Arigato Travel / Arigato Japan Food Tours

Outstanding, Personalized Experience with Arigato Travel! My husband, friend and I had an absolutely amazing trip to Tokyo thanks to Arigato Travel! Every detail was thoughtfully curated just for us, and the entire experience was truly special. Arigato Travel arranged unique activities that we never would have thought to do on our own. In addition to the incredible food tours, highlights included a serene and authentic Japanese tea ceremony, a hands-on traditional paper-making craft session, and TeamLabs immersive art museum, where art morphed before our eyes! Arigato’s special talent for food tours gave us a “taste” of authentic Japanese cuisine while learning about the history and culture in a fun way. Tours were tailored for our food preferences and allergies. A private food tour through the alleys and hidden gems of Tokyo with our extremely-knowledgeable tour guide Anne was amazing! We enjoyed so much delicious food and more while seeing tiny restaurants and historical areas we never would have found on our own! Another tour had us exploring the delicious local flavors and charm of Old Town Yanaka. We also spent a full day on a guided visit to the Nikko Shrine, where the natural beauty was unforgettable and we experienced a traditional Japanese meal seated on the floor with delicious sakei, plum wine and Yuba (tofu skin prepared various ways). Our guides Hannah and Wesley were native English speakers and incredibly knowledgeable about Japanese history and culture. Their warmth and passion made every experience richer and more meaningful. Hard to believe we were only there for 4 days? We can’t recommend Arigato Travel enough for anyone looking to go beyond the typical tourist path and experience Japan in a deeper, more personal way!

We had an amazing tour of old Kyoto. Our guide Yoshiko is very knowledgeable and a Japanese native from the southern island. Unfortunately due to golden week some places were closed but she found a great alternative with terrace seating overlooking the river at sunset. The food was spectacular and authentic. If you're vegan I don't recommend this tour. You just don't get the full experience of the dishes but still a lot of good historical information and suggestions for things to see on your own time.

We did the Kyoto Casual Pontocho Evening Food Tour, and my friends and I had a great evening! Our guide, Hiro, was amazing! We had a great time getting to know him and he told us lots of interesting things about the area and food. We also got some great recommendations on where to buy a yukata and matcha tea. It was a rainy day, but that did not matter at all. We walked a bit around the area and visited a couple of restaurants. Hiro ordered some very delicious dishes and recommended some very tasty sake. Overall an amazing evening and definitely recommend this food tour and Hiro!

The guided tour on Uji was really enjoyable and informative. Led by tour guide Sanae from Arigato Travel we had a wonderful tour of this beautiful town on a picture perfect day! There was a lot to see, learn and admire as Sanae expertly guided us around gardens, shrines, temples including Byodoin and we had a matcha learning session plus a delightful matcha and hojicha ice cream treat to round off the tour. Loved every aspect of this tour as Sanae is a fantastic guide! Domo arigato Sanae!

Cocktail and Whisky Walking Tour in Shimbashi Our tour guide Shigeki was an amazing guy!!! My wife and I are locals so we know a lot about Tokyo, but we were on the tour with friends from Australia and Shigeki was really able to give us an excellent experience with lots of information about the food, cocktails and local area. The bars that he took us to were honestly outstanding - Japanese cocktail bar and the Sherlock Holmes bar were the highlights I think. Each one was a little different from the last with its own specific focus Definitely recommend this tour and other tours from this provider!! Thank you, Arigato Japan!!

Fun and interesting breakfast tour of Tsukiji fish market! Our guide, Shigeki-san, was knowledgeable and shared insights into local customs and culture - it was great to have an insider lead us through the sensory overload of the market! He was sensitive to our interests and my mom's physical limits and moved at the perfect pace while we paused often to look at the beautiful seafood. Our first food stop was in a booth tucked away in an alley, where we learned chopstick etiquette and other table manners over rice, miso soup, and broiled black cod. We wound through the stalls collecting specialties here and there, including tamagoyaki and tako senbei cracker made to order. At the end, Shigeki prepared a "picnic" in the rooftop food court, presenting all our pickings from the market for tasting. Favorites were the otoro slices, bonito tataki, and plump oysters, and we even survived a sample of fugu!(IYKYK) Shigeki ground fresh wasabi at the table - the real deal - and even peeled raw shrimp for us on the spot. It's too bad we didn't have this tour as an introduction to our time in Japan, but it was definitely a grand finale to our vacation!

Great tour of Tsujiki Market. We started at a nearby Buddhist temple and then walked all over the market buying food samples for the lunch which capped off the tour. Very fun and educational with the expert help of our tour guide, Shigeki. There’s so much to see - highly recommend the sake flight and sampling different types of fresh fish and seafood!

