Simply the best traditional food market in the city. When you’re starting to feel tired about visiting temples, this is a highly recommended visit for all.
The Nishiki market, Kyoto’s largest traditional food market, is a narrow, five block long shopping street lined by more than one hundred shops and restaurants. You’ll find an impressive choice of food, seasonal foods and Kyoto specialties, Japanese sweets, pickled vegetables, dried seafood and sushi. But also Sake, oysters, ice cream, cakes, and more, much more. A lot of the shops are traditional and so is the general aspect of the place – an old shotengai (shopping street).
This is the best place in Kyoto to find all the major ingredients of traditional Kyoto cuisine: tsukemono (Japanese pickles), fresh tofu, Kyo-yasai (Kyoto vegetables), wagashi (Japanese sweets), tea, and fresh fish and shellfish. There is plenty to eat on the spot like yakitori skewers or sashimi, and you can actually try and sample a lot of the items on display, which is both fun and surprising. Almost everything sold at the market is locally produced and procured.
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Nukazuke type of Tsukemono
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"Tsukemono" pickled vegetable
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"Hamo' fish
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"Ika" Squid skew
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"Tsukemono"
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"Narazuke" or Tsukemono in Sake stash
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Fish Balls
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Taco or little octopus
Click the map to enlarge it
Nishikikoji-dori, Nakagyo-ku (between Teramachi and Takakura)
The market is open from 9 am to 5 pm. (Opening hours may vary for some shops. Some are closed on Wednesday.)
By bus, go to shijo-Kawaramachi bus stop.
By subway, go to Shijo Station on the Karasuma subway line, or Karasuma or Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Kyoto line
