Food Tours Tokyo
Food Tours Tokyo
5
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About
We are real Tokyoites who are passionate about taking you to real Tokyo foods. We will introduce you to some of the best and most unique foods and neighborhoods in Tokyo that are inaccessible for foreign visitors.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
5.0
100 reviews
Excellent
88
Very good
8
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
3
Klarkcmr
San Francisco, CA2 contributions
Mar 2020
The guide(Maho) was intelligent and such a kind girl. She told me a lot of deep information about Japan and its culture. You definitely can't experience this in a major tour. Also the foods and drinks were awesome. The places we went were local "Izakaya"s that we can't easily find them on a guide book!
I wanna use this tour again on a different area :)
I wanna use this tour again on a different area :)
Written March 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DawnMNewton
1 contribution
May 2014
This trip is a must for any foodie. You are taken to restaurants that have no English menu and cater to the residents of Tokyo. You go to a Kusiage restaurant to start serving deep fried vegetables and meats. Next is a sushi bar/ubri restaurant. They use Bintyotan charcoal here which is considered the best in Japan. The restaurant is only 8 years old and all the chefs are young. They clearly take what they are doing very seriously. A small selection is offered each day to ensure top quality. Next stop is a soba shop that is very popular with locals. So much so we had a bit of a wait. No problem though as watching the chefs prepare the dishes is a ton of fun. Last stop was ice cream. My Amy was not a huge foodie but she translated every question I had, asked the chefs for me and provided me with all the answers. If you are not familiar with Japanese etiquette when dining I suggest you offer the guide to go first and just mimic their actions. A wonderful experience for a great price!
Written May 23, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lauren Monitz
Denver, CO9 contributions
Mar 2012 • Solo
As a huge foodie, I started researching restaurants to eat at in Japan months before I was heading out there and needless to say, was still highly overwhelmed. Through my research on chowhound.com (awesome site) I was dismayed to learn that quite a few places including many of the highly regarded Michelin restaurants simply don’t allow foreigners or reservations to be made without someone that speaks Japanese. I didn’t want to risk missing an opportunity to hit these gems so I contacted Ken to arrange a private food tour, which ended up being one of the best decisions I could’ve made.
Tokyo is completely overwhelming; it’s like a cross between New York/Vegas on steroids. It is very hard to find anything as their city expanded by building up instead of out. Hidden gems may be found on the 10th floor of buildings, through back alleys or even lurking in the basement of a department store or train station and many of the restaurant names aren’t translated into English at all so if you don’t know where to look- good luck.
If I didn’t have someone like Ken continuously emailing me recommendations and translations throughout my entire visit, I would have missed out on some of the best eats. We actually ended up doing more local favorites than the expensive and well known restaurants because I decided I wanted a more authentic experience, but if he is completely open to customizing the experience and taking you where you want to eat.
He was also invaluable for a visit to Tsukiji fish market. Knowing when you need to get there in order to be one of the 100 people to see the Tuna auction and coordinating our meeting at 4 am to ensure we wouldn’t get lost before the market opened or the train started running. Plus, he lived in Boston so he is fluent in American English- surprisingly rare in Tokyo. At my request to see weird places, we went to a Maid Café (you haven’t lived until a little Asian girl calls you master) and an Alcatraz/ER themed bar that felt like we were in a haunted house. A great experience you won’t regret!
Tokyo is completely overwhelming; it’s like a cross between New York/Vegas on steroids. It is very hard to find anything as their city expanded by building up instead of out. Hidden gems may be found on the 10th floor of buildings, through back alleys or even lurking in the basement of a department store or train station and many of the restaurant names aren’t translated into English at all so if you don’t know where to look- good luck.
If I didn’t have someone like Ken continuously emailing me recommendations and translations throughout my entire visit, I would have missed out on some of the best eats. We actually ended up doing more local favorites than the expensive and well known restaurants because I decided I wanted a more authentic experience, but if he is completely open to customizing the experience and taking you where you want to eat.
