Hokkaido 饮品之旅(5)

Shun was very eager to share his love and passion for Japanese alcohol. I was particularly happy to learn local way of drinking Sake with Dashi. This is the type of experience I am looking for and he did a great job bringing us to 3 hidden places.

Shun has incredible taste in food and has a deep knowledge about sake. I was the only person in this tour and he was able to tailor the tour to my requests. I asked to try some sake and eat what the locals eat. I'm deeply humbled by his knowledge and exposed how much I didn't know about Japnese cuisine and sake. First stop was a hidden izakaya where the proprietress served a style of food called obanzai, essentially drinking food if you come from a culture that has that concept (I'm Vietnamese, it's very familiar to me). We had a couple of shots of sake and enjoyed a conversation over the snack and sent me recommendations. We continued to a sale tasting where I discovered that had been ignoring an entire classification of sake due to my own ignorance as Shun explained each sake in the flight of sake served to me. We ended off the night with miso ramen from a local favorite ramen shop. My mind was blown and stomach was happy. My only suggestion for Shun is to carry a sign that says "Shun" or "By Food Tour". We arranged a meeting point, but didn't mention how to recognize him. Other than that, I wholly recommend Shun as a tour guide. I'll gladly book him again if I have some folks with me, they need to experience what I experienced!

My friend and I had the most amazing experience in Otaru with Yuko-San who took us on a fantastic tour. We visited Otarus local fish market, the shopping street with beautiful architecture and unique glassware, the picturesque canal lined with warehouses from the old days, had a huge seafood sashimi donburi lunch with Yuko then finished the tour with a sake tasting at the UNESCO Otaru distillery. We learned about Otarus long history through Yuko-San who was the most passionate, considerate and knowledgeable tour guide. She also made for great company and is an all round lovely person, we are incredibly grateful to have met her! If you are planning a trip to Otaru and want to check out all the main sites, culture and cuisine, do this byFood tour and definitely request for Yuko-San! We cannot recommend it enough.

Would highly recommend Shun, he took myself and my two friends to local izakaya and sake bars that we would have missed on our own. Very friendly, saved some recommendations for the future, and everything was tasty! Thanks again for the experience!

I had a great experience with Shun. It was on a Monday so I was the only patron, but Shun was in great spirit and catered the experience solely for me. We went around to 3 local spots, which I would've never in a million years be able to locate myself. Honestly, felt like just kicking it with friends as we drank highballs, beers, and sake throughout the night. I highly recommend Shun. His sake knowledge and vibe is unbeatable!