Tokyo is known as one of the world’s most exciting and awarded culinary destinations.
Eating Tokyo is a carefully curated itinerary perfect for those interested in getting to the heart of the Tokyo food scene. We will take you on a culinary adventure unlocking some of Tokyo’s hidden gems. From the back streets of Roppongi to Tsukiji market, the heart of Shinjuku to the laneways of Asakusa, we will take you to some of our favourite finds.
Sample street food, explore Tsukiji Market and peruse the aisles of a famous department store food hall. Eat traditional udon noodles and the freshest sushi and sashimi. Dine at a specialist yakitori restaurant, hard to find izakayas and a modern kaiseki restaurant. Eating Tokyo will provide a truly unique culinary experience.
When? Arrive Sunday 8 March , depart Saturday 14 March 2026
From $NZ5995 per person – double occupancy from $NZ6495 per person – single occupancy
*guaranteed tour departure is subject to minimum of 4 people
Today is your arrival day, make your way to the joining Hotel. Unpack and settle in. There are no plans for today.
Welcome and orientation. We begin the tour with a coffee, introductions, and an overview of the week. Following breakfast, we set off on the metro to Shinjuku.
We start our week at the food hall at Isetan department store with an introduction to the produce and ingredients used in Japanese cuisine. Wander the aisles and marvel at the displays of prepared meals, cakes, desserts, seafood, meats, fruit and vegetables and typical Japanese snacks and sweets.
Appetites piqued, lunch is at a nearby tempura restaurant. This restaurant has turned the preparation of this lacy delicacy into an art, using the freshest ingredients selected daily by the chef. We will watch the chef prepare lunch from our front row counter seats.
The afternoon is free to explore. You may wish to return to Isetan or wander through the backstreets of Shinjuku.
We meet again in the early evening and visit a yakiton standing bar in Akasaka, where we sample a few skewers before heading to dinner at a lively seafood izakaya.
coffee, lunch, pre-dinner drink and snack, dinner
Today we visit Tsukiji, where the original fish market was once housed. Today the outer market is still thriving with food vendors, fish stalls, a katsuobushi supplier and a dashi stall as well as fresh produce and kitchen wares. Lunch is at the market where we will queue at a specialist maguro don restaurant, serving tuna rice bowls.
The afternoon is free to explore. Perhaps walk to the nearby Ginza shopping precinct where department stores and high-end brands offer some of Tokyo’s most exclusive shopping or take the subway to trendy Naka-Meguro and walk along the canal, lined with shops and cafes.
Tonight, we dine on yakiniku, also known as Korean barbeque. This multi-course meal includes raw starters, several cuts of meat grilled at the table, soba noodles or curry rice, kimchi, and a light dessert. All beef served at the restaurant is melt-in-your-mouth A5 Wagyu. The best of the best.
lunch, dinner
This morning we head to a private home where chef Yukari has converted her garage into a cooking school. Together with Yukari you will have a hands-on class to create your own delicious Japanese lunch.
The afternoon is free to explore. Take a stroll through Yoyogi Park, Tokyo’s largest park and previously home to the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Village. Here you can visit the Meiji Shrine and see the start of Koyo, where the autumnal leaves begin to change colour.
Our latest find – Chef Sato opened his Jingumae restaurant in July 2023 and it has been making waves in the Tokyo food scene since. Sato-san’s modern Japanese cuisine takes local seasonal ingredients and elevates them with the techniques he learned from his diverse international experience in London, Sydney and Hong Kong. Tonight, we will experience his modern multi-course menu where fine dining meets upscale izakaya surrounds.
cooking class with lunch, dinner
This morning we journey north to Asakusa. We start with a traditional fish breakfast. Choose between grilled mackerel or salmon, onigiri or even fried eggs, if it is too early in the day for fish. We then visit the Shotengai, covered arcades, housing traditional shops and restaurants. Sample pickles and rice crackers, mochi and taiyaki.
We continue through to Kappabashi, kitchen town, where you can purchase knives, crockery and all things kitchen related. You will have time to explore the shops on your own or we can take to any specialist shops you are interested in.
Lunch is a short taxi ride away in Nezu, dining at a famous udon noodle restaurant in peaceful surroundings, housed in an old, converted warehouse designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma. Hot and cold, thick and thin, we will sample some of Tokyo’s best handmade noodles and some very special side dishes.
