WORLDWIDE CULTURAL AND CULINARY VACATIONS
Home | Contact Us
Edible Destinations Logo
Edible Destinations Logo
GiftssGifts and Gift Cards
1-800-390-3292
Mon-Fri:9AM - 6PM EST
Closed Saturday & Sunday

Tastes of Kyoto Cultural & Culinary Adventure

« »
Priced From
$4,298 USD *
(For One Person, Double Occupancy)
* Plus taxes. Tours sold on an availability basis.
7 days | 6 nights

Cultural & Culinary Immersion
in the Land of Temples & Shrines

Kyoto is an exceptional destination for those who truly want to discover authentic Japanese cultures. Museums, shrines and temples, cuisine, theater and shopping all merge at your doorstep to offer a seemingly endless choice of diversions. From your centrally located hotel, you will find famous sites such as the Fushimi Inari Jinja Shrine, the Kiyomizu Temple, and Nijo-jo Castle are only a short walk away. Your home for this week is also strategically positioned to take full advantage of the professional kitchens where you will cook during your stay. Led by an expert chef, you will be exposed to a variety of culinary and cultural highlights designed to fully immerse you into the Japanese way of life. During your stay in Kyoto, you will have the opportunity to visit some of the City’s most beautiful and famous sites, such as the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and the Rushimilnari Taisha Shrine. Walking through the Arashiyama Bamboo grove is like entering another world, with thick green bamboo stalks weaving around you endlessly in every direction. Likewise in another part of the city, the Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine is an unending path of 5000 vibrant orange Tori gates that wind through the hills.
Itinerary Accommodations Map FAQ
VACATION HIGHLIGHTS
Please note: Tour inclusions can change depending upon seasonality and weather conditions.
6 Nights 4 Star Accommodations
Daily Breakfast Buffet
Multi-Course Kabbo Welcome Dinner
Bento Box Cooking Class
Sushi Cooking Class
Soba & Udon Cooking Class
Guided Tour of Soy Factory
Guided Sake Brewery Tour
Visit to Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine
Visit to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
Tea Plantation & Orchard Tour
Traditional Tea Ceremony
Kappo Style Cooking Class
Multi-Course Farewell Dinner
While our tours are designed as soft adventure experiences, walking, climbing stairs, and in rare cases mild hiking may be required. If you have mobility issues, you should speak with one of our culinary travel specialists to determine if this tour is appropriate for your situation.
AVAILABLE DATES
Sunday - Saturday throughout the year. Certain blackout dates apply.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
Please note: Actual itineraries are subject to change due to seasonality.
Click arrows () to show details
Day 1
Traditional Kappo Welcome Dinner
After checking into your hotel in the heart of Kyoto, you’ll want to set aside a little time for exploration. This evening you will be presented with a traditional Kappo, multi-course dinner that is sure to excite the senses. Kappo-style dining is very popular in Japan, and consists of sitting at a counter in front of the chef as you dine on select dishes prepared especially for you.
Day 2
Morning Breakfast Buffet
Each morning, relax and enjoy breakfast with breathtaking city and mountain views. Restaurant Otowa offers a Kyoto-style breakfast buffet called “obanzai”. Breakfast is included in your tour.
Visit to Fushimi Inari-Taisha | Hands-on Bento Cooking Class
After a delicious buffet breakfast, you’ll head off to see the famous Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine. This captivating shrine was dedicated to the god of rice and sake by the Hata clan in the 8th century. After you have absorbed a healthy dose of history, you’re off to enjoy your first cooking class. This lesson will begin with master chefs explaining Japanese-style seasoning, and offering a demonstration of various Japanese cooking techniques. You will cook several bento specialties, such as miso soup, tempura vegetables, egg rolls, pickled vegetables, and fish…all using seasonal ingredients. At the conclusion of your instruction, you will sit down with your chef and fellow students to dine on your creations.
Day 3
Morning Breakfast Buffet
Each morning, relax and enjoy breakfast with breathtaking city and mountain views. Restaurant Otowa offers a Kyoto-style breakfast buffet called “obanzai”. Breakfast is included in your tour.