I would have no hesitation to book any tour arranged by Arigato based on the 15 total half and full day tours they included in our 3-week Japan trip arranged by them. All were excellent. Our trip covered Osaka, Kyoto, Saijo, Nara, Toba, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kurokawa Onsen / Kumamoto surrounds, Fukuoka and surrounds, and a day in Tokyo as we were leaving. The experiences covered a wide range from street food tours & in-home cooking classes, to dining with AMA divers & seeing seaweed harvesting, to all-day country-side scenic tours, to a skybox lunch and visit to a “battleship” island, to learning about Zen gardens & philosophies. And more! We learned about Japanese cultural and practices from guides there were born in Japan and from the perspective of non-Japanese who had moved there. All were excellent thanks to these wonderful hosts and guides. I would have no hesitation booking any tour or experience arranged by Arigato Travel. From Arigato: KEVIN (Absolute Osaka Food Tour & Kyoto Nishiki Market Food Tour); AKIKO (Guided Day to Nara); SEBASTIAN (Osaka Shinsekai Street Food Daytime Tour); SANAE (Arishiyama Half-Day Guided Tour); RYAN (Saijo - Sake Town Tour); AMI (Guided Day to Miyajima Island); SANDRA (Tokyo Asakusa Twilight Tour). And to those from Arigato’s contacts and freelancers: ANDREW (Zen Mind, Zen Garden Tour - Kyoto); YOKO (Osaka-Style Okonomiyaki Cooking Course); MOE (Guided Day in Nagasaki including “Battleship” Island & Mt. Inasa Nighttime), MAI (Guided Day in Kumamoto); JEAN/CRYSTAL (Guided Day in Fukuoka); KIYOMI (1/2 Day AMA Village Tour - near Toba); and TSUNE (1/2 Day Fisherman Island - near Toba). And a very special thanks to Karina and her team for her wonderful itinerary and patience working with me in setting up this fabulous trip,

The next installment in Shana stand in series. A food tour!! Earlier this month, I took a trip to Japan with my adult nonbinary child, Meredith. We spent a week in country, with that time split between Tokyo (4 days) and Kyoto (3 days). While we were in Tokyo, we took what was billed as a Kawaii Food Tour of the ultra-cool Harajuku neighborhood. Our tour was led by Michie, one of Arigato Travel's senior guides. Our trip to Japan was a lifelong dream, and this tour was definitely a highlight of the trip! Meredith and I are foodies with adventurous palettes and a love for all things kawaii, and this tour more than delivered. The tour began and ended with dessert stops (see pics) but by no means was this just a nonstop sweets fest. I was surprised and delighted to find that a proper lunch was also on the itinerary: savory and quite healthy Osaka pancakes! I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant where we lunched because it was itself a very cute place, with walls adorned with unique murals. Michie mentioned the owners are either themselves artists or maybe just art aficionados who invite local artists to redo the walls on a monthly basis. How cool is that? Harajuku is just amazing! Additionally, we took a stop to a fun local sticker shop called B Side Labels, which we immediately fell in love with. We each got a sticker souvenir as part of the tour!  I want to be sure to take a moment to praise Michie as a guide and a professional. She was charming, knowledgeable, and kept the tour moving at a swift but manageable pace. Meredith and I were not the only people on the tour. With us were an Australian grandmother and her young granddaughter, so Michie had 4 people of quite varying ages to entertain and guide, and she handled it all very, very well. And in the rain, to boot!  If you are ever in Tokyo I highly recommend this tour! Arigato Food Tours, of Arigato Travel Japan.

Arigato Japan Food Tours is HIGHLY Recommended! The fun, casual atmosphere provided by Yuko S. was fantastic! If you want to see a good combination between the "touristy" thing and the "secret good stuff", you should absolutely do at least one of these tours! Side note: There are also tours that are Accessible, so those in wheelchairs can also participate! (Be sure to contact Arigato first to see which ones)

Cannot recommend this service enough. My wife and I used Arigato Travel for a food tour in Osaka. Our guide's name was Akiko and she made the entire time so much fun. Being local to Osaka, she knew all the history and inside information about the city and it made it muc more enjoyable having someone with so mucn pride for their city giving us a tour of the sites and the foods. The variety of food that was offered throughout the food tour was awesome and very different from each other and by the end, we definitely ate until we were ready to drop. It was such a friendly and awesome day and we would do it again! Thank you Akiko!!

Our family literally just left Yuki after an amazing time together and I wanted to say how awesome she is and what a wonderful tour this was throughout Shibuya. We LOVED her and couldn't have been happier with what we ate, saw and talked about. She is excellent and what a wonderful person!!

We did the walking food tour. It started in Shibuya. Our guide was Tim, Tim was awesome. Tim was from Canada, but has lived in Japan for 6+ years. The best part of the tour was Tim's knowledge of Japanese culture. Tim explained a ton of the small details, that helped us the rest of the trip. The tour was fun, there were 8 of us and Tim made 9. We had sushi at one stop. We made a Japanese savory pancake at another stop, Kobe beef skewer was another stop followed by octopus balls. They were pieces of octopus in a batter, they had a crunchy exterior and gooey in the center. Those were my favorite. We ended with a pastry that had different fillings. I had the white bean, it was good. The tour was just the right amount of food and walking. We had a great time.