Dinner tonight is at a popular yakitori restaurant in Yoyogi-Uehara. Chef Suzuki has been serving delicious Jidori chicken cooked over bincho charcoal since 2003. The seasonal grilled vegetables are almost as good as the chicken.
breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner
This morning we visit the famous Imperial Hotel, designed originally by Frank Lloyd Wright, for a tea ceremony experience. Learn about the preparation of Japanese tea paired with a delicious Japanese sweet.
Lunch is at a well-known tonkatsu restaurant serving panko-crumbed pork at its best. Chef Oishi has spent a lifetime perfecting this dish and personally cooks every meal. The restaurant is set in a traditional house in the Nishi-Azabu neighbourhood. The panko crumb, salt and mustard have been chosen to complement the meat and their tonkatsu sauce is made on the premises.
The afternoon is free to explore on your own or do some last-minute shopping.
Peruse the shops along Omotesando Dori through to Harajuku, exploring the side streets and alleys filled with high fashion, cafes, and quirky Japanese shops.
We start the evening with cocktails before our special farewell dinner at Sushi Kanesaka. Executive Chef Kanesaka has earned 2 Michelin Stars and tonight we will enjoy this seasonal Sakura nigiri course menu. A perfect ending to our week.
Tea ceremony, lunch, pre-dinner drink, dinner
Check out of your hotel and return to the airport or set off on your own Japanese adventure.
By making a booking with us you are deemed to have accepted the Eating Adventures terms and conditions of travel. Your booking is not confirmed until we have received a non-refundable deposit of $NZ1200 per person. The balance of any booking is due 60 days before the tour commences.
Bookings made within 60 days of departure require full payment to confirm the booking.
Tour prices are subject to variable and seasonal pricing, both of which are standard practice within the travel industry. This means our tour prices may vary at any time in accordance with demand, market conditions and availability. It is therefore possible that different passengers on the same trip have been charged different prices.
If you wish to cancel your booking to take advantage of a cheaper price, full cancellation conditions apply as set out below. (Cancellation by the traveller).
To secure a place on an Eating Adventures tour, the tour deposit should be paid into the bank account provided. Eating Adventures will provide a receipt. An invoice for the balance of the tour price will be issued 70 days prior to the tour date and should be paid into the bank account provided on or before the due date.
We make use of local hotels and businesses to deliver your tour. In the event plans are disrupted, we reserve the sole right to adjust the itinerary to enable us to deliver what we consider to be a comparable tour. We may also change a tour if we consider political, security or safety could be compromised. Please read this item in conjunction the clause on Acceptance of risk.
By the traveller:
Cancellations must be made in writing. If you cancel 61 days or more before the scheduled tour date you will be entitled full refund (less the non-refundable deposit). If you cancel 46-60 days before the tour date, you will be entitled to any amount you have paid above 50% of the full price. If you cancel 31-45 days before the scheduled tour date, you will be entitled to any amount you have paid above 70% of the full price. Cancellations less than 30 days from the tour date will not be entitled to any refund. Non-payment of the balance 60 days from departure may at our sole discretion be treated as a cancellation.
By Eating Adventures:
Eating Adventures may cancel at any time up to 31 days before the scheduled departure. We may cancel at any time prior to departure if due to terrorism, natural disasters, political instability, pandemic, or other external events it is not viable for us to operate the planned itinerary. In the event, that a tour is cancelled by us we will offer an alternative tour date or a refund after deduction of any unrecoverable pre-paid costs and expenses. We are not responsible for any actual direct, or incidental, or future unavoidable, or unrecoverable, costs or expenses incurred as part of booking the tour including but not limited to travel insurance excess, non-refundable flights.
Eating Adventures tour price includes:
Eating Adventures tour price excludes:
For us to complete booking arrangements, we will require personal details including but not limited to full name as per passport, passport number, passport expiry date, date of birth and nationality. You must advise us of any pre-existing medical conditions you have which may affect your ability to complete your travel arrangements.
It is a condition of booking that you are in good physical health and able to fully participate in all events and activities listed in the itinerary. This includes, but is not limited to, being able to walk unassisted for 2 to 3 hours or 5 to 8 kilometres daily; stand without support for up to 30 minutes; ascend and descend several flights of stairs; walk over cobbled streets or uneven surfaces; stand on the Tokyo metro train for up to 30 minutes; handle your own luggage.
Our tours are structured with an expectation of people over 18. There is no upper limit, however we anticipate a reasonable level of fitness to cover the walking, undulating terrain and stairs as detailed above.
Travellers must travel with all necessary medications including for food allergies and be capable of self–administering these medications.
You must carry a valid passport with at least 6 months left to run beyond the duration of your tour.