He was also invaluable for a visit to Tsukiji fish market. Knowing when you need to get there in order to be one of the 100 people to see the Tuna auction and coordinating our meeting at 4 am to ensure we wouldn’t get lost before the market opened or the train started running. Plus, he lived in Boston so he is fluent in American English- surprisingly rare in Tokyo. At my request to see weird places, we went to a Maid Café (you haven’t lived until a little Asian girl calls you master) and an Alcatraz/ER themed bar that felt like we were in a haunted house. A great experience you won’t regret!
Written March 23, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
strawberryfrog
Washington DC, DC87 contributions
Apr 2012 • Friends
I was really looking forward to the Tokyo Foods Tour advertised as this on the website:
“Tokyo Bicycle Tour with Foods: This tour will be 6 hours tour on a bicycle ride to visit varied locations, of course, including very unique food shops and sightseeing spots. Since this tour is done with a bicycle ride, you can feel and experience many difference aspects of Tokyo along with delicious foods. Regarding this tour, please let us know what aspect you are more interested in between visiting more places or having more foods as people have different expectations.”
I have taken bicycle tours and culinary tours in several different cities around the world and this is the only one that has failed to meet my expectations and, in fact, severely disappointed me.
A week before arriving in Tokyo, I emailed and Ken was very responsive to my requests and questions and so my friend and I booked a tour for a Saturday. A few days beforehand, Ken emailed to say that it would be raining on Saturday and therefore he would need to cancel the tour. We asked if we could take the tour on Sunday instead and Ken agreed to a morning-only tour, from 9 am – 12:30 pm, for a reduced price.
Ken met us promptly at the designated spot and, as we waited for another two people to show up, we chatted amiably about our visit to Tokyo and I mentioned how I was excited for this bike tour because I wanted to learn more about Japanese cuisine.
To make a long story short, this ended up just being a 3-hour bike ride with no defined aim, and no cultural, historic or food-related information. The only time that we got any information was when we asked some very specific question about what we were seeing (this differs drastically from another, very good bike tour that I took in Tokyo during the same trip). I thought that maybe I had misunderstood and that, when we rescheduled, I somehow missed the message that this was no longer a foods tour. However, the other couple that joined us said that they talked to Ken, he said it was a foods tour and they were expecting to visit various places and sample foods as well. Not only did we never sample any foods, Ken did not explain a single thing about Japanese cuisine. When we were walking our bikes through the stalls near the fish market, I asked some questions about what certain foods were, and he couldn’t answer my questions.
In addition, Ken just doesn’t seem experienced as a bike tour operator. He zoomed through a couple of lights that were turning, leaving some of us behind, and not looking back to check for at least half a block. There was no safety briefing at the beginning and most of our cycling time was spent on the sidewalks, dodging people, which just doesn’t seem safe or courteous. When we asked if we could ride in the street instead, Ken said it was unsafe, but this was not my experience with a bike tour I took earlier in the week. On that day (a weekday, rather than this Sunday), we rode a lot in the streets and had no issues. Finally, Ken led us through some VERY congested pedestrian areas and rather than ride in the street, we had to get off of our bikes and walk, which is certainly not what I was expecting on a bike tour.
Overall, the tour was poorly organized and executed and not at all what was advertised. This is all too bad, because I was very excited about it and Ken seems like a nice guy. We gave him some feedback in person (even though he didn’t ask for it), saying that we expected to sample various foods and learn about them. His explanation was that morning is not a good time to eat and that if we ate large bowls of ramen, we would be too full to cycle. Strange, especially considering that he never, before or during the tour, mentioned that we would not be eating or not be learning about Japanese food.
I really cannot recommend this tour and I have to actually advise people against taking it because I feel like I wasted my money.
“Tokyo Bicycle Tour with Foods: This tour will be 6 hours tour on a bicycle ride to visit varied locations, of course, including very unique food shops and sightseeing spots. Since this tour is done with a bicycle ride, you can feel and experience many difference aspects of Tokyo along with delicious foods. Regarding this tour, please let us know what aspect you are more interested in between visiting more places or having more foods as people have different expectations.”