As a well seasoned world traveler, I have experienced hundreds of tours, but none can compare with Arigato Japan Food Tours. The opportunity to experience Japanese culture and the history behind their delicacies from a local guide, added incredible depth to our trip. We took several of their tours along our journey throughout Japan, and these tours were truly one of the most superior highlights of our vacation! Arigato caters to everyone, including those of us with gourmet pallets, such as my own. I cannot recommend this company enough. I have huge respect for Arigato Japan's local tour guides, who consistently went far above and beyond to share their personal love and excitement for food, Japanese culture, and interesting historical facts! We learned so much, and we ate a ton of deliciousness! Restaurant owners personally catered to us, which added an even higher level of entertainment, and our guides were also very flexible if we saw some interesting street food along the way that we wanted to dip into! Japan has the most delicious and interesting food options ever! I HIGHLY recommend Arigato Japan for your food tours in several different Japanese cities. I love the cultural depth they added to our Japan vacation, which we would not have experienced otherwise. Also, a truly heartfelt thank you to Anne Kyle, CEO of Arigato Food Tours, Japan. Your tour guides spoke very highly of your passion and dedication to ensure that each of your customers experience a tour of a lifetime, which we did!

WOW! What an amazing experience. I went on the All Star Food Tour. The food quality was top notch. The atmosphere of each stop along the way was great. The staff was extremely knowledgeable on the history of Japan and how that is intertwined with the culture and food. Satoshi was my tour guide. He was amazing! He shared so much information with us about the culture and food. My original contact with Arigato Japan Food Tour was with Lauren Shannon. She was quick to respond with tour information and made the entire experience easy! Mahalo Lauren! I will be taking another tour on my next trip to Tokyo. Well done Arigato.

I enjoyed my food tour with Arigato Japan Food Tours when I visited Tokyo. The staff was friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. I enjoyed how much I learned about the history of Japan itself not only just the food. When I return I will be taking another tour! Mahalo to Lauren!!

Truly the best food tour I have ever been on! I have no complaints. From the start everything ran smooth. The guide was exciting, polite, and informative. Not only did I learn about the restaurants we stopped at but also the food, culture, and traditions of Japan. I left the tour completely stuffed with new knowledge and food. I now recommend this tour to all of my friends heading to Japan.

I had a great time on the All star Food Tour. Our guide was very informative and had a great personality. The food was delicious at each spot. I will be booking another trip when I come back in the spring. Well done arigato!!!!!

I came here with a friend to learn how to make sushi! It was something I've always wanted to do and it was an incredible experience. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and it was very very enjoyable. We made different kinds of sushi and decorated it and had a blast. It was the best decision ever to try it out- I'll remember it forever (:

We took the Walking Food Tour of Shibuya at Night and our guide was Aiko. Aiko met us on time and even provided us with hand warmers since it was a cold day. She was the best guide we've had in Tokyo. Not only did she took us to places to taste authentic Japanese food, she took time to explain Japanese culture and along the way, she even showed us around places with interesting facts and relevance to Japanese history and culture. The places where she took us to taste these food served one of the best that you'd be able to try in Japan from the sushi to the Kobe skewers to the dessert. You'll get more than your money's worth with Arigato Tours and especially with Aiko as your guide. She was quite courteous and friendly and spoke impeccable English. Aiko even went out of her way after the tour to guide and assist us to the subway station into our next destination.

My husband and I did the Shibuya Walking Food yesterday. Our host Asami and Asha were fantastic. We not only had great local food testing we also learn a lot about the Japanese table etiquette. Great tour, highly recommended. Thanks you, Asami and Asha!

On our first day in Tokyo we went on a walking food tour booked by our tour company. The tour was 3 hours of walking through a cluster of restaurants and souvenir shops. Our guide had no knowledge of local customs or the history of the area. We had a cheap lunch and some ice cream afterwards. Terrible tour, avoid at all times. Worst experience in Tokyo

Asami was a wonderful guide who took us to several interesting and "out of the way" places to sample a variety of food and drinks on the Retro Shibuya Food Tour. She was extremely accommodating and a great communicator as she spent over 10 years in the U.S. I would highly recommend this tour.

Japan has awesome food, there is no doubt about it. I have been there several times before but this is the first time my husband went and so we took a food tour. In fact, we took three! One in Tokyo, one in Kyoto and another in Osaka. THESE ARE SO WORTH IT! Not only do you learn about the many food places but you learn about the culture as well. This education is invaluable. There are so many tiny places tucked away in alleys in Japan that you would never think to go in. However, with a knowledgable guide like you get with Arigato Food Tours, you get to discover them. They teach you how to order; Japanese history; why areas have certain types of food as opposed to other areas and more! They even navigate markets with you! I ate things I never would have tried on my own. As my skillful guide said, "Close your eyes and take a bite. You won't regret it!" We certainly didn't. I lived in Japan for almost a year and never got to know as much as I did from these tours!

We took two food tours with this company while in Japan. The Uji matcha tour near Kyoto and the kawaii tour in Tokyo. I highly recommend this option for families as a great way to learn a bit about the food,culture, and customs of Japan, and enjoy a new city. Our tour guides were fabulous and the ease of booking the tour makes this a definite hit with our family of four.