Shopping is one of the pleasures of being on holiday. Products that you can use on an everyday basis while also feeling the atmosphere of Kyoto make perfect gifts for yourself and for others. Take the feeling of Kyoto home with you!
There are so many places for shopping in Kyoto. Obviously, it all depends on what you’re looking for and interested to buy. Here are some suggestions.
<General souvenirs>
· Kyoto Tower: on the 1st floor, there are a lot of little shops with several traditional and old style tourist souvenirs shops, not expensive — you’ll find many little things there.
· Shinkyogoku Dori, Teramachi Arcade: On Shijo, near the Nishiki Market
<General shopping>
· Shijo Dori, between Kawaramachi and Karasuma: There are a lot of large department stores, Takashimaya, Daimaru, Tokyu Hands, etc. The basement food level is usually particularly interesting to check out. Each of these department store has a section for Japanese souvenirs.
· Aeon Mall Kyoto: located on the south side of the Kyoto station. The largest shopping mall in town. You’ll find everything, UNI QLO, Mugirushi (Muji), Bookstore, Toys’R’us, Sport shops, and a very large Daiso 100 yen shop
<Pottery>
· Gojo-Zaka Pottery Fair: A large scale pottery fair typically held the second week of August. There are as many as 500 pottery stalls lining up both sides of a stretch of Gojo street. Lots of discoveries to be made!
<Food>
· Takashimaya basement : It’s interesting to see so much foods around you.
<Electric goods>
· Yodobashi Camera: The largest camera and electric appliance shop in town, located right in front of the Kyoto Station. They take care of the Tax-free documentation for you. There is a little 100 yen shop on B2, and some casual clothes shop on the 4th floor.
<Open Market – Flea Market>
There are three main places for Open Market in Kyoto. They start quite early in the morning (around 7am depends on the weather), and close early afternoon (depends on the site).
We particularly like To-ji Temple Flea Market. It’s fun to look around, and you can find some really inexpensive items. We have found a lot of things for our Machiya visiting this market. I recommend to be there before 9am as there are less people and more goods to buy.
Every 1st Sunday of the month: To-ji Temple Flea Market: our favorite
· Every 21th of the month: To- ji Kobo-san Market: it’s a much larger scale then the previous one, with numerous food stuff, curio, etc. We found it also a bit more expensive, but for someone looking for antiques, it’s a very good place (they have all kind of other items too (old kimono, junk, curio, etc.). Check out the Kobo-San Market page!
· Every 25th of the month: Kitano Tenmangu Tenjin-san Market: a lot of food stands. Nice atmosphere, beautiful temple ground, but always very crowded. This is, with Kobo-san market at To-Ji Temple, the two best markets in town. Check out the Tenjin-San Market page!
· Every 8th, 18th, 28th of the month: Toyokuni Jinja Shrine Market — it’s small, but it’s our local market. You won’t find so many things and you’ll see everything within 15 to 30 minutes, but it’s so close from our Machiya. In addition, the Toyokuni Shrine is a beautiful one.
<Others>
There are many other specific items one can bring back from Kyoto. We’ll try to update this page as we get some good ideas to suggest.
