Nishiki Market was established about 400 years ago, during the Edo Era, as a fish market. Nowadays, It is a 400 meters long alley, that connects Takakura Street and Teramachi, and it has around 130 little shops in it.
In Nishiki Market you can find any product used in the preparation of local cuisine and Kyoto’s speciality dishes, known as Kaiseki Ryori. Vegetables, fish, sake, sweets, flowers, knives, a few restaurants, coffee shops and even some souvenir shops.
It is known as the Kitchen of Kyoto, or Kyoto’s Kitchen, because until this day, it’s been used by local restaurants and families to buy their most exquisite products.
Recommended Shops
In a shop right in the middle of the market, they sell mini octopus skewers. The octopus are boiled in a sweet red sauce, and have a quail egg stuffed inside. They are, apart from surprisingly photogenic, quite tasty.
Another shop, just a few more steps ahead, is the soy milk products shop. They have a big sign that says tofu donuts in it, and in there you can try freshly baked soy milk donuts. They are small, not too sweet and not too oily, so they make the perfect snack without doubt!
Teramachi and Shinkyogoku
Surrounding the market, we can find the commercial area of Teramachi and Shinkyogoku. Kyoto’s favourite shopping area. They make a perfect choice for a rainy day, because, as the Nishiki Market, they are covered.
