It’s been a couple of years since we’ve stayed in Kyoto, and things, including the food scene, have changed a bit.
We did the Gion night food tour with Magical Trip back in 2019 and had such a fabulous time eating our way around the district that we decided to join them again this year. This time in Pontocho on our first night back, to do a bit of bar hopping in Kyoto.
We were based here for the week, and although we were coming and going on day trips, I’d hoped to add a few spots we’ll return to as the week goes on. The tips and recommendations on Magical Trips tours have always been excellent as they are run by locals who really know the area and stay in touch with what is new and good.
The meeting place for the tour is very easy to find, it is between the Kamo River and Gion Shijo Station, next to a well-known statue of Izumo-no-Okuni. It is a popular meeting spot for tours and locals, but it is not so busy that you’ll have any trouble finding your guide there.
Jay was our guide this time on the Magical Trip bar-hopping tour through a selection of izakayas in Pontocho and Gion. These are heritage areas of Kyoto, known for their tea houses and Geisha culture.
The focus of this tour is exploring izakayas in the area, which are Japanese bars and they generally serve a delicious selection of food alongside your drinks. While I believe the exact places you go on this tour may change depending on the night and season, the three included on our tour each showcased different styles and together gave a good picture of what was available.
Each spot was a little hidden or off the main walking path, and we were unlikely to wander past it without a local guide or recommendation, even when walking through the wider area.
We have done a variety of Magical Trip tours over the years in different cities, and what I like about them is that they are always a small group and generally choose bars and restaurants that reflect that and wouldn’t be accessible to a larger group tour. The more intimate settings mean you can hear the guide and have an easy conversation with others in your group.
I won’t be giving spoilers here for the exact places we went, but rather give an idea of what to expect from the tour. I would say up front, for context, that we are not heavy drinkers, so joining a bar tour may seem like a strange choice. I think our guide might have been a bit surprised, but we had a great night. We have found that many izakayas are as much about the food as the drink, and there was some great food on this tour.
Our first stop of the night was a standing bar in Pontocho. This was a small space, so we took a table in the corner, ordered our first drink of the night, and chose a variety of snacks to have alongside it. They make a delicious strawberry chūhai: white spirits (maybe vodka in this case), soda, and plenty of frozen strawberries; it was so good. You also have the option of a sake tasting flight, beer and other spirit-based drinks. You are encouraged to have multiple drinks if you want them, so they do cater well to those who are looking for a bit more of a focus on the alcohol side of the izakaya experience.
The food at the standing bar was my favourite of the night. Magical Trip has its own menu at each izakaya, so you choose what to order, making your dishes more local or international depending on your personal preferences. We had the fermented firefly squid here, and we both loved it; they were in season up in Toyama when we were there a couple of weeks earlier. There was also yuba sashimi (soft, delicate tofu skin), karaage chicken, and tempura vegetables.
The second izakaya was in the main alleyway of Pontocho, but it was on the second story, with tables that looked out over the river, which made it a bit unusual. Many of the restaurants on this side of the alley have open windows and decks that overlook the river. They are set up only during the summertime, when they catch the cooler evening breeze off the water.
You took your shoes off at this one, as it has a tatami mat floor and sit at a low table. This is definitely part of the Japan experience and something to enjoy when you can, but also something to consider if mobility or sitting on the floor for extended periods is difficult for you.
Something we did notice in Pontocho this trip, after seeing this area evolve over the past 16 years, is not only the very high number of foreigners in the city now, but also the way the establishments here have evolved to meet the market by catering either to tourists or locals. This has changed the feel of Kyoto a lot.
In Pontocho, only a few of the original teahouses or geisha homes remain; all the other properties have become restaurants, close to 100 of them are squeezed in along this short stretch. Also surprising, after a couple of years away, was how many are no longer Kyoto-style; there are Irish pubs, German restaurants, and Hello Dolly’s jazz and whisky bar, among many others. The world is changing, Japan is changing, but the pace of that change through Kyoto’s heritage streets is unbelievable after holding on as something of a time capsule for so long.
Moving on to the third stop, we walked past the Pontocho theatre where geisha train and perform, and across the river to the Gion side. Jay stopped to point out different things of interest along the way. The third stop is also in traditional style: you remove your shoes downstairs, head up the narrow staircase, and squeeze past the bar seating and out onto the deck.
The low tables and cushion seating are comfortable here with a bit more space to manoeuvre in and out; there are only a small group of ladies at the other table and us. It is much more relaxed and peaceful than the second izakaya, which had a constant flow of people and was quite loud.
I think I like this one best of the three; it’s more the sort of place we would choose ourselves, and although the dishes here were set rather than selected from a menu, they were delicious, especially the beef.
We felt the contrast among the three places we visited that night was really good; it offered a diversity of experiences that the term izakaya encompasses. During the evening, we tried 9 different dishes, and there were more drinks on offer than we could do justice to. Although we are quite familiar with the geisha districts in Kyoto at this point, we did learn more about the area and its culture and had a fun night with Jay.
There were only the two of us on this tour this evening; it’s just the luck of the day. While I do enjoy having another couple or two from around the world to share experiences with, it meant our night was essentially a private tour, and Jay was a great host. He runs tours under a pseudonym but is open in conversation, discussing a wide range of topics and sharing views and experiences as someone who has lived and grown up in Kyoto. That connection is a big part of a tour to us and something that many larger tours or companies that use international tour guides miss.
I’ll add a link if you want more details about the Pontocho izakaya tour or to make a booking. However, if you only have space on your itinerary for one tour and your focus is on the local food scene, you may want to see this article we added after the Magical Trip Gion food tour, which we still rate as one of the best food tours we have ever done. Both tours are well run, cover Kyoto’s heritage areas and include delicious food and drinks, so the focus leaning towards either the food or alcohol may sway your choice.
