Kyoto Nishiki Market Food and Culture Walking Tour (5 Tastings)
Overview
Available languages
3 hours
Mobile ticket
Experience Kyoto’s food culture without the stress of restaurant reservations or language barriers on this small-group Nishiki Market food tour.
Explore Nishiki Market, known as “Kyoto’s Kitchen,” with an English-speaking local guide who helps you navigate the lively 400-year-old market and choose the best bites along the way. Sample a variety of authentic Kyoto specialties that many visitors wouldn’t know how—or where—to order on their own.
The tour includes multiple tastings at carefully selected local shops, offering a well-rounded introduction to Kyoto’s culinary traditions. As you walk through the market and surrounding neighborhood, your guide shares insights into Kyoto’s food culture and everyday eating habits.
Ideal for first-time visitors, or anyone love different food culture, this small-group tour lets you explore confidently while discovering the flavors that define Kyoto.
Additional Info
Public transportation options are available nearby
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
We are unfortunately unable to accommodate dietary restrictions, including vegetarian, halal, kosher, gluten-free, or allergy-related requests.
If you will come with a stroller, please let us know in advance. Nishiki market is very crowded sometimes.
If you have severe dietary restrictions, it may not be possible to arrange food for you.
The tour will take place rain or shine.
Services not listed (For example : Hotel pickup and drop-off, Transportation to/from attractions, Extra food and drink, Other personal expenses) are not included in the tour.
Legal drinking age is 20 years old in Japan
What To Expect
Nishiki Market Shopping District
Soak up the sights, sounds, and smells, and learn about local food culture in this 400-year-old market with 130 shops all along a narrow five-block long street. This market still functions as an important place for both locals and professional chefs. Many chefs of Michelin-star restaurants and hotels/ryokans buy their ingredients from this market everyday. Locals come to the market when they want real atuhentic ingredients with best quality. While wandering through the market and sampling various kind of foods, you will learn about Japanese foods, local specialties, and food culture. Let's enjoy the market, not only foods but also all food related shops such as kitchen knives, tableware, and chopsticks.
Nishiki Tenmangu
Visiting a local Shinto shrine. You will learn about things you often find at a shrine and how to pray at a Japanese Shinto shrine. Also, you could know the basics about the worships among Japanese People. If you like, you can try a fortune paper.
Options
Guided Tour
What‘s Included
Food tasting (Special Kyoto seasonings, cracker, Japanese flavored honey, etc)
Local insight of Kyoto culture
an English-speaking local guide
5 Local Street Foods (WAGYU steak skewers, Tofu skin, Local home cooking, Hamo Tempura and more)
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
468 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Not best value
bizegirl19,Jun 21, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
2.00Nami was very nice, clearly new. Quiet...dhe was not well versed on history or culture and seemed to be learning as we went along. There were only 3 of us in our group...all family. Nanu was engaged but not active in " leading" the tour. Perhaps preparing more information for each stop would be helpful. The tastings were good, not great. Overall, not a good value. Yo br fair we had STELLAR guide at the bamboo forest walk so by comparison, Nami had a high bar to meet. We could have wandered the market on our own and purchased food for FAR less
Additional discovery of Kyoto
821gildasf,Jun 20, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00An excellent moment spent with Miki. Without his help, we would have missed important information. Thank you, Miki.
A good all round guide to Japanese food
Departure09603827637,Jun 16, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Mami was a superb guide. Friendly and knowledgeable, she answered our questions clearly and adapted to what we asked about. The food places she took us to were so interesting and gave us a deeper knowledge about Japanese food. An excellent tour and so glad we did it with Mami.
Foodies of all ages will enjoy this!
CanS202,Jun 14, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I highly recommend this tour! It was something that all of our family enjoyed --including our 13 year old daughter and my 80 year old mom! (We were also with some newly weds who mentioned how much they enjoyed the tour as well!) Our guide, Mami, was very friendly and treated us kindly. She walked us through the outdoor food market, where we did lots of tastings and had a seated lunch. Mami also showed us the outdoor mall part of the market, which is also very unique. She patiently explained the history of the market, including its temples. Our family left feeling very satisfied and impressed with the tour. Of all of the things that we have done in Kyoto so far, this tour was the most fun! I also feel a strong desire to mention that Mami went above and beyond for my 80 year old mom, who was looking for a special gift for someone back home. After the tour was over, Mami asked around to find the exact thing that my mom was looking for (which was great, since we do not speak Japanese!). Then, she walked with us to the store and helped my mom find the very gift that she was looking for. Thank you, Mami!
Really enjoyable and tasty morning!
Joanna H,Jun 13, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Great food walking tour with Mamy! We enjoyed tasting all the delicious food and learning about their history and culturE
Awesome kyoto tour
919dar,Jun 11, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Sara was a great guide excellent with history and open to help and explain while bring us to vital points to try food and small experiences
Sara is a great guide
Tourist45538111210,Jun 11, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Sara was a great guide, very knowledgeable about everything we asked.
Insightful, colorful & flavorful
Kim K,Jun 9, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our guide, Naoko, shared a lot of insights to this historic and flavorful market. Her pace was excellent for two seniors and she eagerly responded to our requests and questions. The food offered a wide variety and not too heavy.?
Great way to walk the market!
KurtGator,Jun 7, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Kohe was a wonderful guide. Easy to understand, charming, thoughtful and thorough! You may not need a guided tour of this market to enjoy it, but having someone else decide where to stop and what to order takes a lot of the pressure off. I'm thrilled I did it!
Fun Tour
Larry W,May 29, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00This tour through Nishiki Market and its environs was really fun. Naoko was a great guide who was informative and took us to some great places in the market to sample local street foods. If you like food tours and markets this one is really good.
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Operated by Japan Wonder Travel