It is your responsibility to obtain information and to have in your possession all the required documentation and identification required for entry, departure, and travel to the country you visit on your Eating Adventure tour. This includes all travel documents required by Eating Adventures and the relevant government authorities including all visas, permits and certificates (including but not limited to vaccination or medical certificates) and insurance policies. You accept full responsibility for obtaining all such documents, visas and permits prior to the start of the trip, and you are solely responsible for the full amount of costs incurred as a result of missing or defective documentation.
You agree that you are responsible for the full amount of any loss or expense incurred by us that is a direct result of your failure to secure or be in possession of proper travel documentation.
Accommodation will be booked in your name. You will not need accommodation vouchers however you will be required to present your passport to check-in.
We operate with very small groups. We reserve the right to cancel a tour if we fail to reach the stated minimum group size and we will advise all registrants when the relevant tour is definite.
Comprehensive travel insurance is mandatory to travel with Eating Adventures and should be taken out at the time your booking is confirmed. It is not included in the price, and we will ask you for proof of insurance before you travel with us. We recommend you seek insurance that covers you for loss or damage of luggage or personal effects, cancellation, or curtailment as well as medical and personal liability. Your comprehensive travel insurance should also include cover for COVID-19. In the unlikely event that your holiday is affected by any circumstance outside our control, we expect you to have arranged sufficient insurance to ensure you are not out of pocket. There will be no refunds by us for any unused services.
We expect our travellers to comply with local laws, culture, and drug regulations; we do not have the skills or resources to help if you fall foul of the local laws. If an unlawful or illegal act is committed by a traveller, or that person’s conduct is deemed to be incompatible with the interests of other travellers in the group, we reserve the right to remove and exclude that person from the tour without any refund.
Eating Tokyo and Eating Lima are unable to cater for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or coeliac diets. Eating Georgia can cater to vegetarian, gluten-free and coeliac diets.
All allergies, intolerances or dietary restrictions must be declared at the time of booking. Failure to do so may result in the traveller being excluded from the tour as it may not be possible to cater for these. Eating Adventures accepts no responsibility or liability for any illness or monetary loss relating to undisclosed allergies, intolerances or dietary restrictions.
By booking a tour with Eating Adventures you accept that travel includes a risk component. You are acknowledging that political, cultural, and geographic characteristics all present their own risks outside the control of Eating Adventures, as do the local businesses over which we have no restrain. Eating Adventures is not responsible in any way for situations outside its control.
In the event of any such circumstances beyond our reasonable control including, but not limited to, severe weather, flooding, fire, drought, earthquake, pandemic, government restraint or other natural phenomenon, it may be necessary to modify or cancel an itinerary and Eating Adventures is not responsible for any loss or expenses incurred. Working on a best-efforts basis, Eating Adventures will endeavour to arrange for the provision of comparable services wherever possible, but any additional or unrecoverable pre-paid costs or expenses incurred are payable by the travellers. The traveller would be responsible for recovering any such costs through their travel insurance.
We contract with a network of companies, government agencies and individuals to assist in the running of our trips as agent for these third parties. We are not responsible for the acts and omissions of these third parties.
To the fullest extent permitted by law:
To the extent an Implied Warranty cannot be excluded, our liability in respect of the Implied Warranty is limited to (in our absolute discretion): (i) the provision of a similar trip to an equivalent value; or (ii) a refund of the total amount received by us from you in connection with your booking.
Any claim by you is excluded to the extent that it is for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profits or economic loss, however it arises, or for indirect, special, punitive or exemplary damages.
If you have a complaint about your trip, please inform your group leader at the time in order that they can attempt to rectify the matter. If satisfaction is not reached through these means, then any further complaint should be put in writing to us within 30 days of the end of the tour.
In the event that any term or condition contained in these Booking Conditions is unenforceable or void by operation of law or as being against public policy or for any other reason then, such term or condition shall be deemed to be severed from this contract or amended accordingly only to such extent necessary to allow all remaining terms and conditions to survive and continue as binding.
The booking conditions set out here are governed by the laws of New Zealand. Any disputes in connection with a tour or these booking conditions must be initiated in the courts of New Zealand.
Registered address
27 Farm Road, Northland, Wellington, New Zealand Last updated on 13 February 2025
Advertised prices are per person twin share, correct at time of publication and are subject to availability and change and can be withdrawn or amended at any time without notification due to fluctuations in charges, taxes and currency. Other conditions apply. Please view the TravelManagers general terms and conditions here and contact your personal travel manager for more details.