I have taken bicycle tours and culinary tours in several different cities around the world and this is the only one that has failed to meet my expectations and, in fact, severely disappointed me.
A week before arriving in Tokyo, I emailed and Ken was very responsive to my requests and questions and so my friend and I booked a tour for a Saturday. A few days beforehand, Ken emailed to say that it would be raining on Saturday and therefore he would need to cancel the tour. We asked if we could take the tour on Sunday instead and Ken agreed to a morning-only tour, from 9 am – 12:30 pm, for a reduced price.
Ken met us promptly at the designated spot and, as we waited for another two people to show up, we chatted amiably about our visit to Tokyo and I mentioned how I was excited for this bike tour because I wanted to learn more about Japanese cuisine.
To make a long story short, this ended up just being a 3-hour bike ride with no defined aim, and no cultural, historic or food-related information. The only time that we got any information was when we asked some very specific question about what we were seeing (this differs drastically from another, very good bike tour that I took in Tokyo during the same trip). I thought that maybe I had misunderstood and that, when we rescheduled, I somehow missed the message that this was no longer a foods tour. However, the other couple that joined us said that they talked to Ken, he said it was a foods tour and they were expecting to visit various places and sample foods as well. Not only did we never sample any foods, Ken did not explain a single thing about Japanese cuisine. When we were walking our bikes through the stalls near the fish market, I asked some questions about what certain foods were, and he couldn’t answer my questions.
In addition, Ken just doesn’t seem experienced as a bike tour operator. He zoomed through a couple of lights that were turning, leaving some of us behind, and not looking back to check for at least half a block. There was no safety briefing at the beginning and most of our cycling time was spent on the sidewalks, dodging people, which just doesn’t seem safe or courteous. When we asked if we could ride in the street instead, Ken said it was unsafe, but this was not my experience with a bike tour I took earlier in the week. On that day (a weekday, rather than this Sunday), we rode a lot in the streets and had no issues. Finally, Ken led us through some VERY congested pedestrian areas and rather than ride in the street, we had to get off of our bikes and walk, which is certainly not what I was expecting on a bike tour.
Overall, the tour was poorly organized and executed and not at all what was advertised. This is all too bad, because I was very excited about it and Ken seems like a nice guy. We gave him some feedback in person (even though he didn’t ask for it), saying that we expected to sample various foods and learn about them. His explanation was that morning is not a good time to eat and that if we ate large bowls of ramen, we would be too full to cycle. Strange, especially considering that he never, before or during the tour, mentioned that we would not be eating or not be learning about Japanese food.
I really cannot recommend this tour and I have to actually advise people against taking it because I feel like I wasted my money.
Written April 5, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
illinoisjack
Chicago,Il7 contributions
Aug 2018
This company no longer exists but takes money through their payment system anyway. Two years ago I had a fantastic tour with IKO and loved it so much I decided to book again. She was no longer there but I booked anyway figuring all the guides would be good. I booked and paid for the Tsukiji tour and izakaya tours and was promptly issued a receipt with promises of more info to follow. I am in Tokyo now and cannot get in touch with them. I tried email, phone and Instagram. Nothing. I even asked our concierge to try and he got nothing . I’m here in Tokyo trying to figure out what do!
I want my money back!!!
I want my money back!!!
Written August 14, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lucy c
Adelaide35 contributions
Sep 2017 • Couples
My husband and I booked this tour months in advance; looking forward to seeing Japan's world's famous fish market. We had only 2 days in Tokyo and this was a highlight we had prioritized. It was therefore hugely disappointing to arrive with Amy at the market and be told it was closed! Apparently it was a public holiday!! We couldn't believe that the tour operators had overlooked this but we didn't want to embarrass Amy for the (massive) oversight and were convinced that at any moment, Amy would offer us a full refund. It didn't happen. Instead, we suggested we walk around a couple of streets adjacent the market while we waited for the sushi restaurant to open.
