Nishiki Market

Nishiki Market is a single narrow street, about 400 metres long and one block north of Shijo-dori, lined on both sides with around 130 shops and stalls. Fish has been sold in this part of the city for well over a thousand years, helped by the cold groundwater that kept produce fresh, and in 1615 the market was licensed by the shogunate to sell fish. Fruit, vegetable and other food shops followed in the twentieth century, and the street came to be called Kyoto's kitchen. The association that runs it describes it as having some four hundred years of history.

Much of what is sold here is specific to Kyoto. Look for tsukemono, the pickled vegetables that the city is known for, kyo-yasai heirloom vegetables, dried fish, tofu and yuba, wagashi sweets and green tea. Several stalls grill skewers of seafood, tamagoyaki rolled omelette and small snacks to order, and there are counters serving oysters and other seafood. Aritsugu, a knife maker whose history goes back to the sixteenth century, sells hand-forged kitchen knives and will engrave a name on the blade. The market is roofed over with a coloured canopy, so it is a good option in the rain.

The market association asks visitors not to eat while walking, because the street is narrow and crowded. Instead, eat your purchase in front of or inside the shop where you bought it; many stalls have a small standing area for this. Keep to the side if you stop to take photographs, carry some cash for the smaller stalls and take your rubbish with you, as there are few bins.

Many shops open in the mid-morning and close by early evening, and some close on Wednesdays or Sundays, so a late-morning visit on another weekday gives the widest choice. It is busiest from midday into the afternoon. Allow around an hour to walk the length of the market, sampling as you go. Families will enjoy it, although pushchairs are hard to manoeuvre at peak times.

The eastern end of the market meets the Teramachi and Shinkyogoku covered shopping arcades, and at that end stands Nishiki Tenmangu, a small shrine that is worth a quick look. Shijo Station on the Karasuma subway line and Karasuma Station on the Hankyu line are close to the western end, and Hankyu Kyoto-kawaramachi Station is a few minutes from the east end. Pontocho and Gion are a short walk away across the Kamo River.