English what the Maiko told us could not do so . He was very polite and the Maiko very enchanting but it was if we stumbled into a disorganised farce . I wonder how much everyone is getting paid in this bizarre holiday experience”

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7.Bar Hopping Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $67

Spend 3 to 4 hours with an English- or Japanese-speaking local guide, walking Osaka’s backstreets and stopping at 3 or 4 bars and izakayas. You choose from available food and drinks, while budgeting about ¥4,000 to ¥6,000 per person for yourself and the guide.

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