Culinary Backstreets
Culinary Backstreets
5
City ToursCultural ToursWalking ToursPrivate ToursFood Tours
About
In order to fully appreciate Tokyo and its deep food scene it’s necessary to not only peek behind the curtain of yesterday, but also join the constant flow of people eating their way through the city of today and even tomorrow. Our Tokyo walk will allow us to do just that, taking us on a journey that serves as an edible survey of the city’s culinary past, present and future. You can view our updated safety measures at https://culinarybackstreets.com/our-commitment/
Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan

Awards
Travellers' Choice
2023

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(15 reviews)

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles216 reviews
Excellent
212
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3
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1
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Mindi M
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
Elly was fantastic. Courteous, fun, on time and very knowledgeable. So grateful to have her as our guide. The tastings were delicious and unusual.
Written 16 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Abby H
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
I can’t imagine a better introduction to Tokyo! Such a fun way to explore. Our guide, Elly, was relaxed, warm and very knowledgeable. She took us places we never would have learned about ourselves. Highly recommend this!
Written 13 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks! We are happy to hear that you enjoyed the walk. We take pride in working with people who are very knowledgeable about and extremely fond of the cities they live in. You can check out your Culinary Backstreets Passport on our website to see the stamps you have collected. We hope to see you again soon in one of our cities.
Written 13 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Georgiii
3 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
This trip is fabulous for people who aren't familiar with booking food experiences, as this tour takes you to locally run restaurants, cafes and shops. As an Australian, I think paying in USD makes the cost too high for what is being provided, as with the exchange rate, it means we essentially pay double. The amount of food we received was definitely not equivalent to over $500 AUD, even with paying our wonderful tour guide Phoebe. This would be fantastic for the American, European, or British market, but for Australians, the cost is too high. That being said, the quality of the food was amazing and we had a fabulous time.
Written 9 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are glad to hear you enjoyed the walk! Please reach out to us directly if you think we can do anything better as your feedback is very important to us and we take it very seriously. We look forward to hearing from you, and having you with us again soon.You can check out your Culinary Backstreets Passport on our website to see the stamps you have collected.
Written 12 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Melissa H
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
This tour was amazing! It was the perfect combination of great food, interesting information, and lively sites. Though we walked and ate throughout the day, it was never too much food. Our guide, Phoebe, was both knowledgeable and engaging. It was a pleasure to spend the day with her learning about Japanese food and culture.
Written 9 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks! We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed the walk. We take pride in working with people who are very knowledgeable about and extremely fond of the cities they live in. You can check out your Culinary Backstreets Passport on our website to see the stamps you have collected. We hope to see you again soon in one of our cities.
Written 12 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Kelly Z
Puntarenas, Costa Rica3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Days later and we’re still talking about this tour. Ken was a such an attentive—yet laid back—guide. The tour was beautifully paced, and we saw so many unique places we’d have otherwise missed. Highly recommended.
Written 3 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks! We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed the walk. We take pride in working with people who are very knowledgeable about and extremely fond of the cities they live in. You can check out your Culinary Backstreets Passport on our website to see the stamps you have collected. We hope to see you again soon in one of our cities.
Written 3 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

GSchmickSchwartz
New York City9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
It was our favorite part of the trip. Phoebe is FABULOUS! We loved every second we spent with her. She is intelligent and knowledgeable about all things Japan and she's funny! It was truly an amazing afternoon and we enjoyed roaming around the cute neighborhood we most certainly would not have visited on our own. We will recommend this tour to everyone we know who is going to Tokyo.
Written 23 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you very much for your great feedback and for leaving us a 5-star review, this is exactly what we're going for! We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed our tour with the amazing Phoebe! We take pride in working with great people like her who are very knowledgeable and extremely fond of the cities they live in. We hope to see you again soon in one of our cities. You can check out your Culinary Backstreets Passport on our website to see the stamps you have collected. All the best!

