Overview
6 hours
Mobile ticket
The food tour of Tokyo — the world’s biggest city, and perhaps its most delicious — explores the exquisite culinary heritage of a single neighborhood, Kichijoji, sampling our way through old school yakitori joints, gleaming department stores, avant grade taverns, hopping street food stands and much more.
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Specialized infant seats are available
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
What To Expect
Kichijoji
Our food tour of Tokyo — the world’s biggest city, and perhaps its most delicious — explores the exquisite culinary heritage of a single neighborhood, Kichijoji, sampling our way through old school yakitori joints, gleaming department stores, avant grade taverns, hopping street food stands and much more.
Inokashira Onshi Park
Our food tour in Tokyo neighborhood begins at a depachika to experience one of Tokyo’s incredible department store food halls, where food pays tribute to both tradition and the newest trends. Making our way past highly prized pickles, fruit fit for a king and the aisle of Japanese junk food, we arrive at the sushi bar of choice among locals. Along Kichijoji’s bustling shotengai shopping street, we’ll rub elbows with locals as they shop for daily needs, learning about the basics of Japanese cuisine and tasting some of them, such as skewers of yakitori and octopus balls prepared and served street-side. We’ll meet three generations of a family of artisanal senbei makers working side by side in their tiny shop and atelier and, further down the road, we’ll visit a restaurant dedicated entirely to miso. We’ll sample unusual food rarely served outside Japan, such as sake infused with the fin of fugu, the famous puffer fish, plus expertly-crafted old standbys like tea and sweets.
Options
2026 Small Town in the Big City: Tasting Tokyo’s Kichijoji
What‘s Included
Alcoholic Beverages
Snacks
Lunch
Coffee and/or Tea
Meals
Private transportation
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
32 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
What a great experience!
arielh549,Jun 8, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our guide Elly was great! Despite the rain we had a wonderful time learning about the area and trying many different delicious bites. Our 11 year old also enjoyed it - it was very mature-kid friendly. Definitely recommend.
Lots of fun
P712HHmarym,Jun 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour was excellent and well worth almost 200.00. We visited many restaurants and food shops in Tokyo, which I would never have found without our guide. Highlights were a visit to a senbei (rice cracker) shop where we saw how they grill the crackers and sampled a variety with the 94 year old proprietress and her daughter. We also learned about varieties of miso from a chef and enjoyed several miso dishes, including miso cheesecake. We visited the original 551 Horai shop and ate pork dumplings, and at another shop we had Wagyu beef fried meatballs which were delicious. Other foods sampled included Japanese fruits, including loquats, sushi, Japanese snacks, puffer fish, fermented cucumbers, Japanese bar food, and matcha. The walking was level and easy, and we enjoyed our guide’s stories about the places we visited.
A must do food tour
N6106GBmarys,Jun 2, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had an amazing time on our tour. Ken was our tour guide- we did this tour on the last day of our 2 week trip to Japan. Ken's knowledge of all the food, the neighborhood and of Japn were outstanding. The food was remarkable. This is our second experience with culinary backstreets- and both experiences have been the best tours we have been on. Also the neighborhood of Kichijoji felt like hidden gem
10/10
raymondz499,May 27, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Incredible tour and one of the highlights of our trip. A great combination of education, eating great food, exploring an awesome neighborhood we likely would not have gone to otherwise, and meeting real locals. Special shout out to our guide Mairi!
Brilliant introduction to Kichijoji
ericaw477,May 23, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a brilliant time on this tour with Ken! He's built amazing connections with all the artisans, restaurants and shops on the tour and this comes through in the walk.
Highly recommend. Excellent way to start our Japanese trip by tasting such a variety of great food. Booking another one!
Yvonne P,May 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Wonderful tour with Ken who explained so much about the food and also Japanese culture. Visited many different places & had such amazing food. Also loved meeting some of the local people producing what we were sampling & seeing their passion for their products, especially Mr Miso!
Highlight of my trip!
E8092UZabbyc,May 14, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Michelle was an amazing tour guide and gave our group such great insight into the culture and food scene of Kichijoji. We got to try so many different types of food that we otherwise would not have even thought to try. This tour was such a fun way to get to know more about the less touristy aspects of Japan, and I especially appreciated getting to learn more about the small mom and pop shops that Michelle brought us to. She was so knowledgeable and kind and definitely a highlight of my trip!
an amazing way to get to know tokyo
rachel m,Apr 29, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00this tour has been a MAJOR highlight of our trip to Japan. our guide Michelle has lived in Japan for 20 years, and was not only knowledgeable about the food, but also history, culture, and the people we visited on the tour. on top of that, Michele was SO fun to be with, in that magic way that makes tours magical. highlights included a few stops where we met shop owners with a deep history in food - a 4th generation rice cracker shop, and a miso store. we’d never have found this on our own, or understood the history so well. great value for the price. I especially recommend early in your trip to help you orient.
Perfect tour with Kelly, we HIGHLY recommend it!
ClotildeT 12,Apr 18, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a fantastic experience with Kelly. This is the third time we’ve booked a tour with Culinary Backstreets (the previous ones were in San José, Puerto Rico, and Oaxaca, Mexico), and once again we were thrilled with the quality of the experience. First, the tour is perfectly designed—the Tokyo neighborhood, the length, the number of stops, and the variety of foods are all just right. The quality of the food is top-notch, and so is the warm welcome we received at each stop. It is also absolutely worth the price. Finally, Kelly is an excellent guide, and we want to emphasize this: in a day and age when there is a plethora of guided tour options everywhere, Culinary Backstreets hires guides who are truly professional and highly trained. Kelly is no exception—in fact, she is outstanding: extremely knowledgeable, very friendly, and incredibly generous with her time. We learned not only about the food we were eating, but also about Japanese history, Tokyo culture, and broader social topics. It was simply the perfect tour.
Delicious food, interesting tour!
Jessica F,Apr 12, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a terrific tour with Michelle! All the food was delicious, interesting and varied. Michelle explained everything about the food and also provided relevant and interesting info about Japan. Highly recommended!
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