Downtown Kyoto Local Food Tour

The Downtown Kyoto area is buzzing with local shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars, each boasting their own unique flavors from the beautiful city of Kyoto and its surrounds. With careful craftsmanship embedded in Kyoto’s culture, this extends to the local food scene that’s made from regional produce and high-quality ingredients. Downtown is full of wonderful shops and food stops that are enjoyed by locals, although these culinary delights are often overlooked by tourists. This Downtown Kyoto Local Food Tour is the perfect opportunity to find out exactly what’s behind the food culture of Kyoto, tasting local food and meeting the makers of local products. Experience “true” Kyoto local food during this food tour, where you’ll visit various stores in the central Downtown area. Your friendly guide will introduce artisanal shops and unique local restaurants selling specialty dishes and ingredients, explaining about the history of Kyoto local food in-depth at different stops. You’ll find yourself exploring the unique underground food halls attached to decadent department stores called depachika, bursting with delicious quality food samples. You’ll visit a unique Japanese chocolate shop with over 15 years of history, and the flagship cafe established in the 1940s that’s famous for its milk. You’ll visit artisanal confectionary shops and old-style traditional cafes, a local pickle shop, a grocery store, a Japanese kitchen tool shop, and even a soba noodle restaurant once famously visited by Steve Jobs. Exploring a selection of local shopfronts, you’ll learn the history of these stores and the cooking methods used to make the delicious specialty foods, and local ingredients that make them unique. Along the way, you’ll taste all kinds of street food and Japanese cuisine, such taiyaki (fish-shaped waffles), takoyaki (octopus balls), dashimaki-tamago (rolled Japanese omelet), and many more delicious surprises!