Written 27 February 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

lreid3
Seattle, WA3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Couples
The Culinary Backstreets tour of Kichijoji was the first thing we did on our 10-day tour of Japan and it was by far the best way to start our trip. For the rest of the trip we kept referring to things we learned on the tour. Even my husband, who was on his fourth visit to Japan, was able to learn a lot from the experience. Sampling such a wide array of food on day one such as yakitori, sushi, food hall treats, duck ramen, meat buns, and more was an incredible (and filling) experience and was great for helping us navigate restaurants later on. Our tour guide, Phoebe, was excellent. We've participated in a lot of tours in the past and Phoebe is one of the best guides we've had. Her enthusiasm for food and for Japan is clear and it was so nice to have an expert showing us around. We lucked out in that we were the only people to book a tour that day, so we ended up having a private tour with Phoebe. While naturally we were excited and looking forward to tasting all different kinds of foods, something we did not necessarily expect was the locals we would meet and get to know. As a tourist, sometimes it can be difficult to get to know locals, but on this tour we had several stops where we got to meet and interact with local "regulars" which was a huge addition to the tour. It's evident that Phoebe has great relationships with everyone she works with and is dedicated to building and sustaining these relationships. By being able to meet and interact with locals, we felt like we really got to dive right in and get to know Japan and its culture, and not just have a cursory taste of different foods. We also really appreciated the location in Kichijoji. This is not a neighborhood we otherwise would have visited, but it was so cute and charming and such a nice introduction to the metropolis of Tokyo.

We cannot recommend this tour enough and have been telling everyone we know to take the Culinary Backstreets tour in Tokyo. The price was initially off putting, but we decided to take a chance and it paid off in spades. The tour is well worth the food by itself, but being able to relax and follow an expert for our first day was just perfect. We are also now excited to take Culinary Backstreets tours in other cities!

A huge thank you again to Phoebe for such an excellent start to our trip to Japan! And bonus points for the cute little memento postcard from our tour we received a week ago when we had returned home. It was such a great souvenir of our trip!
Written 22 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience and for your feedback, it was our pleasure to have you with us! Each of our culinary walks is the outcome of considerable research. We work with academics in the field and our own team of experienced professionals – both guides and local journalists. We are proud to know that the money spent during the culinary walk goes to support businesses that we believe in, helping to preserve the social and cultural fabric of the cities we love so dearly. Most importantly, of course, we take pride in working with people who are very knowledgeable about and extremely fond of the cities they live in. You can check out your Culinary Backstreets Passport on our website to see the stamps you have collected. We hope to see you again soon in one of our cities.
Written 27 February 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Rohan C
5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Solo
Diana was an amazing host. She was personable and showed us some incredible spots along with sharing as much knowledge as she could about Tokyo. It was great to see a more local part of Tokyo both through its food and sights. Would fully recommend
Written 24 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you! We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed the walk. We take pride in working with people who are very knowledgeable about and extremely fond of the cities they live in. You can check out your Culinary Backstreets Passport on our website to see the stamps you have collected. We hope to see you again soon in one of our cities.
Written 24 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Lori L
California254 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Friends
It was another fabulous food tour through Culinary Backstreet! Mairi was our culinary guide. She was knowledgeable, friendly and a fabulous host. Our 7-hour food tour was entertaining and delicious, as we walked through a local neighborhood. We dined at several restaurants, all different and fabulous.

CB is our go-to-place if we want the ultimate culinary experience. We’ve experienced over six culinary tours and always a 5-star experience. Book early and book at the beginning of your trip. It will be a highlights of your journey.
Written 19 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you very much for such amazing review , this is exactly what we're going for! We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed our tour with the amazing Mairi! We take pride in working with great people like her who are very knowledgeable and extremely fond of the cities they live in. We hope to see you again soon in one of our cities. You can check out your Culinary Backstreets Passport on our website to see the stamps you have collected. All the best!
Written 24 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Brettimus
Montreal, Canada15 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Couples
Our guide Ken was amazing. This was the highlight of our trip to Japan. It's a bit more expensive than some other tours, but the price tag seems totally justified. Small groups, and you eat like an emperor!
Written 16 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks! We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed the walk. We take pride in working with people who are very knowledgeable about and extremely fond of the cities they live in. You can check out your Culinary Backstreets Passport on our website to see the stamps you have collected. We hope to see you again soon in one of our cities.
Written 24 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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CULINARY BACKSTREETS: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)