Arigato Travel / Arigato Japan Food Tours
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We’ve had the distinct pleasure of scheduling two tours with Arigato Travel during our stay in Tokyo. When working with a tour company, especially when booking online, you may expect a bit of a disconnected experience - this is not the case with Arigato Travel. Arigato Travel offers bespoke tour experiences that offer guests unforgettable moments - their tour guides are welcoming, knowledgeable, kind, and gracious. (They even make sure to take photos of you and your group while on the tour, so you can really just disconnect and enjoy!) The review that follows is a bit long, but I think it offers a look at what you can expect when booking with Arigato Travel. Thank you, Arigato Travel! Our most recent tour, the Shimbashi Hidden Gem Food Tour, which was led by Lucas, was one of the absolute best parts of our trip. Lucas expertly handled the ins-and-outs of Shimbashi and started the tour out strong with some very yummy bites. I don’t want to spoil the fun so I won’t get into too much detail about the food, but my husband and I talked about it all the way back to the hotel - we were able to try a number of different and very delicious foods at places that were only frequented by the “salarymen” of Shinbashi. Lucas really made the tour for us. He was engaging, knowledgeable, kind, prepared, friendly, and took the time to explain things and answer my questions. He explained everything we ate and drank and made sure we tried the very best at every restaurant we visited. He was so, so lovely - it really felt like an old friend was showing us his favorite hidden gems in Shimbashi. Lucas made us feel welcomed, comfortable, and at ease the entire length of the tour. We enjoyed his expertise so much that we considered booking a THIRD tour with Arigato Travel while in Tokyo! (Unfortunately, we ended up not having the time, but we will definitely be searching out another tour with Lucas when we return to Japan again soon!) We also had the pleasure of embarking on the Best of Shibuya tour with Melissa earlier in the week. Melissa took us to so many delicious and yummy restaurants all over Shibuya - we were able to sample a ton of different foods, from sushi to ramen to some other unexpected surprises along the way! Melissa was very informative and provided a lot of incredible context for the foods we sampled. I can’t believe we tried so many different things in such a short period of time! I also need to give a big, big shout out to Nikka on the Bookings Team. We had originally planned to go on both the Best of Shibuya and the Shinjuku Golden Gai Tours. Nikka noticed that the tours had similar offerings, and to make sure that we had a diversity of experience, she recommended that we try the Shimbashi Hidden Gem Food Tour instead. She went above and beyond to make sure to stay in communication with me about our bookings and made everything hassle free. (I also have to say THANK YOU to Nikka for helping us communicate with Lucas when we were going to be late! Both Nikka and Lucas were so very kind and gracious about the situation, and they really helped ease the anxiety about the situation. Very, very thankful that they made what could have been a very stressful experience something incredibly manageable - it put our minds at ease!)
Megan MikutisMegan Mikutis
00
This was a wonderful little food tour! I went on the Shimbashi "hidden gem" walking food tour and it was both delicious and educational. We went to four different restaurants, three with dinner items and one just for dessert. Each restaurant offered a variety of authentic Japanese dishes and we shared among our group so we could all try a few bites of everything. I left feeling very full! There was no pressure to finish anything you didn't like or to try every item offered though, so don't worry if you're a bit of a picky eater. That said, there was a lot of unique seafood and chicken dishes on the tour so if you aren't big on either of those you might be better off choosing a different tour. There was a fair amount of walking but only a few small stairs and nothing too strenuous. However there was a lot of standing, some of the restaurants had no seats and others were just stools or very narrow seats. So I would recommend not bringing much with you, if you have big bags you could also try storing them at a locker by Shimbashi Station. The tour both starts and ends there. Overall it was a really fun evening activity whether you are new to Tokyo or even if you have been here for awhile! The tour guides were very knowledgeable about the area and included bits of trivia and history information as we walked between restaurants. I would definitely recommend it to any foodie friends planning to visit Tokyo!
Laura SLaura S
00
Why have you not already booked a food tour? This was one of the highlights of our 14-day trip to Japan. We only allocated a single day to Osaka so I wanted to get the most out of that time and decided to book a tour with Arigato Travel. We did the lunch time tour of Dotonbori which, in hindsight, was the perfect time because let me tell you, Dotonbori gets PACKED in the evening. While it was still crowded during the day, it's not on the same level as it is in the evening. The food spots we visited were so fun and unique. We got to see some pretty iconic sights and got to learn about them from someone who was very knowledgeable. And I'll take this moment to segue into the next part of my review, our amazing tour guide, Shasta. I don't think it's possible to truly convey how awesome this Aussie is with words but I'll do my best. Shasta is a true delight. She is quirky, fun, nerdy, amiable, and extremely knowledgeable. Our small group was also pretty quirky, fun, and nerdy so we got along really well. We didn't have a great time, we had an amazing time. A memorable time that we're going to always look back upon fondly when we remember our trip to Japan. Thank you so much Shasta!!! We miss you!
