Small-Group Nishiki Market: The Heart of Kyoto Cuisine
Kyoto, Japan
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Trip Type: Food Tours
Duration: 3 hours
Sample Kyoto’s best flavors on this 3-hour tour of Nishiki Market. This market boasts some of Kyoto’s best food purveyors as well as specialty Japanese cookware shops. You’ll cruise the market with an English-speaking food expert, who will illuminate some of the mysteries of Japanese cuisine. You’ll sample foods and enjoy lunch along the way. This small-group tour is limited to six participants to ensure a quality experience.
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Sample Kyoto’s best flavors on this 3-hour tour of Nishiki Market. This market boasts some of Kyoto’s best food purveyors as well as specialty Japanese cookware shops. You’ll cruise the market with an English-speaking food expert, who will illuminate some of the mysteries of Japanese cuisine. You’ll sample foods and enjoy lunch along the way. This small-group tour is limited to six participants to ensure a quality experience.
Make your way to the meeting point to begin your tasty small-group Nishiki Market tour. Taste the best of Kyoto’s cuisine as your expert guide — who may be a chef, a food critic, or a culinary historian or anthropologist — leads you to the best spots in the market. Learn about washoku (traditional Japanese food), which has become increasingly popular across the world and is now on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
The first stop is a Shinto shrine, the birthplace of the market. Walk 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 scholar 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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