Scholar-led Private Nishiki Market Walking Tour
Kyoto, Japan
Rating: 
Trip Type: Food Tours
Duration: 3 hours
Taste your way through Kyoto’s famed Nishiki Market, the heart of Kyoto cuisine, on this private 3-hour tour. Nishiki Market is home to some of Kyoto’s top food purveyors and cookware shops. You’ll meander the market with an English-speaking food expert as your guide and discover the two concepts that make Kyoto cuisine unique: ‘shun,’ meaning ingredients that have reached their seasonal peak, and ‘umami,’ one of the five detectable tastes. By the end of the tour, you’ll be a Kyoto cuisine connoisseur.
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Taste your way through Kyoto’s famed Nishiki Market, the heart of Kyoto cuisine, on this private 3-hour tour. Nishiki Market is home to some of Kyoto’s top food purveyors and cookware shops. You’ll meander the market with an English-speaking food expert as your guide and discover the two concepts that make Kyoto cuisine unique: ‘shun,’ meaning ingredients that have reached their seasonal peak, and ‘umami,’ one of the five detectable tastes. By the end of the tour, you’ll be a Kyoto cuisine connoisseur.
Meet your expert guide — who may be a chef, a food critic, or a culinary historian or anthropologist —in the morning to begin your private Nishiki Market tour. Washoku (traditional Japanese food) has become increasingly popular throughout the culinary world, and UNESCO has put it on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list. You’ll taste the best of Kyoto’s rendition of washoku at the Nishiki Market.
The first stop is a Shinto shrine, the birthplace of the market. Saunter through the alleyway market at the heart of Kyoto’s culinary world as your guide tells you about what you taste at the different stalls. Learn from your guide about the four types of Kyoto cuisine: obanzai (home cooking), kaiseki (which developed out of the tea ceremony), vegetarian shojin-ryori (eaten at Zen temples) and yusoku-ryori (cuisine of the imperial court). Sample a range of foods throughout the tour.
Next up, taste Kyoto-specific foods, like tsukemono (pickled vegetables), wagashi (Japanese tea sweets), traditional Kyoto vegetables and more before enjoying a full lunch. By the end of the tour, you’ll have a new appreciation for Japanese cuisine and a deeper understanding of Kyoto’s culinary offerings.
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