One of a foodie’s must-visits in Japan is definitely the Kyoto Nishiki Food Market. From the JR Kyoto Station, you will have to ride the Kyoto City Bus to the Shijokawaramachi stop and then go on foot to Kyoto Nishiki Food Market. It’s about a 7-10 minute walk in my estimation.
Kyoto Nishiki Food Market sells both raw and cooked food. Fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, and meats of the highest quality are lined up in stalls. It’s also a street food heaven as you can have anything from fried sweet potato patties, saikoro steak kebabs, to freshly made sweets like mochi among many other delicious treats.
You can even take home a wide variety of tea, for a minimum of 200g per purchase. If you wish to seriously dine at the Kyoto Nishiki Food Market, restaurants are located further inside and you’d have to do a lot more walking since it’s a very long street. A full-course authentic traditional Kyoto meal is quite pricey though.
Kyoto Nishiki Food Market is a street food paradise above all. If you’re a tourist you can’t really bring any of the fresh stuff home (except for sweets and teas) but you can at least buy fresh fruits to enjoy back at the hotel. That’s what I did. I love strawberries and they’re not easy to find in Manila. Japan has the biggest, juiciest, and sweetest strawberries I’ve ever tried and this is a good place to get them. They’re cheap too! Yum! I miss these already…