What byFood.com does

byFood.com, operated by Tokyo-based Tablecross Inc., is an online marketplace that connects international travelers with authentic Japanese and global food experiences. The platform lists more than 30,000 curated experiences spanning five core categories — food tours, drinking tours, cooking classes, dining experiences, and foodie stays — supplemented by restaurant reservation services, a premium Gourmet Concierge for custom itinerary planning, and digital gift cards. A differentiator is the Food for Happiness (FFH) social impact program, under which byFood donates 10 school meals to children in need for every booking completed. The platform supports multilingual browsing and booking, dietary accommodation filters (vegan, vegetarian, halal, kosher), and instant confirmation across listings in Japan and international destinations including Paris, Rome, Barcelona, New York, and Florence.

The underlying technology is a content-rich e-commerce marketplace built on a CDN-backed web platform (byfood.b-cdn.net) with category, destination, and cuisine-level landing pages optimized for organic search discovery. No proprietary AI, API, SDK, or mobile app is disclosed; the platform operates as a web-first booking experience. Distribution is augmented by a multilingual YouTube channel (@JapanbyFood), a content blog, SEO-optimized category pages, an affiliate program, and reseller partnerships with tour operators and travel agencies — most notably JTB Corporation, Japan's largest travel agency. Pricing follows a per-booking, unit-pricing model ranging from roughly US$10 for entry-level experiences to over US$800 for private and multi-day tours.

Revenue is generated primarily through marketplace commissions on bookings facilitated between travelers and experience hosts (tour operators, cooking instructors, restaurants, ryokans), with a secondary stream from gift card sales. Go-to-market is predominantly self-serve product-led growth via the byFood.com storefront, supplemented by mid-funnel distribution through JTB and tour-operator resellers. The primary customer segment is international food tourists visiting Japan, with a secondary segment of global food enthusiasts booking experiences abroad. The company is privately held and venture-backed, having raised approximately US$6.8M across a 2019 seed, a 2023 Series A, and a 2025 Series B.

Name

byFood.com

Legal name

Tablecross Inc.

Website

https://byfood.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

byFood.com, operated by Tokyo-based Tablecross Inc., is an online marketplace connecting international travelers with over 30,000 curated food experiences, cooking classes, and restaurant reservations across Japan and global destinations, generating revenue through booking commissions and gift cards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Tourism Marketplace

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Tours, Activities & Experiences Booking Platforms (BPAMAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Culinary & Wine Travel Agencies (THAKAFAH), Culinary Walking & Market Tours (THAJAGAA), Local Tours, Activities & Attractions Metasearch (THALAEAI)

Keywords

• Food tourism marketplace
• Culinary experience booking
• Cooking class reservations
• Restaurant booking platform
• Guided food tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Marketplace Commission: byFood generates revenue by taking a commission on bookings made through its platform. Tour operators, cooking class instructors, and experience hosts list their offerings on byFood, and the platform facilitates the transaction, retaining a percentage of each booking fee.
2. Gift Cards: The company sells gift cards, allowing customers to purchase prepaid vouchers for food experiences that can be redeemed by recipients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

byFood.com operates an online marketplace that lets travelers discover and book food tours, drinking tours, cooking classes, dining experiences, foodie stays, and restaurant reservations across Japan and select global destinations. Third-party hosts (tour operators, chefs, restaurants) list their experiences on the platform, and byFood earns a commission on each booking facilitated.

Product overview

byFood.com is a food tourism booking platform operated by Tablecross Inc., offering a unified marketplace for discovering and booking authentic food experiences, tours, and restaurant reservations across Japan and global destinations. The platform connects travelers with local food experiences through four core experience categories (Food Tours, Drinking Tours, Cooking Classes, Dining Experiences, and Foodie Stays), supplemented by restaurant reservation services, a Gourmet Concierge for custom planning, and a charitable Food for Happiness initiative. The platform features over 30,000 authentic food experiences and operates across major Japanese cities (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Nara, Kanagawa, Ishikawa) and global destinations including Paris, Florence, Rome, Barcelona, New York, Venice, Porto, and Madrid.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Food for Happiness (FFH): A charitable initiative where byFood donates 10 school meals per guest to children in need for every booking or reservation placed.

