A little off the beaten track, but a must-visit if you're a fan of sake or even potentially a fan of sake. It's possible to taste the products from up to 18 sake breweries. Be sure to make a reservation if you want to sit at the counter for a formal tasting, or be prepared to stand. Several restaurants are in the building and it's a bit confusing to figure out where one leaves off and another starts. We ate at a ramen restaurant and had the best bowl of ramen I've ever had: made with sake brewing lees from one of the local breweries. You get to pick which brewery's lees you want your ramen made from. Staff are knowledgeable and helpful, but you may want to rely on Google Translate if your Japanese is a bit rusty. You can take a train on the Kyoto Kintetsu line from Kyoto Station to Momoyamagoryomae Station and have just a short walk to the shop.

While looking for a sake tasting place in Kyoto, we watched a video about a place in Fushimi that has a 18 sake tasting. My only knowledge of Fushimi is the famous shrine with all the Torii gates. Once I learnt that Fushimi is a famous sake brewing town, I was determined to try Fushimi Sakegura Koji.

Getting there isn't hard and I made it part of our morning trip to Fushimi Inari Shrine and then an early brunch at Fushimi Sakegura Koji. From the shrine, it is a short 22 minute ride on the Keihan line or Nara line (JR). The Keihan line has a lot less walking and would be my recommendation.

Fushimi Sakegura Koji is on a side street from the main shopping street. There is plenty of food options as you walk through the street. However, I would recommend eating at Fushimi Sakegura Koji. There are several mini-stalls serving a wide variety of Japanese cuisine including ramen, yakitori, and street foods. In total, there are 8 restaurants including Sakegura which is the sake tasting restaurant.

I recommend making a reservation as the counter space is limited and I believe the 18 sake tasting is only available at the counter. You can still order food although not every item is available. The food would be delivered to your seat and is very convenient.

The main star is the sake. Sakegura focus on local sakes and the 18 tasting gives you a wide range. They have an English tasting sheet that explains all of the sake you are tasting including the brewery. It isn't the premium sakes on the tasting. I would recommend trying a few of the premium once you have finished the tasting. You can let the bartender know your preference and they will make recommendations. It was an eye-opener for me to be able to taste so many sakes and to discover new sake profiles that would be very difficult to try outside of Japan.

The servers when I was there spoke very limited English. While they can answer some questions and provide recommendations, I relied heavily on Google Translate to look at their recommendations and to understand some of the sake descriptions. This was not a problem as I'm quite used to having to do this.

If you are in Kyoto and want to learn more about sakes, I would highly recommend Fushimi Sakegura Koji! Its a great experience at a good price!

We were looking for the Comparison-Sake Drinking of 18-Fushimi Breweries' Restaurant. We entered & were told to keep moving through to the back, first sushi, then a fry place, yakisoba, Korean, Italian, etc. At the end of this foodcourt-maze was the one we were searching for but they had a 1-hour wait (at 4:30 pm?). As we wondered what to do a pretty waitress explained their system--We can get DEMAI (food delivery from the other shops) sit/drink in one place but mix & match food. It really was quite fun. Each restaurant had a different page of menu & drinks. We ordered, she delivered, it turned out really nice. Great atmosphere. We didn't get our 18-Comparison drinking, but 4-Comparison Sake (including one NIGORI (unfiltered, milky) and a sparkling Sake were fine.

There was a 3-generation family eating here so locals also love it. Would love to go eat again!