In a narrow undercover arcade lining the heart of Downtown Kyoto, Nishiki Ichiba or Nishiki Market is Kyoto’s enormous indoor market that has been feeding the city for well over 400 years. Fondly nicknamed the “Kitchen of Kyoto” or “Kyoto’s Pantry,” over 130 shops and restaurants span across 5 blocks lined with vendors retailing everything that’s locally-grown and produced. Specializing in seasonal foods and Kyoto’s culinary specialties, condiments and curious pickles color this lively market, while the freshest seafood and vegetables are sold alongside samples of locally-brewed Fushimi sake, Kyoto-style wagashi sweets, and tempting traditional street food. To the eastern exit, Nishiki Tenmagu Shrine watches over Nishiki Market, intersected by Teramachi and Shinkyogoku, the grand shopping arcades. Running parallel to the main street department stores and shopfronts of Shijo Dori, Nishiki Market is just a stone’s throw away from the old town alleyways of Pontocho beside the Kamogawa River and the geisha-filled Gion district.

Nishiki Market

Bordered by Osaka and Nara, Kyoto Prefecture shares a close friendship with its prefectural neighbors but represents a more sophisticated side of the Kansai region. Rich in history and traditional culture, Kyoto City served as the capital of Japan for over a thousand years before the switch to the eastern capital of Edo, now Tokyo as we know it today. Featuring a slow-paced atmosphere, Kyoto Prefecture stretches up across Kansai to gaze out upon the Sea of Japan. Scenic villages of kayabuki (thatched roof) farmhouses, bamboo groves, and funaya (boat houses) weave across the prefecture along with countless historical and religious monuments.

Surrounded by glorious mountains, Kyoto City is the long-serving cultural capital of Japan, filled with thousands of temples and shrines, alongside hundreds of gardens, museums, and galleries. Masters of the tea ceremony and ikebana flower arranging, Kyoto’s creative art scene goes back to the days of the traditional artisan, where local craftspeople still run tiny storefronts in narrow alleyways, specializing in all things handmade and custom-designed. This extends to the wonderful food of Kyoto, too, where gorgeous Kyo Ryori or Kyoto cuisine pops with color and flavor, healthy dishes made from locally-grown vegetables and produce, arranged beautifully every time. Multi-course kaiseki cuisine is best when dining alfresco on a kawadoko, a deck by the bank of a river, where tea houses and restaurants selling Kyoto cuisine thrive during summertime. Stunning in every season, Kiyomizudera Temple offers amazing views of the city and tastes of traditional Kyoto sweets, Kyo-gashi. Kyoto was also a pioneer of the humble plant-based Buddhist cuisine, Shojin Ryori.

Sake flows through the veins of Fushimi, famous for its thousand red torii gates of Fushimi Inari Shrine, but better known by locals as one of the top three sake-producing districts in the country. With over 40 sake breweries in Fushimi, it’s the second largest brewery district in Japan with a legacy of making top-quality sake. Kyoto Prefecture is also home to the city of Uji, known for its high-quality matcha green tea production and the World Heritage Site, Byodoin Temple (whose picture is featured on the 10 yen coin). With glowing red leaves in the fall and cherry blossoms emerging in spring, Kyoto Prefecture is a pocket of tradition and serenity where mountains and forests meet the sea. Nature and art are ingrained in every aspect of life in Kyoto, from its architecture and gardens down to artisanal products and finely crafted food.

Kyoto

Featuring beautiful landscapes from mountain to sea, Kyoto Prefecture conveys traditional Japanese culture through its architecture and gardens, art and artisanal crafts, and delicious local cuisine made from regional produce. 

Lovingly known as “Kyoto’s Kitchen,” Nishiki Market lives and breathes all things locally-sourced. Among a sensory overload, visitors can buy fresh produce and foods from pickles to sake, and seafood to street food. 

Gluten-free

Vegan

Vegetarian

Pescetarian

With sake

Kyoto has thousands of temples and shrines to keep you busy throughout the day, not to forget stunning gardens, teahouses, artisan shops, and galleries. But come night time, the city morphs, with an exciting drinking and party culture just waiting to be explored! Join this Pontocho Kyoto Bar Hopping Food Tour to discover some of the best drinking spots in Kyoto, in and around the famous Pontocho Alley.

