Kyoto's Kitchen - Nishiki Food Market 錦市場

17th July 2010. Written by Xin Li.

Just as Tokyo has its Tsukiji Fish Market, Kyoto has the Nishiki Food Market 錦市場. Dubbed the “Kitchen of Kyoto” on quite a few travel guides, this narrow street measuring 390 metres long and runs east-west from Teramachi Street to Takakura Street, has about 126 of food-related stalls and shops. It is a must-visit for anyone interested in food.

The market dates back to the early 14th Century. During the 16th Century, Nishiki prospered as a fish market with several wholesale fish stores in operation. As time passes, non-seafood items like pickles, kitchen knives and food found their way into the market. If you are looking for gourmet cheese or white truffles, you would probably be disappointed because most of the food products here are locally produced and procured.

We dropped by Nishiki Food Market during the Gion Matsuri Yamaboko Junko early in the morning. As a result, several stores were still closed during our visit and it wasn’t very crowded as would be during normal days.

Besides the wide range of pickled vegetables, fresh seafood, confectionary and condiments you can find along Nishiki, there are some stalls that sell sushi, grilled items, bento sets and Japanese desserts. We decided to indulge in some sushi set we found along the way as we were curious about some rice wrapped in leaves.

There was inari, unagi, tamago, ebi and crab sushi. The rice was nicely cooked, doesn’t fall apart easily and has a nice sticky yet smooth texture.

One of the wrapped sushi was rice topped with salmon and slice of lemon, it was decent. It was slightly sweet from the rice and salmon with a hint of citrus acid from the lemon.

The other wrapped sushi was rice topped with some kind of fish that I am unable to recognize. This has a more savory taste compared to the salmon, slightly bitter and salty yet tasty.

I love eating baby octopus in Singapore, but this ‘baby’ octopus I found in Nishiki is a little too huge. It was tasty nonetheless and not too sweet but the feeling of such a big baby octopus made me felt uneasy. It cost 200 yen for one.

My brother and his girlfriend together with me went to this fastfood joint where you use vending machines to order your food and then proceed to sit around the center of the restaurant where you see the crew busy cooking food in the background and one waiter preparing drinks, salads and miso soup for you at the front.

My order was a rice with bolognaise kind of sauce. While it looked very simple and unappetizing, it was actually quite decent and the portion was huge, the sauce was sweet and spicy with peppery flavor.

Even the side dishes were satisfying, beats Yoshinoya in Singapore easily with their miso soup and crunchy salad (you can use black vinegar dressing or a cream-based dressing which is quite light and sweet. The set cost between 300-600 yen.

Unfortunately for both eating establishments, I am unable to provide you the names except for the fact that both were located around Nishiki food market area. As for the vending machine fastfood restaurant, you will find plenty of them around Kyoto under different companies such as Nakau and Sukiya.

Japan Travel Guide : Kyoto - Nishiki Food Market

Bento.com : Nishiki Food Market Photo Tour