Tokyo Night Food Tour
TOKYO FOOD TOUR FOR THE CULTURALLY CURIOUS
Join a lively, local Tokyo evening tour to sites most tourists miss.
Tokyo Food Tours in English
Want to venture beyond the familiar streets of Shinjuku and Shibuya? Join us for an immersive evening exploring authentic Tokyo life in some of our favorite neighborhoods. Experience local eateries and interact with the city’s residents in areas where international visitors are a rare sight.
Located just a stone’s throw from Shinagawa Station, you’ll get to wander through interesting, atmospheric areas accompanied by our intimate group of no more than six participants. Savor Tokyo’s culinary treasures with us!
Traveling elsewhere on your visit to Japan? Check out our Osaka Foodie Tour, Kyoto Food Tour, and Hiroshima Walking Tour to experience each city’s unique food culture!
Pinpoint Traveler has an average score of 4.7⭐ across over 500 reviews on multiple review sites. Below is a sampling of some of our most recent reviews for our Tokyo Night Food Tour
Historic Landmarks
These very old parts of Tokyo are overflowing with history, some from very long ago, and some from the post-war era.
Professional Guide
Real English, real skills, and great personalities. Our guides have the knowledge and expertise to provide you with interesting, fun, and memorable tours.
Fully-Narrated Tour
Our tours never leave you to wander about on your own. Your guide stays with you the whole time to answer questions, offer insights, and share plenty of laughs.
Easy Access
This tour starts just outside a rail or subway station, making meeting up an anxiety-free experience.
A Tokyo Evening Tour Overview
Begin your Tokyo evening adventure at JR Oimachi Station. Though only a single stop away from the bustling modernity of Shinagawa, Oimachi offers a pedestrian-friendly environment.
Join us as we introduce you to the diverse nightlife of Oimachi, from quirky bars to hostess clubs (entirely suitable for ages 13 and up). As dusk settles, the alleyways come alive with “salarymen” winding down and locals sharing drinks and food.
Great Japanese Cuisine on Our Tokyo Food Tour
Throughout the evening, we’ll drop by three distinct restaurants. While our picks may vary from tour to tour, you can often expect to visit “tachinomi” – establishments where patrons enjoy delightful bites while standing at a bar or small tables. These aren’t mere drinking spots but full-blown restaurants offering a standing dining experience. It’s a refreshing change for those who’ve sat through a day’s work.
Our menu often includes yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), slow-cooked meats, seafood, and various other delicacies. You’ll get to savor a minimum of 10 dishes across our chosen eateries. And to complement the food? A drink at each location, be it alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Begin with a traditional beer, and if you’re keen, venture into the world of shochu or sake, especially at our potential sake-specialized tachinomi finale.
Explore Two Neighborhoods on this Tokyo Night Tour
Beyond Oimachi, we take you to Kamata, a painless 6-minute train ride away (fare covered). Kamata offers a different flavor, emphasizing more on food and the captivating game of pachinko.
An unusual yet enlightening stop in our tour is a visit to a local supermarket. Here, we offer insights into Japanese food preparation. This is not your regular foodie experience, and it promises a unique perspective you’d hardly find in Shinjuku.
Our dining itinerary might involve two restaurants in Oimachi and one in Kamata, or vice versa. We’re flexible and willing to adjust based on your food preferences. Do inform us of any dietary needs in advance.
A Walking Tokyo Food Tour Through the Eyes of a Local
Shinjuku and Shibuya have their charms, but if you seek an authentic Tokyo experience, you need to venture beyond the mainstream. Oimachi and Kamata, our chosen locales, are not just genuine Tokyo neighborhoods; they also welcome foreigners warmly and boast remarkable gastronomic offerings.
Join us for a true taste of Tokyo!
If you have questions about this itinerary, get in touch.
Itinerary for Our Evening Food Tour in Tokyo
JR Oimachi Station has been here since 1901, but the area doesn’t quite look that old. Still, you’ll get great pics in the restaurant- and bar-lined backstreets that are just wide enough for two people to walk abreast. It’s a very Japanese vibe. We’ll give you a nightlife primer on our walkabout, and also stop at one or two restaurants. We’ll spend about 75 minutes in Oimachi.
The six-minute train ride to Kamata gives us some time to chat about Tokyo in general. And then, we hit the ground running (well, not really running), checking out the neighborhood pachinko hall just outside the station. After that, we spend some time learning interesting things about Japanese food shopping and cooking in general as we walk and talk through a local supermarket. We usually spend about 45 minutes between restaurants to build your appetite back up.
We’ll go to one or two more restaurants here in Kamata (depending on if we went to one or two in Oimachi). There are a few we like to choose from, but we’d be extra excited to show you our favorite sake (Japanese rice wine). We’ll choose some sake based on your taste preferences, and we can almost guarantee you’re going to like sake more after this stop!
Quick Tips for Our Tokyo Foodie Tour
There are a few things we’d like you to take note of before joining us.
- The legal drinking age in Japan is 20
All participants must be 18+ to participate in this experience
- While not overtly risque, the tour includes commentary and contents that may not be suitable for pre-teens
- Please come wearing comfortable shoes, and dress for some time both indoors and outdoors
- Unfortunately, we cannot wait for late-comers, so do plan on arriving a bit early
Inclusions:
- A dinner’s worth of food across three different restaurants
- Up to three alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks (one at each stop).
- Train fare between our two neighborhoods
Exclusions:
- Drinks beyond the three provided (you can purchase more directly from the restaurant if you wish)
Options:
- Would you like to have a guide come early and escort you to the tour start point? This is available for central Tokyo addresses (along or within the JR Yamanote Line) or on those on Odaiba for 5,000 yen per group, plus your train fare. For pickup points beyond these areas, please inquire.
Historic and Cultural Landmarks
Though we’ll be exploring old neighborhoods, to be honest, there isn’t anything that could be considered a landmark in that sense. However, culturally, there is a laundry list of things to see and immerse yourself in! You’re sure to remember these places long after the tour has ended.
Easy Access
We start our tour at JR Oimachi Station’s East exit. There are many exits, and one is even called “Central East exit”, so it is very important to use the exit that is labeled as “East exit”.
Our Tour Guides
We've got around a dozen guides at your service. Here we showcase a few of our most active ones.
Kevin
Shoji
Mardi
Dan
Levy
Suzie
Not profiled here are guides who speak Spanish (Kyoto, in addition to Dan in Osaka), French (Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo), and German (Kyoto and Tokyo).
Pickup Point
Please meet us at the Oimachi Station's JR East Exit. Note that there is something called the Central East Exit, but you don't want that.