You’ll visit the downtown areas of Shijo Street, Pontocho, and Kiyamachi, eating and drinking as you go. Learn how to drink like a local, exploring three different bars and restaurants. Shijo bursts with shopping, restaurants, and bars, and has a lively, colorful atmosphere. Just west of the Kamogawa River, Pontocho runs in between the main streets of Shijo Dori and Sanjo Dori in the center of town, an iconic narrow laneway full of atmospheric bars and restaurants. With a range of dining options hidden inside well-preserved wooden buildings, some restaurants have built decks overlooking the Kamogawa River (gorgeous on a summer evening)!

During this tour, you’ll wander through Pontocho Alley and its neighboring streets that make up Kyoto’s resident drinking and party district. Here, you’ll find the area full of pubs and izakayas with every theme and style you could imagine! Locals and visitors alike mingle in the streets and inside secret bars. You’ll visit a nostalgic bar, eating some snacks as you drink and share stories. You’ll also visit a hidden bar that even locals don’t know about! To finish off the night, you’ll find yourself at Shijo Ohashi Bridge, watching the Kamogawa River flow by with lights twinkling in the gentle ripples. Make new friends and wonderful memories, raise your glasses and say kampai! Enjoy the best of Kyoto’s nightlife with food and drinks, discovering another side of the beautiful city during this Pontocho Kyoto Bar Hopping Food Tour!

Menu:
-Sake with tempura
-One drink and two Japanese dishes
-One drink and Kyoto original food


A tour of several drinking establishments.

Bar Hopping

Pontocho Kyoto Bar Hopping Food Tour

Family-friendly

Regional food

With transport

The food culture of Kyoto is deeply rooted in the city’s rich history. Factors such as access to high-quality regional produce and Kyoto’s place as the ancient political capital influenced the local cuisine, known as Kyo Ryori. Kyoto is also famous for its extravagant Kaiseki cuisine and the Buddhist Shojin Ryori cuisine, but the city also has local street food. Learn about Kyoto cuisine while touring the city in this Kyoto Food Tour! Explore Kyoto, visiting Nishiki Market, the Gion geisha district, and the iconic Fushimi Inari Shrine on this food tour.

You’ll start at the 400-year-old Nishiki Market, known as “Kyoto’s Kitchen” for its history of providing locals with fresh produce and seafood. Over 130 shops line this undercover market. Then, you’ll rest your belly as you visit a local shrine dedicated to the God of Education. You’ll wander down to Pontocho Alley via the Teramachi Shopping Arcade. Feast your eyes upon modern Japanese culture here in the busy downtown area, then take a turn into Pontocho, one of Kyoto’s 5 geisha districts, full of beautifully preserved wooden buildings.

You’ll find yourself strolling across the Kamogawa River, tasting Japanese wagashi sweets, before heading to the more prominent geisha district of Gion. Your guide will lead you away from the crowds and into some secret spots, perfect for photo-taking. The final stop of this Kyoto Food Tour is the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine, famous for its thousands of red torii gates. After eating some delicious Kyoto food and exploring the city during this Kyoto Food Tour, you’ll leave with a satisfied tummy.

Menu:
-Rice cracker
-Yuba (tofu skin)
-Fried fish cake
-Hamo (daggertooth pike conger)
-Japanese omelet
-Sake (Japanese rice wine)
-Japanese wagashi sweets

*The menu may vary depending on the season


Food tour of a particular area or neighborhood.

Neighborhood/Area Tours

Kyoto Food Tour: Nishiki Market, Gion, and Fushimi Inari

Kyoto is full of beautiful temples and shrines, galleries and gardens, and of course, wonderful Japanese food. The famous Nishiki Market in the center of town is one of the best places to try locally-made produce and local Kyoto foods. In a narrow, undercover market, you’ll find hundreds of shops selling all kinds of fascinating pickles and high-grade sake, as well as seafood and street food galore. Another famous district in Kyoto, Gion is full of shops and tea houses where you can still see beautiful geisha today. Filled with beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets, it’s one of the most picturesque areas in the city; you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time.

Discover two of these iconic areas during a Nishiki Market and Gion Tour in Kyoto, two essential tourist stops to tick off your Kyoto bucket list. Reward your taste buds and experience these iconic attractions during this Nishiki Market and Gion Tour, where you’ll be able to try a number of local Kyoto foods while sightseeing along the way. This walking tour will guide you through the Nishiki Market, strolling along with expert insights from a local guide.

