Fushimi Walking Tour: Sake Tasting & Canal Boat Ride

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.09 (11 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/13

Duration3h 30m

GroupUp to 9

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Fushimi's temples, canals and sake in one morning

This 3.5-hour walking tour of Kyoto's Fushimi district includes a boat ride through willow-lined canals, entry to Chokenji Temple, a sake tasting at Gekkeikan Brewery, and time in a nostalgic café housed in a former merchant house. An English-speaking guide leads the route; the boat fee and tasting are included. Small group and private options are available, with or without the boat ride.

3h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Fushimi district and sake culture

Visit Chokenji Temple
Boat ride on Fushimi canals
Tour Gekkeikan Sake Brewery
Savor sake tasting experience
Relax in nostalgic café

The Experience

Fushimi sits south of central Kyoto and has been the heart of sake brewing for centuries. The tour starts with Chokenji Temple, a quiet spot away from the main crowds, then moves to the canal where you board a traditional Jikkoku-bune boat. The ride glides past willow trees and the old warehouse buildings that line the water—the physical layout of the district reveals itself from the boat in a way walking alone would not. The boat section is included in the small group and private options; two of the four purchase choices skip it if you prefer to stay on foot.

Gekkeikan Brewery is the centerpiece. You walk through a museum of historical brewing tools and techniques, then taste several of Kyoto's sakes—the tasting is structured, not a casual pour, and gives you a sense of how the brewing traditions here differ from other regions. After the brewery, the tour ends at a café inside a former merchant house, a place to sit and absorb the old Kyoto atmosphere before heading back into the modern city.

The whole route is walkable and paced for a morning. You'll move between temple grounds, canal paths and the brewery building, so comfortable shoes matter. The guide speaks English throughout and can answer questions about what you're seeing—the spiritual role of the temple, why the warehouses are built the way they are, how the sake tastes change from one bottle to the next.

What’s included

English-speaking guide throughout the route.
entry to Chokenji Temple.
boat ride through Fushimi's canals on a traditional Jikkoku-bune (included in Small Group Tour and Private Tour options).
museum entry and sake tasting at Gekkeikan Brewery.
time to rest at a café in a former merchant house.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by TripGuru

Is this one for you?Choose the small group option if you want to meet other travelers and share the cost; pick private if you prefer to move at your own pace and ask the guide questions without a group listening in. The boat ride is the most distinctive part of the route—if you're drawn to the canal scenery and the perspective it gives, book one of the options that includes it; if you'd rather keep moving on foot and spend more time at the temple and brewery, the walking-only versions give you the same cultural stops without the water.