Soy Factory Visit | Sushi Cooking Class
Today you’re in for a real treat as you enjoy a guided visit to a traditional soy processing plant, where you will see how the Japanese staples of soy sauce, miso (fermented soy bean paste) and tofu are made. Soy products are the heart and soul of the nation’s food…and one never tires of it. Soy is to Japan what Parmesan cheese is to Italy. After your morning factory tour, you will return to your private kitchen for a hands-on sushi course with your private chef. Here you will learn about the vigorous training and pain that sushi chefs must go through in order to reach the much sought-after Michelin Star. You will learn how to perfectly cut the fish, season the rice, and create sushi, nigari and sashimi.
Day 4
Morning Breakfast Buffet
Each morning, relax and enjoy breakfast with breathtaking city and mountain views. Restaurant Otowa offers a Kyoto-style breakfast buffet called “obanzai”. Breakfast is included in your tour.
Soba & Udon Cooking Class | Sake Brewery Tour
Did you know that noodles originated from the Eastern Countries of Japan and China before being brought over to Italy and transformed into what we know as “pasta” today? In your hands-on cooking class you will learn about the origin of each variety of noodle, and what it has come to represent in Eastern culture. You will learn how to make the perfect Ramen broth (known as dashi) which is the staple to all Japanese cooking. From there you will learn how to cook the meats and eggs to handcraft a variety of noodles. After your instruction, you will sit across from your hosts, dining on delicious Ramen, and learning more about the culture of the Japanese people. In the afternoon you will spend time investigating a local Sake Brewery, and learn about how this famous Japanese alcoholic beverage is produced.
Day 5
Morning Breakfast Buffet
Each morning, relax and enjoy breakfast with breathtaking city and mountain views. Restaurant Otowa offers a Kyoto-style breakfast buffet called “obanzai”. Breakfast is included in your tour.
Tea Plantation & Orchard Visit | Traditional Tea Ceremony
Uji is the second-biggest tea-growing region in Japan. Since the fourteenth century when China brought over seeds to play, the area’s tea leaves have supplied Kyoto’s Tea Culture. You will have the opportunity to visit Uji’s tea fields and tea-processing factories, learning the history, culture, and taste behind the nation’s most popular drink. During the “picking” season you may even have the chance to lend a hand in the harvesting of the tea leaves and fruits in the surrounding orchards. In the afternoon experience a traditional Tea Ceremony, encompassing more than 400 years of history in a traditional, Japanese Tea Room. From March-April you will have the opportunity to enjoy and photograph the beautiful Cherry Blossoms in the fields all around you.
Day 6
Morning Breakfast Buffet
Each morning, relax and enjoy breakfast with breathtaking city and mountain views. Restaurant Otowa offers a Kyoto-style breakfast buffet called “obanzai”. Breakfast is included in your tour.
Kappo Style Cooking Class | Traditional Multi-Course Farewell Dinner
Kappo cooking began in Osaka in the 19th century. Merchants and laborers felt more at ease in a casual setting in which they were standing or sitting near the chef, as opposed to the formal, aristocratic method of dining where diners are fed in a room clad in grandeur and served by kimono-wearing waitresses. Times have changed, and things are a bit different now. Upscale kappo-style restaurants exist all over Japan, and in cities like New York and Bangkok. Today you will learn how to make five to six kappo-style dishes, as your master chefs instruct you in the art of this unique Japanese style of cooking.
Day 7
Morning Breakfast Buffet
Each morning, relax and enjoy breakfast with breathtaking city and mountain views. Restaurant Otowa offers a Kyoto-style breakfast buffet called “obanzai”. Breakfast is included in your tour.
Check-Out and Departure
Time flies when you're having so much fun, but alas…it is time to check out and depart this delicious, Asian paradise. Remember, you can always extend your stay based on availability. Should you desire an extension, please let your culinary travel specialist know prior to your journey abroad. May your future travels come from sweet dreams, and create tasty memories!
Kyoto, Japan
Winner
OUTSTANDING
CULINARY TRAVEL
Category
Member of ASTA Member of ATTA Member of GSTC