You’ll head for Pontocho Alley, another district with traditional wooden buildings, via the bustling Teramachi Shopping Arcade, as well as Shijo and Kiyamachi Streets. Tasting local Japanese wagashi sweets, you’ll look out onto the Kamogawa River, before heading down to see Gion for yourself (and maybe even spot a geisha if you’re lucky!) Taste the flavors of Kyoto in Nishiki Market, and get a healthy kick of nostalgia in Gion; this Nishiki Market and Gion Tour in Kyoto makes for a great day out sightseeing and snacking on some of Kyoto’s best foods.

Menu:
-Yuba (tofu skin)
-Onigiri rice ball
-Fried fish cake
-Hamo (daggertooth pike conger)
-Japanese omelet
-Sake (Japanese rice wine)
-Japanese wagashi sweets

*The menu is subject to vary depending on the season or the condition of the stores

Nishiki Market and Gion Tour in Kyoto

With 1 drink

With dinner

Kyoto is famous for its temples and shrines, but at night, the best of nightlife in Kyoto including hidden bars and izakayas can’t be found on any tourist maps. For a unique nightlife experience, join a Kyoto Night Tour for bar hopping through small izakayas and pubs on an incredible night out with a local guide. Taste the best of Kyoto at night with local knowledge and hospitality during an intimate group tour, discovering the best hidden bars in Kyoto.

You’ll explore the best of backstreets in Kyoto during this Kyoto Night Tour, alive with neon signs in tiny alleyways with beer and sake flowing.  Kyoto always offers a good time, the backstreets are full of authentic bars, each with their own unique flavor and atmosphere that will ensure a great night out. With the help of your local guide, you’ll meet locals and taste authentic Japanese food, making an unforgettable night out in the cultural capital of Japan! Hit the night off with an introductory drink at a local bar, enjoying the history of Kyoto and its flavors. You’ll experience another side of Kyoto, strolling through the local shopping arcade (known as a shotengai), and then enjoying a delicious dinner at an authentic izakaya bar. You’ll taste the best of pub food with this izakaya-style dinner, continuing the tour along with another drink. 

 Next, you’ll be taken on a walking tour through some of Kyoto’s best back streets and alleyways, tucked away from the big tourist areas. Visiting tiny streets filled with hanging lanterns and neon lights, you’ll definitely feel like a local. The next stop is at a hidden bar, where you’ll enjoy another drink before the end of the Kyoto Night Tour, where your friendly guide will introduce you to a choice of awesome lively bars and late-night foodie spots. For those who feel like dancing, your guide can recommend the coolest nightclubs to party the night away. Whatever you fancy, see where the night takes you at some other cool venues in Kyoto.

Kyoto Night Tour: Backstreets and Hidden Bars

Halal

Kosher

Wheelchair accessible

Stroller accessible

Rain or shine

Wear kimono

Wear samue

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake consisting of batter, cabbage, and additional mix-ins like meat, seafood, and vegetables. It’s a fun hands-on activity for groups, and you can get creative with the additional add-ins. In this Kyoto Okonomiyaki Cooking Class, you can learn how to mix and flip okonomiyaki like a pro, then slather it in your favorite combinations of sauce, mayo, and ginger. Hot off the griddle, there’s nothing better than okonomiyaki! So bring your friends and family together around the iron teppan as your okonomiyaki sizzles away.

As a special bonus, you can also wear traditional Japanese clothes like kimono, samue, or yukata while you cook. And at the end of the class, you can take photos together with your family and friends or your okonomiyaki! You won’t just make okonomiyaki in this class, you’ll also make wonderful memories and pick up the skills to make okonomiyaki in your own home, as well.

A fun, hands-on cooking experience for home cooks, people with basic cooking skills, or kids.

Casual Cooking Classes

Kyoto Okonomiyaki Cooking Class

With green tea

With recipe

If you enjoy playing with your food, this is the cooking class for you! Kazarimaki sushi (decorative sushi rolls) are sushi rolls that consist of rice wrapped in nori (seaweed) with have a design in the center made out of various ingredients or colored rice! In this Kyoto Decorative Sushi Cooking Class, you will learn to make not one, but two styles of decorative sushi! They’re almost too photogenic to eat (but you won’t have to struggle too much with eating them, because decorative sushi also happens to be delicious)! They’re the perfect treat to learn to impress friends and family (especially kids!) or to spruce up an Instagram feed.

