A night Foodie tour through Kyoto!

After a nice long day walking all over Kyoto, we figured we might as well keep things rolling with an evening strolling through Kyoto and trying different foods! We’ve done these tours before in Rome, one we absolutely loved, and the other was really good but not quite on the same level. Based on the food we’d already have - not sure we’ve had a bad meal, though the Okonomiyaki was interesting and maybe not my favorite, it wasn’t bad. Some things just take a little getting used to.

We met our guide near Nishiki market, and there was one other couple with on the tour, from Portland Oregon - Hey Jordan and Louis 👋🏻. Our guide was a little Japanese lady who was very friendly and talkative. She walked us through tiny corridors where Denise was praying Liam Neeson was ready to find us if we were “Taken”!

Our first stop was a neat little restaurant tucked away, like a lot of them are, down a little side alley. A traditional restaurant, we took off our shoes a the entrance and made our way up a little staircase to an upstairs room. Normally we would have sat on the floor, but fortunately for Denise and I (Not sure we could’ve gotten down and back up again!), they’ve upgraded to table and chairs. But I’ll be clear, like a lot of things here, these tables and chairs were not really made for people over 6 feet!

Sometimes on these tours, you are only offered small bites or trials. Not here, we got a full 4 course menu! Appetizer’s, sushi and a main meal along with a drink! Even more exciting, since it is winter and they tend to serve in season meals - we got to try Puffer Fish. In the states there aren’t many chef’s with the skills to handle puffer fish as it can be very deadly… 😳, but in Japan, it’s a bit of a delicacy. Of course, the guide also said, she had not had them serve this on her tours before, so she was a bit surprised! I must admit, all I could think about the whole time was the Homer episode where the assistant sushi chef served Homer Puffer fish and the main chef came in and was like, you messed up, he’s going to die!!! (SPOILER ALERT: I’m writing this and it’s two days later, so I made it Mom!)

Our next stop has a bunch of pork and veggie skewers as well as an option for a 6 course saki tasting - Yes Please! I really wish I had Denise’s pallet as I could really appreciate the differences in the Saki like she could, but I enjoyed them all just the same. Again, the food was yummy and plentiful - all you could eat! We were not going to be hungry after this tour!

The last stop was a dessert stop and a little Matcha Ice Cream - not nearly as spinachy (not a word, I know Dad, but it captures the thought 😝) as the tea, and the little biscuit was delightful. I got a nice cup of hot tea to accompany it, and with that, another beautiful stroll down the old town streets and I was ready for bed!!!Read more