Kyoto Nishiki Market Food and Culture Walking Tour
Overview
Available languages
3 hours
Mobile ticket
Get an introduction to Kyoto’s renowned cuisine on this small-group guided tour of the city's best food spots. Start at the vast 400-year-old Nishiki Market, nicknamed 'Kyoto's Kitchen,' where hundreds of food shops and stalls beckon. Stroll through the market with your guide, learning about Kyoto’s culinary history and sampling dishes unique to Kyoto.
・Spend time wandering around Nishiki Market, home to 130 food stalls
・Enjoy 5 carefully selected local specialties like tofu skin, WAGYU steak skewers, and Hamo tempura
・Get insider knowledge from a local Guide
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 in Japan
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
5 Special Street Food(Tofu skin, Local home cooking, Hamo Tempura, WAGYU steak skewers, and more)
Local guide
Food tasting
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
Walking Tour from Takashimaya
Start from Kyoto Takashimaya department store.
End at Daimaru Kyoto.
Starting point:
Shijo Street Sidewalk Expansion Project Memorial, Shincho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 600-8001, Japan
NIshiki Walking& Tea Ceremony
NIshiki Walking& Tea Ceremony
Starting point:
四條東洞院内裏跡, Tachiuri Nishimachi, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 600-8007, Japan
Walking Tour from Daimaru
Start from South West Main entrance of Daimaru Kyoto.
End at Kyoto Takashimaya department store.
Starting point:
四條東洞院内裏跡, Tachiuri Nishimachi, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 600-8007, Japan
Reviews
340 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Great experience
Marigold H,
Aug 16, 2025
- Viator
5.00I enjoyed the tour very much. It was a hot hot day but most of the walking thru the market was cool and easy. The tastings were interesting and Takuma did a Great job explaining to me a lot of Japanese culture and language. The three hours was more than enough. I was the only one on this tour so Takuma took his time, was very kinda and did a really good job.
We did the walking food...
Leslie M,
Aug 9, 2025
- Viator
5.00We did the walking food tour through the nishiki market in Kyoto. Our tour guide was excellent and enlightened us with Japanese culture and food. It was a great way to experience the market and introduction to Kyoto
A Complete Rip-Off – Avoid this food tour at All Costs
AJ T,
Jun 4, 2025
- Viator
1.00I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience was so disappointing—and frankly exploitative—that I feel obligated to warn others before they waste their time and money. This so-called "food tour" of Nishiki Market was nothing more than an overpriced walk-through of food stalls where we were encouraged to spend more of our own money to sample anything worthwhile. The vast majority of the “tasting opportunities” were not included in the tour price. Instead, the guide would gesture vaguely at a vendor and suggest we buy something ourselves if we were curious. At that point, what exactly were we paying for? The very few food items that were included were low-quality, underwhelming, and clearly the cheapest possible options—think stale senbei crackers, and tiny morsels of pickled vegetables that tasted like they’d been sitting out all morning. Absolutely nothing distinctive or memorable about the selection, and certainly not representative of Kyoto’s rich culinary heritage. To make matters worse, our tour guide seemed to know shockingly little about Kyoto’s food culture, history, or even the market itself. Basic questions about local ingredients or traditional dishes were met with vague or incorrect answers. At times it felt like we were being led around by someone who had just read a pamphlet that morning. There was no insight, no storytelling, no value added. The worst part? The price. For what we paid, we expected a curated, immersive experience—something educational, cultural, and delicious. Instead, we got a half-hearted stroll through a market we could have explored ourselves for free, with a handful of bland samples and a guide who didn’t seem to care. This tour is a tourist trap in the worst sense. If you're visiting Kyoto and want to explore its incredible food scene, skip this sham of a tour and go on your own—or better yet, find a reputable experience that actually honors the city’s culinary legacy. Bottom line: Not worth the money, not worth the time, and not remotely what it promises to be. Save yourself the disappointment.
Annie was a very...
Jeanne P,
May 23, 2025
- Viator
5.00Annie was a very knowledgeable and kind tour guide who helped us find a local ingredient (matcha salt) for us to bring home as a souvenir. It’s not always easy to know what to order so this was a great introduction to Japanese local cuisine. Very tasty tour!
Great insider local food tour!
Judy Y,
Apr 26, 2025
- Viator
5.00Enjoyed a semi private tour of Nishiki market with local guide Toshi. Shared favorite childhood foods of Kyoto and some local dialect phrases including “okini” for thank you.
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Operated by Japan Wonder Travel