Bar Hopping in Downtown Yamagata City

If you are hitting Yamagata City and you are on board for a food and booze-filled evening, this tour is all you could wish for. A skilled guide will lead you through Yamagata nightlife, covering different types of establishments, from high-end cocktail bars to fancy modern izakaya, to traditional Japanese watering holes.

The common thread through the tour is the abundance of local food and drinks: velvety-smooth Japanese sake, whisky with a kick, and milky cocktails alongside mouth-watering izakaya food. If you consider yourself a foodie, Japanese gastropubs will be your paradise.

This bar hopping tour includes three stops at Yamagata’s authentic and trendy izakaya, where you can truly get a grasp of Yamagata’s flavors after dark. Spending roughly an hour at each stop, you’ll have plenty of time to fill your belly and slake your thirst with traditional local specialties and novelty drinks. Always by your side, your guide will take care of your beverage and food orders and provide suggestions, as local owners and staff don’t speak English and there won’t be any English menus. You can be assured that these are all gastropubs frequented by locals, and not tourist traps like you might find in some of Japan’s larger cities.

An authentic experience, during this bar hopping tour of Yamagata, you will rub elbows with local folks and dive into Yamagata’s scrumptious seasonal specialties, locally brewed sake, and specialty cocktails (with all-you-can-drink whisky highballs at your first stop).

Food and beverages are an essential part of any culture. Learn about Japanese drinking etiquette from your guide, from faux pas to avoid, to perfecting the “kampai” cheers, and walk away at the end of the night with a clear picture of what it means “to eat and drink like a local” in Yamagata City.