Nearly a decade after his book on Japan with Anthony Bourdain took readers inside the secret rhythms of the country’s food culture, Matt Goulding returns to the source. This journey traces a personal and culinary arc through this magical city, guided by the chefs, artisans, and fixers who have helped inspire a 15-year love for the region.
Consummate Host, Bar Gyu+ Proprietor Ioanna Morelli
Overview
A Kyoto Pilgrimage: Private
Nearly a decade after his book on Japan with Anthony Bourdain took readers inside the secret rhythms of the country’s food culture, Matt Goulding returns to the source. This journey traces a personal and culinary arc through this magical city, guided by the chefs, artisans, and fixers who have helped inspire a 15-year love for the region. There will be temple feasts and back-alley yakitori, tea ceremonies and sake-fueled dinners that stretch late into the night, each encounter a window into one of the world’s great food cultures.
Head to one of our favorite corners in the city, Robert Yellin Yakimono Gallery, where Robert will take us on a storytelling tour through Japanese craft, combining first-rate sake with his collection of extraordinary ceramics
Traverse the beautiful Philosopher’s Path to dinner at cozy Badu, a candlelit wine bar from Yoshihiro Imai, who serves up seasonal small plates and Kyoto riffs on Italian classics
Rise early and head to Kyoto’s bustling fish market with Toshio Matsuno, chef of Tempura Matsu, one of our favorite restaurants here or anywhere
Toshio-san shows us how to hunt down the best seasonal fish and produce as we gather the ingredients for a day of very special eating
Return to Tempura Matsu, where we learn to slice and plate sashimi and cook the perfect batch of Japanese rice, combing the two for a heroic donburi
Return to the hotel to digest the big moments of the morning and prepare for our last night together in Japan
Finale: Tempura Matsu’s full tasting menu, one of the most distinctive and welcoming fine-dining experiences in Japan
Head to one of Kyoto’s best cocktail bars for a postprandial, pre-karaoke drink or two
Afterparty: karaoke, strong drink, you know the drill
Day
5
SAYONARA, KYOTO
March 9 · Monday
One last wistful Kyoto breakfast at Shinmonzen
Private transfer to the airport or wherever your journey continues
What’s Included
All breakfasts, lunches, dinners, as well as snacks and beverages between meals
Expertise and services of our experienced trip leaders: at least one guide and one host per trip
Additional guides and experts from the region
Transfers to and from the airport or wherever you are on the day the trip starts and ends
Daily Roads & Kingdoms gifts related to the themes, activities and narratives of each trip
All gratuities for accommodations, meals, guiding or transport
What’s Not Included
International airfare to and from the journey (note: some trips begin and end at different airports)
Personal bar tabs (when not with the group)
Personal laundry or spa services
Personal travel insurance
Meet Our Hosts
R&K Host
Matt Goulding
Writer, Producer, R&K Co-founder
Matt Goulding is an award-winning writer, producer, and publisher. His new documentary series Omnivore, created with Chef René Redzepi of NOMA, is now streaming on Apple TV+. His Eat This, Not That books sold over 10 million copies, and his R&K books with Anthony Bourdain’s imprint won numerous awards. He divides his time between the tapas bars of Barcelona and the barbecue pits of rural North Carolina.
Destination Guide
Ioanna Morelli
Consummate Host, Bar Gyu+ Proprietor
One of the world’s great interpreters and advocates for Japanese whisky, Ioanna Morelli is the co-owner of Bar Gyu+ in Niseko, an incandescent jewel box of high-end mixology, excellent vinyl records, and views of snow falling on the Japanese cedars behind the bar top. A Canadian by birth, Ioanna first entered our world as a translator, guide, and fixer for Matt Goulding’s acclaimed book Rice Noodle Fish: Deep Travels through Japan’s Food Culture. And she has been involved in all of our Japan projects and dreams since.
Where You’ll Stay
The Shinmonzen
Ando does it better
The Shinmonzen is one of Kyoto’s quiet triumphs. Tucked along the Shirakawa River in the heart of Gion, this nine-suite hideaway was designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Tadao Ando, who brings his blend of clean lines and contemplative space to an ancient neighborhood. Inside, light moves softly across warm wood and handmade textiles. It’s a place that feels both deeply considered and deeply comfortable. Service is thoughtful and near-invisible, and the balconies overlooking the river make it easy to lose track of time.
I had no idea what a deeply moving experience this trip would be—far beyond just a culinary tour.
Dawn F.
Morocco, from Medina to Mountain 2024
If you love far-flung, intrepid travel and food, you will love traveling with Roads & Kingdoms.
Katie K.
Vietnam, the North 2024
The connections R&K has in the community made this trip feel like a once-in-a-lifetime experience that could not be replicated by any other company.
Join us for a week of culinary exploration that is sometimes rustic, sometimes luxurious, but always fascinating. By foot, by plane, by private vehicle, by speedboat: this is a kinetic journey through the heart of the South. Your hosts Andy Ricker and Phongsila “Mapeng” Comack are the perfect guides through the big history and bright flavors of the region, mixing places you think you know with locations that few outsiders ever see.
From the misty matsutake-rich mountains of Ma Pin Guan to the hidden Bai enclaves of ancient Silk Road towns, this is a weeklong journey through China’s most varied province, a biodiversity hotspot home to more ethnic groups than any other. Yunnan: land of mushrooms, birthplace of tea. Led by the Chinese writer Jane Yang and China-based documentary photographer Eduardo Leal, we begin in Shanghai and end in Dali, traversing four ancient towns that ring the storied Lake of Erhai—culminating in an extraordinary multi-course dinner in a secret restaurant for Chinese chefs.
