Tokyo Shinjuku Food Tour for Family: Make Okonomiyaki Together

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2 options

Guide in English or Japanese18:30

Guide in English or Japanese17:15

You pick the guide language when booking. Options with the same name differ in details you'll see when you pick a date.

You see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates & prices

Cook Japanese street food with your hands, play Mario Kart in a Tokyo arcade, taste yakitori in a narrow alley packed with locals.

A private evening food tour in Tokyo's Shinjuku for families with teens or young adults, where you make okonomiyaki and monja-yaki at a teppanyaki restaurant, explore Omoide Yokocho's yakitori bars, play in a retro arcade, and get professional family photos from your guide. The tour runs 3.5 hours and includes two dishes and one drink at the first restaurant. Additional food and drinks at the second and third stops cost around $15 per person extra. Your group is the only one on the tour.

Step-by-step itinerary

Evening food and culture tour in Shinjuku

• Visit Shinjuku 3-chrome teppanyaki
• Make okonomiyaki and monja-yaki
• Explore Omoide Yokocho alleyway
• Enjoy yakitori and local drinks
• Play games at Japanese arcade
• Choose one arcade experience
• Adults taste sake. Kids enjoy snacks
• Optional visit to Shinjuku Golden Gai

The Experience

The evening starts at a teppanyaki restaurant in Shinjuku 3-chrome, where you'll make okonomiyaki and monja-yaki yourself: the savory pancakes and batter-based dishes that Tokyo locals eat standing up in tiny spots. You get to cook, taste what you've made, and drink something of your choice while the chef and other diners chat with you about the neighborhood. This is old-town Tokyo nightlife as it actually happens, not a staged version of it.

From there you walk to Omoide Yokocho, a narrow alley with over 60 tiny bars and restaurants stacked into a single block. The place smells like yakitori smoke and grilled offal. You'll order grilled chicken skewers, motsuyaki, and whatever else catches your eye: sake, shochu, beer, whiskey, whatever the group wants. The bars are small enough that you talk to the people next to you, and that's the point. Kids see how adults actually eat and drink in Japan. Adults remember why they came to Tokyo in the first place.

Next is a retro arcade where everyone plays something different: Taiko Drum Master, Mario Kart, the racing games, or the purikura photo booths where you take silly pictures in costume frames. You choose which one fits your group. Then, depending on time and appetite, you might stop at Shinjuku Golden Gai, the famous drinking district with over 200 tiny bars, each one its own world. The final stop is a sake bar where adults taste sake from different regions of Japan while kids (and anyone else) hit an all-you-can-eat Japanese snack counter. Your guide takes professional family photos throughout the night, so you're not stuck holding the camera.

What’s included

• Two Japanese dishes (okonomiyaki and monja-yaki) and one drink of your choice at the first restaurant.
• a private guide in English or Japanese who photographs your group.
• entry to the retro arcade where you choose one activity.
• access to Omoide Yokocho and its yakitori bars.
• optional additional food and drinks at the second and third stops for around $15 per person each.

Days and timesDaily · 2 departure times, from 17:15 to 18:30

AgesAges 4+ · Under 4 — Free

Meeting point and pickupNo pickup · ends elsewhereMeeting point, per the operator: “We'll meet up in front of Starbucks Coffee Keio Shinjuku Sanchome Building Store”

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportPublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditions

Operated by Goen Japan

Is this one for you?Book this if your family wants to cook and eat together rather than watch from a table, and if your kids are old enough to enjoy an alley full of locals and the controlled chaos of a Tokyo arcade. The private-group format means no strangers and no schedule pressure. You move at your own pace through neighborhoods most family tours skip.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English and Japanese.

Can children come?

Under 4, free.

What exactly do we make at the teppanyaki restaurant?

You make okonomiyaki and monja-yaki. Both are savory batter dishes cooked on a hot griddle right in front of you. Okonomiyaki is a thick pancake layered with cabbage, meat or seafood, and sauce. Monja-yaki is a looser batter you stir and eat straight off the griddle with a small metal pick. Both are Tokyo comfort food, and you cook them yourself.

Do we have to eat at every restaurant, or can we skip one?

The tour includes food and a drink at the first restaurant (Shinjuku 3-chrome). The second and third stops (Omoide Yokocho and the sake bar) are optional add-ons at around $15 per person each. You decide what you want to eat and where, and your guide will take you to the spots that match your appetite and budget.

What's the difference between the Family with Teens option and the Couple & Group option?

The Family with Teens option is designed for parents traveling with teenagers or young adults. It's built around activities and pacing that work for mixed ages. The Couple & Group option is for couples or larger groups of 20 or more adults. Both are private (your group only), but the itinerary and energy are different.

How much walking is involved?

You'll walk between restaurants and the arcade, moving through Shinjuku's neighborhoods on foot. The distances are short (Shinjuku is compact), but you're on your feet for most of the 3.5 hours. Comfortable shoes are a good idea, and the area is wheelchair accessible if you need it.

Will the guide take photos we can actually use?

Your guide takes professional family photos throughout the night: at the restaurants, in the arcade, in the alley. You get candid shots of everyone together, not posed stiffness. The photos are yours to keep and share.