At A Glance
City explored: Tokyo
Length: 6 days
Date: May 12 – 18, 2019
Availability: Limited to 8 guests
Highlights
❀ A smorgasbord of traditional Japanese fare including Sushi, Yakitori and Yakiniku, Tempura, Unagi, Ramen, Soba and Kaiseki.
❀ Access to award-winning, difficult-to-book restaurants
❀ A journey through Japanese cuisine past and present with modern masters.
❀ Spend time in the intimate company of interesting and like-minded people from all over the world.
The Juicy Details
On a six-day culinary adventure, our guests will experience the finest Sushi, Yakitori and Yakiniku; the tastiest steaks, Unagi and Tempura; the premier Ramen and Soba; the best in Kaiseki, fusion and Izakaya – In short, the very best food Tokyo has to offer.
Many of these restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars or Tabelog Gold or Silver medals: This is a truly a unique program that will take each guest on a delicious journey through the incomparable Japanese culinary tradition.
Since we can’t really commit on which specific restaurant each tour will visit, under each section you can see example of where we went in past tours. They are all truly the best!
Sushi
In order to have a perspective of how wide the world of sushi at the highest level is, and how different in style and expertise each master is, we shall visit 2 of the best sushi establishments in the world. Life for sushi lovers will be divided to ‘Before the tour’ and ‘After the tour’
| Sushi shops past tours have visited: | ||
| Arai | Hakkoku | Hatsune |
| Kimura | Namba | Ookawara |
| Saito | Sushisho Masa | Tenzushi |
Kaiseki
The haute cuisine of Japan. A structured, but ever changing with the seasons, tasting meal of 6 to 15 courses.
The chef/master demonstrates the skills he developed for many years in all cooking methods (steaming, frying, grilling etc.) always using seasonal ingredients at the peak of their freshness, and plating his creations in beautiful tableware to highlight the natural beauty of ingredients and their true flavor.
| Kaiseki/Kappo restaurants past tours have visited: | ||
| Higuchi | Ishikawa | Kichisen |
| Miyasaka | Ogata | Tomura |
| Yamagishi | Tempura Matsu | |
Tempura
Tempura will never be the same after you experience the art of one of these best masters in the world.
The great Tempura masters who we shall visit use the best ingredients the season offers from the land and sea (some even fry beef) with endless creativity and skills developed over many years to produce a feast to all senses.
| Tempura masters past tours have visited: | ||
| Kondo | Motoyoshi | Takiya |
Wagyu
Enjoy Japanese Beef (Wagyu) at the highest level possible.
Yakiniku (Grilled meat in Japanese) was Inspired by Korean BBQ restaurants that opened after WW II, and like most adopted cuisines developed over the years to a form of art.
Today, Yakiniku is the most popular way enjoy beef in Japan, when thin slices and small cuts of different parts of beef are grilled on a griddle over charcoal or gas by the guests themselves.
At the very high end of Yakiniku establishments which we will visit, the quality of Wagyu cuts are second to none, and the Master himself will do the grilling right before our eyes.
| Yakiniku/Wagyu Kaiseki/Steakhousespast tours have visited: | ||
| Miyoshi | Nakahara | Shima |
| Vesta | WagyuMafia | Yakiniku Jumbu |
| Yoroniku | ||
French, Chinese & Modern Japanese
“I wish that Paris had restaurants like Florilège!” a French chef told me on one of last year’s tours.
Award-winning Florilège may serve a French menu, but its spirit is Japanese. Chef Hiroyasu Kawate and his team deliver an 11-course masterpiece performance from the theater-like open kitchen that dominates this elegant space. Skill, sustainability, and seasonality are the foundation of chef Kawate’s inventive, delightful cuisine.
| Japanese French, Chinese, Spanish and Other Top Restaurants past tours have visited: | ||
| Aca | Den | Florilege |
| Fureika | L’Effervesance | L’equateur |
| Sazenka | ||
| Saito | Sushisho Masa | |
Yakitori/Unagi/Japanese Curry Restaurants
Savor Japan’s most popular ‘simple’ food like Curry Rice, Yakitori, Unagi and Soba at the best possible level.
