BACKSTREET OSAKA TOURS Authentic, deep tours — Local services in Osaka

**We attended one of the Osaka Food Tours. We selected the “ABSOLUTE FOODIE OPTION”

We recently went on a tour and our tour guide was Marcel. We had read dozens of reviews and were very much looking forward to this experience. Overall it was just an okay tour. The conclusion we came to towards the end was that we were better off just exploring on our own.

I don’t really feel like the tour guide contributed much to conversations. We didn’t really leave knowing much more about the food scene in Osaka or the dishes we ate. I felt like the tour guide relied on us interacting with each other to make it engaging.

At some point someone asked him how were these spots chosen. The group was hungry for information as well… he simply responded “my boss gave me a list of places to go.”

He didn’t eat with us for most of the trip. It was sometimes just weird to have him sit there while the rest of us ate. Several times did people on the tour ask if he was going to eat. He told us this was his third tour this week and he wasn’t hungry.. which was fine but It was just very awkward at times.

I don’t really feel like he contributed much besides just taking us to one spot to another. We spent a while in front of a beer vending machine and a 18+ gachi game. He then took us the outside of a X-rated movie theater. Spoke a bit about it and that was just it.

The places we went were good. I wouldn’t say you had to be on this tour to find these places. And honestly for the price… you could’ve ate at all these places for less the price of the tour if you’d gone alone.

It wasn’t a bad tour. Just extremely underwhelming. It personally felt like we were just paying to eat with other foreigners..

I would’ve really appreciated more information on the dishes or even the restaurants we visited. We had a lovely group of people that made the...

Amazing  tour # Great guides # great knowledge # Great food # Great Sake # ANDY IS THE MAN !!!!!

First of all let me start by saying THANK YOU ANDY and the FELLOW GUIDES. They were all enthusiastic and friendly. Evening started with everyone being introduced to each other and we were then encouraged to get a few drinks ( beers in my case ) before setting off on our tour . I was with Andy and this guy I just love !!! He made sure we had and excellent evening and was extremely engaging and knowledgeable . Everyone wanted a piece of him but he made sure everyone felt included and provided in-depth answers 👌

The walk was exactly as described , if you want to see the "other side " of Osaka then this is a MUST . Walking around the red light area was particularly interesting as it's not something you would just stumble across and learning all about Osaka homeless problems was even more eye opening!!!! Along the way Andy would make recommendations on things to eat and see... I don't think you could ask for any more than that but Andy always had something up his sleeve.

At the end of the night  we finished off with a great meal and  had the chance to bond with the rest of the guides and other people on the tour. Just simple great !

It was an eye opening  experience  discoverying the hidden side of Osaka as you only tend to see  the commercial side to a city but I can truely say it was my favourite part of Osaka . Just felt more real!!!!

Andy is  a brilliant guide and A genuine guy.  I would highly recommend that you add this to your itinerary. I've been in Tokyo and Yokohama before this trip and after this tour  I fell in love with Osaka.... All thanks to ANDY!!!!

I even bumped in to Andy in Kyoto and again he's was just so welcoming and friendly.  #  Andy is the Man !!!!!

Can't wait to come...

Decided on this tour for our first night in Osaka from the many options offered.

Instructions on meet up were so easy and clear. The tour was mid sized which was perfect for meeting new people and chatting. We absolutely loved meeting and talking to the people on this tour.

Michael was an amazing guide. He was a font of information as someone who’s lived in Osaka for over 5 years. He was a perfect blend of tour guide and host, and honestly just such a welcoming and informative guide. It’s rare that someone can both hold your attention for two/three hours in an entertaining way and also be approachable for our stupid questions but Michael definitely mastered both.

The tour, on a whole, was fresh and fun. We saw areas of Osaka we would never have thought to explore. And Michael offered such great insight on some of the more interesting Japanese/Osakan customs/cultural norms. I would HIGHLY recommend taking this tour to get your Osaka experience off the ground.

Fair warning though- it might set a high note you can’t replicate on...