You’ll also be able to wear traditional Japanese clothes during this class. Just come 10 minutes before the class start time, and you’ll get some help putting on a kimono, samue, yukata, or karate/kendo uniform. As you enjoy some refreshments, you’ll hear an introduction to the art of decorative sushi. Then, your cooking instructor will teach you to make perfectly seasoned sushi rice and roll your own decorative sushi! The host will also take photos for you during the class, which will be sent to your email afterward. You’ll also get to take home a recipe book along with your new sushi skills!

Vegetarians and vegans are welcome to join! The decorative sushi is made using rice vinegar, sugar, sesame, vegetable, and nori (seaweed). To color the rice, all-natural plant pigments are used. The red pigment is made from fermented red rice, blue is extracted from algae, orange is extracted from Japanese mustard, and green/yellow comes from the gardenia fruit.

Kyoto Decorative Art Sushi [Kazarimaki]  Cooking Class

Shopping time

With lunch

If you’re curious about the local supermarkets of Kyoto but are intimidated by the endless rows of unknown ingredients, this Kyoto Supermarket Tour and Cooking Class is the perfect introduction to Japanese supermarkets and home cooking! You’ll get a short tour of a supermarket in the center of Kyoto and learn about Japanese ingredients, then go to the cooking studio with your new loot to whip up something delicious in the kitchen.

You’ll have a choice of making either gyudon (beef donburi) or oyakodon (“parent-and-child” donburi). A donburi is a bowl of cooked rice which is topped by another Japanese food. In addition to gyudon and oyakodon, there are also varieties such as katsudon (topped with tonkatsu, pork cutlet), tendon (topped with tempura), and many others! In the Kyoto Supermarket Tour and Cooking Class, the gyudon will be made with wagyu (Japanese beef). Or, if you choose to make oyakodon, it will be made with free range chicken and eggs. You’ll also make a tasty radish salad with citrusy yuzu dressing, miso soup, and Japanese quick pickles!

Menu:
-Your choice of either (1) gyudon (Japanese beef bowl made with wagyu beef) OR (2) oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl made with free-range chicken)
-Japanese radish salad with a yuzu dressing
-Miso soup with clams
-Asazuke (Japanese quick pickled vegetables)

Kyoto Supermarket Tour and Gyudon/Oyakodon Cooking Class

With dessert

The definition of elegance, this tour of Kyoto at night will introduce you to Gion, Kyoto’s geisha district, a hub of traditional Japanese arts and historic Japanese teahouses. Walking down the shining cobbled streets and little alleyways of Gion, you’ll feel immersed in the traditional culture of Kyoto. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll even catch a glimpse of a geisha or maiko shuffling down the paved road in their wooden geta sandals. While you work up an appetite, exploring the stunning Shirakawa area, you’ll learn all about the culture and history of Kyoto, including the role of geisha, feeling like you’ve been tossed back in time amid the classic Japanese architecture and serene teahouses. 

The three-hour tour of Kyoto at night will conclude in with a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience, a Kaiseki dinner. A Japanese multi-course Kaiseki meal is a sumptuous and elegant affair, featuring a stream of gorgeously-plated dishes, one after another, showing off the regional seasonal produce of Kyoto. As Kyoto is known as the birthplace of Kaiseki cuisine in Japan, there’s no better place to indulge in this decadent 10-course meal. 

Kyoto at Night: Luxurious Gion Tour with Kaiseki Meal

kyoto

Food

Drinks

Tableware

Traditional Japanese / Kaiseki / Kappo

The northeast part of central Kyoto is home to rows of beautiful temples which are backed by mountains. It’s in these mountains that Chef Nakahigashi gathers his wild ingredients: mushrooms, vegetables, and edible flowers. Along with vegetables grown in his own garden, he serves these up at his fantastic kaiseki restaurant. 

The long, glossy counter here faces the open kitchen, with a burning grill at the center, as warm as the hospitality of the host. Here he cooks up his finds, along with premium seasonal meat and seafood, on a famously high-quality omakase menu.

His store is becoming notoriously hard to book, so you’ll need to stake your claim early to have a hope of taking a seat at his counter.

Enjoy the wild mushrooms, vegetables, and edible flowers gathered by the chef in central Kyoto, prepared in a seasonal set course to be remembered.

Food Experiences

Restaurant Reservation

Gourmet Product

Nishiki Market

Soujiki Nakahigashi