Your own guide, sommelier or former master brewer: private brewery tours and small-group tastings led by sake professionals.
A sake cup (ochoko) by Eiraku Tokuzen, Walters Art Museum. Photo: Eiraku Tokuzen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
We list 25 private and sommelier-led sake tours experiences in 7 places, most in Tokyo, Kyoto and Kobe. Each links to its booking page, with the price as shown there on 18 October 2026.
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Showing 25 of 25 experiences. Prices are as shown on each booking page on 18 October 2026, in the currency shown; check the final price before you pay.
Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum, then 10+ sakes chosen by a certified sommelier with otsumami pairings in the operator’s own tasting room.
A 90-minute guided introduction to sake: a short lesson, then seven sakes.
Seven or more sakes with an English-speaking sommelier while you cook your own takoyaki.
A two-hour class in Shinjuku with six or more sakes and snacks, comparing serving temperatures and cup shapes.
A guided nine-sake tasting with snacks near Dotonbori, explaining labels and food matches.
A sommelier-led session in a small Tsukiji salon with 50–60 sakes to sample, snacks, and a comparison of serving temperatures.
Seven sakes, from sparkling to dessert styles, each matched with a course, led by an accredited sommelier.
A private English-guided visit to Ozawa Shuzo (Sawanoi) in the Okutama valley, with tasting. 1–10 guests.
English-guided tours of the Fukuju brewery: a short sake tour with a souvenir (same-day booking possible) or longer tours with a kaiseki or Kobe beef meal (two weeks’ notice, 2–6 guests).
A private three-hour tour with six tastings across izakaya, sake shops and a museum, with food pairings.
Four private taxi courses from Ebina or Hon-Atsugi stations, about an hour from Shinjuku, each visiting Kanagawa breweries. Tastings are paid separately.
A private Nada walk with a former master brewer, including kimoto brewing exhibits and Kiku-Masamune.
A private day from Osaka with two Nada brewery museums and tastings, then Kitano’s old foreign residences.
A private afternoon tour (1:00–5:00 p.m.) with a certified English-speaking sake guide.
A six-hour private tour with hotel pickup, lunch and admissions included.
A private morning walk from 10:00 a.m., from Nishinomiya Shrine to breweries, finishing at Hanshin Imazu Station.
A private masterclass (1:00–5:00 p.m.) with brewery visits and tastings, from Hanshin Nishinomiya Station.
A private group visit to the Kizakura brewery plus a 10-sake tasting, for groups of up to 12 or 30.
A private full day with a brewery visit and tastings, a Japanese lunch and a riverside walk.
Seven sakes matched with four small courses, poured by certified sommeliers.
A private sake and food tour in Taito City; the listing notes vegan options.
A 90-minute sommelier tasting of six or seven sake styles in Shinjuku.
A private one-day car tour with hotel pickup, a brewery visit and tasting, a meal and a sake shop stop.
A private day out by car to two breweries near Narita (Terada Honke and Iinuma Honke) with tastings, shrine stops and a photographer.
Seated tasting programmes in Asakusa, from a quick introduction to a longer sommelier-led flight.
Some “Book on” links go to GetYourGuide, Viator or Klook through our affiliate links: we may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. Links to operators’ own websites and Arigato Travel are not affiliate links. Commissions never affect which experiences we list. Details.
Private tours are run for your group only, so the pace, the breweries and the questions are yours. Guides are often certified sake sommeliers, and a few tours in Kobe and Nishinomiya are led by a former toji (master brewer). Private tours can also reach breweries that do not take walk-in visitors.
Prices are usually quoted per group, not per person, so they look high for one or two people but can be good value for four to six.
Ask which breweries are planned and whether the route can change; whether tastings, food and transport are included; how many people the price covers; and the cancellation policy. If you want to see brewing in action, ask whether the visit falls in brewing season (roughly October/November to March).
Prices vary widely. The listings show the price as published on each booking page, often per group. Private brewery tours with a car and driver cost the most.
All the experiences listed here are sold to English-speaking travellers, and most state an English-speaking guide or host.