No visit to Japan is complete without sampling popular staple foods like Curry rice, Unagi, Yakitori and Soba. We’ll taste them at their best at Tomato, Obana, Hirokawa and more.
| Yakitori/Unagi/Japanese Curry Restaurants past tours have visited: | ||
| Hirokawa | Obana | Tomato Curry |
| Torikado | Torishiki | |
Ramen
We will go on a quest for Tokyo’s best ramens with no other than Abram Plaut, AKA the Ramen Beast, co-creator of the first ever English-language guide to Tokyo’s hard-to-crack Ramen scene.
We’ll spend a few hours discovering some of the best Ramens in the city with the man who has slurp-tested over 200 bowls in the last six years alone!
Toyosu Fish Market
After many years of debates and numerous delays, the fabled Tsukiji Fish Market relocated at the beginning of October 2018 to its new home at Toyosu.
We will visit the inner market which is open only to chefs and restaurateurs and is restricted for the general public.
The Mandarin Oriental Tokyo
The height of contemporary luxury
A five-star luxury hotel with breathtaking views and a stunning, contemporary design, Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo rises high above the Japanese capital.
Perfectly located in Nihonbashi, the hotel is closely located to some of Tokyo’s most prominent business addresses and attractions.
The Essentials
Check-in: Sunday, May 12, 2019
Check-out: Saturday, May 18, 2019
First meal: Dinner on SSunday, May 12, 2019
Last meal: lunch on May 18, 2019
Full timetable of meals and activities will be emailed to participants before ahead of the tour.
A Note on Set Menus
The menus offered during the tour are selected by The Hungry Tourist with the help of our local partners. We believe they represent the best culinary fare that Tokyo and Kyoto have to offer. Guests may order outside of these menus at their own expense.
Transportation:
Tokyo has a wonderful and efficient subway system that we take advantage of for the majority of our stay in the city; taxis may be used later in the evening.
Tour Fees
Per person, shared room: USD 6950
Single occupancy supplement: USD 1600
Price includes all food, beverages, taxes, service charges, and 6 nights of accommodation.
Price does not include airfare, transportation in Tokyo, or any travel or medical insurance.
Extra nights before or after the tour can be booked in advance at a special rate of USD 550 per night including taxes and service charge.
Payment
A non-refundable deposit of US$1,000 per person will be charged upon reservation.
The balance will be charged to your credit card 60 days prior to the first day of the tour.
Cancellation Policy and Penalties
If cancellation is received up to 30 days before the first day of the tour, the deposit will be forfeited.
If cancellation is received up to 10 days before the first day of the tour, a penalty fee of 50% of the remaining balance will be charged. If cancellation notice is received within 10 days of the first day of the tour or the guest is a no-show, the entirety of the remaining balance will be charged.
Apply to Join The Tour
Testimonials
So just want to update my review after joining the Hungry Tourist on The Best of Tokyo/Kyoto Tour in May. They say the proof is in the pudding: I keep coming back for more. The Japan trip was just amazing: one fantastic meal and experience after another coupled with just amazing friends. A big part of the joy in the trips is meeting the same friends all over the world to share new culinary adventures together and making new friends. It’s hard to describe the warmth and camaraderie you experience. Each trip is unique and equally special in its own right.
I joined David on a tour of Tokyo and Kyoto. It was an amazing experience. An amazing lineup of restaurants, flawlessly organized and planned. David shared his vast experience in the local food scene and made sure we are all having a great time. Highly, highly recommend to both casual and experienced foodies.
Our trip to Tokyo and Kyoto with Dudi was brilliantly curated, we got to experience restaurants that are very hard or impossible to get into, as well as discover extraordinary hidden culinary gems, all from the perspective of a local insider.