Products and services

• Food Tours Marketplace category aggregating guided food tour experiences across Japan and global destinations, including 1-day, market, farm, bike, street food, factory, night, fishing, multi-day, and foraging tours. Targeted at international travelers seeking curated local food experiences.
• Drinking Tours Beverage-focused marketplace category including distillery tours, winery tours, brewery tours, bar hopping tours, tastings, and mixology classes across Japan and global destinations.
• Cooking Classes Hands-on cooking instruction marketplace category including casual cooking classes, professional cooking classes, and workshops taught by professional chefs and local food experts in Japan and globally.
• Dining Experiences Marketplace category for restaurant reservations and curated dining experiences including chef's table, home dining, tea ceremony, dining with entertainment, and dining cruises in Japan and globally.
• Foodie Stays Marketplace category for accommodation-based food experiences including farm stays, ryokan stays, and glamping with authentic local dining in Japan and globally.
• Restaurant Reservations Online reservation platform for booking restaurants across Japan covering a wide range of Japanese cuisines (sushi, omakase, kaiseki, wagyu, tempura, yakiniku, yakitori, fugu, sukiyaki, shabu shabu, teppanyaki, unagi, seafood, crab, okonomiyaki, izakaya, etc.) and international cuisines (Italian, French, Korean, Spanish, Chinese, fusion, steakhouse).
• Gourmet Concierge Premium bespoke service offering tailor-made custom food experience planning and personalized food tour itineraries for individual travelers and groups.
• Gift Cards Digital gift cards for byFood food experiences, tours, and dining reservations, sold in variable denominations and redeemable on the platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.91 stars customer satisfaction rate across all experiences
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Convenience Store ChainsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026byFood offers guided convenience store tours as a key tourist activity, capitalizing on the trend of foreign tourists discovering Japanese konbinis as cultural attractions.
• JTB Corp.coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2023Strategic partnership with JTB Corporation to promote gastronomic tourism for foreign visitors to Japan. JTB supports byFood through influencer marketing and cross-border e-commerce initiatives to attract international tourists.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Viator (Tripadvisor): Viator is the world's largest tours, activities, and experiences booking marketplace, owned by Tripadvisor. It directly competes with byFood across food tours, cooking classes, and culinary experiences globally, including Japan.
• Airbnb Experiences: Airbnb Experiences is a marketplace for host-led activities including food tours, cooking classes, and dining experiences. It overlaps with byFood's core offerings and competes for both hosts and travelers in Japan and globally.

Direct peers

• GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide is a leading global tours and activities booking platform, backed by SoftBank. It competes head-to-head with byFood across food tours, cooking classes, and curated experiences in Japan, Europe, and North America.
• Klook: Klook is an Asia-Pacific focused tours, activities, and attractions booking platform with strong coverage in Japan. It overlaps directly with byFood on food experiences, cooking classes, and Japan inbound tourism use cases.
• VELTRA Corporation: VELTRA is a Japan-based online tours and activities booking platform and a Series A investor in byFood. It competes directly with byFood on Japan food tours, cultural experiences, and inbound tourism activities.
• Cookly: Cookly is a marketplace specializing in cooking classes and food tours across Asia, including Japan. It is a direct food-experiences peer to byFood with overlapping supply (chefs, cooking schools) and demand (culinary travelers).
• Withlocals: Withlocals is a marketplace for local-led food tours, cooking classes, and cultural experiences across Asia and Europe. It competes with byFood on curated, host-led culinary experiences for international travelers.
• EatWith: EatWith (part of VizEat/Viator) is a marketplace for home dining, chef's table experiences, and food tours. It overlaps with byFood's dining experiences and food tour categories, especially for international travelers.
• TableCheck: TableCheck is a Japan-based restaurant reservation and table management platform. It overlaps with byFood's restaurant reservation product for Japan-bound international travelers and competes for the same supply of high-end Japanese restaurants.

Regional players

• Japanican (JTB): Japanican is JTB's inbound tourism booking platform for foreign visitors to Japan, including tours and dining experiences. It is a sister/partner property to byFood via JTB's investment, but also a competing Japan tours booking channel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@JapanbyFood
• Xx.com/japanbyfood

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about byFood.com