It was a condition of the fish market tour that we pay for our own lunch and also our guide's lunch. That was entirely reasonable if we had in fact been on the 2 hour market tour, but instead, after passing time looking at the stalls, we ate a great sushi meal and paid for our guide's great meal too!! Amy was a friendly young woman to chat to but we paid in excess of $200 for a tour that didn't happen.
It was a condition of the fish market tour that we pay for our own lunch and also our guide's lunch. That was entirely reasonable if we had in fact been on the 2 hour market tour, but instead, after passing time looking at the stalls, we ate a great sushi meal and paid for our guide's great meal too!! Amy was a friendly young woman to chat to but we paid in excess of $200 for a tour that didn't happen.
Written October 2, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review. It was totally our guide's mistake so that she didn't notice a national holiday before your tour. We would like to express our deep regret for our guide's mistake the other day and apologize for her action. It was inappropriate and lacked the professionalism that you expect from our guide. We would like to refund your guiding fee of $200 and her sushi cost to your paypal account.
We are embarrassed for our mistake and will ensure that similar mistakes will not occur later in the future.
We deeply apologize for our guide's mistake again.
Thank you.
Food Tours Tokyo
Written October 12, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
jbk100
Los Angeles, CA4 contributions
Mar 2015 • Friends
Excellent personalized tour for just my friend and I and our guide who was personable and knowledgeable. We experienced places and foods that would be difficult, if not impossible, for non Japanese speakers to discover. Food was delicious but I walked away from the tour with more than just a happy stomach. I think the best part of the experience was getting to chat with our guide, Gen-san, for a few hours and getting a little glimpse of the life and perspective of a Tokyo resident. Plus he went out of his way to give us recommendations and directions for other activities on our stay. Highly recommended.
Written March 22, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chris H
Perth, WA3 contributions
Sep 2012 • Couples
We had a great time with Ken, we spent an evening sampling 5 different styles of restaurants in Tokyo. Ken was a great host and a great introduction to Tokyo. Definitely recommend it.
Written October 1, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NolanCalifornia
California3 contributions
Sep 2012 • Friends
I'm glad to have Ken as our guide to navigate through Tokyo's food scene. He took us to the Shinjuku area and we tried street style Soba, red bean pastry, grilled squid and squid sashimi, and tempura. Everything was delicious that I would not have or able to try otherwise. Ken is very friendly and knowledgable. I would not hesitate to do it again.
Written September 27, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Charlie B
Seattle, WA12 contributions
Feb 2017 • Couples
My wife and I took the Walk and Taste Tsukiji Fish Market Morning Tour today and the experience beat our best expectations. Amy was knowledgeable, calm, and super nice as she showed us around the front and back of the market and the sushi meal she arranged was the best we've ever had. I highly recommend Food Tours Tokyo to couples, business travelers, and families alike; you will not be disappointed.
Written February 23, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Myvegas V
1 contribution
Hello, does this company still exist? I have emailed three addresses and have no response and called during daytime Japan hours and there is no way to leave a voicemail. I regret paying for my tour ahead of time as I have no contact information or meeting place.
bradleyann
Philadelphia, PA
Hi. I have a confirmed reservation but have been unable to reach this company after 3 attempts to 3 different contact numbers. I have no idea how/where to meet the group. I'm scheduled for May 29th.”
ellielovesdisney
Atlanta, GA1 contribution
How did you contact them? I have a tour scheduled in Early June and also cannot contact them. Thanks!
TheBs
Washington, DC371 contributions
Does anyone know the email address for Food Tours Tokyo? I have questions to ask and the contact page is not wqell set up to ask the questions.
I do find it strange that there is no email address on the web site.
Thanks/Nick
suigenk
Tokyo, Japan1 contribution
Thank you for your question. I am Gen, working for Food Tours Tokyo as a manager. If you have any questions, please contact us from following.
suigen.k"At" gmail
Thank you and best regards,
Gen