Kim SayreKim Sayre
00
I came to Tokyo for work and booked two food tours with Arigato Travel in my free time. The two tour guides were quite different in style, but both gave an incredible experience. I did the Tsukiji Breakfast Tour with Josh, who was like an encyclopedia of Japanese history and information! The foods we tried were all incredibly delicious and I learned so much about the history of the Tsukiji market as well as Japanese culture and etiquette. The second day I did the Flavors of Japan tour with Satoko, who was much more reserved in her style but gave enough information to understand and enjoy each stop. Once again, the food was all incredible, and I completed most of my shopping for souvenirs during this tour! Satoko even went out of her way to help me find the teas and fruits that I wanted after the tour had already ended. Plus, make sure to check out her handmade jewelry if you are lucky enough to get her as a guide! I highly recommend these tours and will absolutely do more if I am able to visit Japan again in the future!
Margaret DeGrawMargaret DeGraw
00
Highly recommend Arigatogo Food Tours!! We had Yuko S. she shared with us history about the different food places as well as introducing us to new experiences! Just to name a few highlights. We got to see the oldest bar in Japan that serves Brandy, taste some seasonings in Dashi from a 400 century seasoning shop, tried Japanese styled pickled Vegetables (not like American which are vinegar based and were SUPER TASTY some were sweet), and a wonderful lunch with a variety of authentic Japanese cuisine! I don’t like fish or seafood, but had amazing Karakage (fried chicken in potato based coating), Japanese potato salad, and noodles. Plenty of seafood options for seafood lovers. Lastly we ended with tasty melon bread ice cream sandwich. There were many other wonderful things in this tour, but I don’t want to spoil everything! We really appreciate the wonderful job and service we received from Yuko S!!!
Boogers&Buttons The QuacksBoogers&Buttons The Quacks
00
Highly recommend this amazing tour company. I’m providing 4 stars because we actually did several tours across Japan in various cities and we enjoyed some more than others but it really depends what you are looking for. Overall, the guides are amazing. They are super friendly, knowledgeable, and show great hospitality. They speak perfect English so no issues where things get lost in translation. We loved the evening food tour in Gion (Tokyo) with Glenda. We ended the night singing karaoke with her and another tour guide!!! The food market tours (both in Tokyo and in Kyoto) had amazing guides but it was quite expensive and in many cases we didn’t pick the food/lunch. We learned about the market, which was nice. Another great perk was that the guides took a lot of photos so it’s perfect if you are looking to get couple or group photos without bothering a stranger!!
Jenn HammJenn Hamm
00
Nearby Attractions Of Arigato Travel / Arigato Japan Food Tours
MITUBACI TOKYO
Carrot Tower
SWU Hitomi Memorial Hall
Taishidō Hachiman Shrine
Sangenjaya Station
Sangenjaya Grapefruit Moon
Sky Carrot Observatory
Globe Antiques
Seseragi Park
Setagaya Municipal Kodomo-no-Hiroba Park
MITUBACI TOKYO
5.0
(915)Click for details
Carrot Tower
3.9
(722)Click for details
SWU Hitomi Memorial Hall
3.9
(576)Click for details
Taishidō Hachiman Shrine
4.1
(385)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Arigato Travel / Arigato Japan Food Tours
Afuri Sangenjaya
Bistro Kirakutei
Hongkongmen Shinki (Sun Kee)
Sushi Daidokoya Sangenjaya
Komeda's Coffee Sangenjaya
Baker Bounce Sangenjaya
Royal Host Wakabayashi
Men Washo
Shiva Curry Wara
ジョナサン 三軒茶屋店
Afuri Sangenjaya
4.2
(665)Click for details
Bistro Kirakutei
4.3
(458)Click for details
Hongkongmen Shinki (Sun Kee)
4.1
(466)Click for details
Sushi Daidokoya Sangenjaya
3.9
(405)Click for details
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AIBasic Info
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Japan, 〒154-0004 Tokyo, Setagaya City, Taishido, 4 Chome−17−10 Heights – 200
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+81 3-6820-2250
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Website
arigatotravel.com
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Reviews
Overview
4.9
(585 reviews)
Ratings & Description
cultural
entertainment
family-friendly
attractions: MITUBACI TOKYO, Carrot Tower, SWU Hitomi Memorial Hall, Taishidō Hachiman Shrine, Sangenjaya Station, Sangenjaya Grapefruit Moon, Sky Carrot Observatory, Globe Antiques, Seseragi Park, Setagaya Municipal Kodomo-no-Hiroba Park, restaurants: Afuri Sangenjaya, Bistro Kirakutei, Hongkongmen Shinki (Sun Kee), Sushi Daidokoya Sangenjaya, Komeda's Coffee Sangenjaya, Baker Bounce Sangenjaya, Royal Host Wakabayashi, Men Washo, Shiva Curry Wara, ジョナサン 三軒茶屋店
