Nishiki Market
Kawaramachi, Kyoto
Source: kyoto-nishiki.or.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Nishiki Market is a 390 m covered lane of food shops just north of Shijo-dori, and it's been trading for about 400 years. This is where you find Kyoto vegetables, Lake Biwa river fish, hamo eel, yuba and fresh fu. The painter Ito Jakuchu was born into a vegetable wholesaler's family on the lane, and copies of his work turn up on the shop shutters.
More photos of Nishiki Market
Insider tip
Don't eat while you walk. The market asks you to eat in front of, or inside, the shop you bought from. Many shops close on Wednesdays, and many are shut from 1 to 3 January. The red, yellow and green roof keeps you dry when it rains.
What the guides say about Nishiki Market
Kawaramachi wins on trains and evenings. Hankyu, Keihan and the Tozai subway line all stop there, Nishiki Market and Pontocho are on your doorstep, and Yasaka Shrine's gate is about 13 minutes away on foot. Most of this site's neighbourhood guides end their stay advice the same way. If you'd like to walk home after dinner in Gion, sleep downtown.
15. Nishiki Market. It's a 390 m covered lane of food shops that's been trading for about 400 years. Look for Kyoto vegetables, Lake Biwa river fish, yuba and fresh fu. Don't eat while you walk. The market asks you to eat in front of the shop you bought from, and many shops close on Wednesdays.
Nishiki Market is a 390 m covered lane of food shops just north of Shijo-dori and has traded for about 400 years. Look for Kyoto vegetables, yuba, fresh fu and hamo eel. Don't eat while you walk. The market asks you to eat in front of, or inside, the shop you bought from.
What's on near Nishiki Market
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Nishiki Market, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Gion Matsuri Yoiyama (first procession)
祇園祭 前祭宵山
Time Evenings Station Shijo (Karasuma Line) or Karasuma (Hankyu)
The floats of the first procession stand built in the streets round Shijo-Karasuma, lit by komagata lanterns with Gion-bayashi music played on top. Old townhouses in the float districts open to show their folding screens, and the float associations display their figures and tapestries.
Kamogawa Noryo-yuka Riverside Terraces
鴨川納涼床
Station Sanjo or Gion-Shijo (Keihan Line)
From 1 May the restaurants along the river in Kiyamachi, Pontocho and Saiseki serve on outdoor terraces looking across the Kamogawa to the Higashiyama hills, until 15 October. Some stop at the end of September, and breakfast, lunch and hours vary by restaurant.
Domenico Convertini, CC BY-SA 2.0 Medalist Exhibition
メダリスト展
Time 10:00 to 18:00, Fridays to 19:30 (last entry 30 min before) Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line), 3 min walk from exit 5
An exhibition on Tsurumaikada's figure skating manga Medalist, with new illustrations drawn for it, famous scenes from the manga, sets that recreate its world and picks from the TV anime. It fills the museum's third and fourth floor galleries.
Photograph by Mike Peel www.mikepeel.net., CC BY-SA 4.0 KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival 2027
KYOTOGRAPHIE 京都国際写真祭 2027
Time Hours and closing days vary by venue Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line)
A month of photography shows in machiya, galleries, museums and temples around the city, in exhibition spaces designed with architects and craftspeople. The 2027 theme, artists and venues are still to be announced.
Kan'ei: Beauty Nurtured by Peace
特別展「寛永 太平がはぐくむ美」
Time 10:00 to 18:00, Fridays to 19:30 (last entry 30 minutes before) Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line), 3 min walk
Marking 400 years since Emperor Go-Mizunoo's visit to Nijo Castle, the museum shows the Kan'ei culture of Hon'ami Koetsu, Tawaraya Sotatsu and Nonomura Ninsei, with scrolls and screens of the imperial procession and a Kano Sanraku hawk painting from Nijo Castle. It's closed on Mondays (open 12 Oct) and 13 Oct, and the ticket covers the permanent galleries too.
Photograph by Mike Peel www.mikepeel.net., CC BY-SA 4.0 Nearby
Around Kawaramachi
Downtown Kyoto, between Nishiki Market and the Kamo River
Kawaramachi is downtown Kyoto, the shopping streets round the Shijo-Kawaramachi crossing. The Teramachi and Shinkyogoku Arcades run north from Shijo-dori, Nishiki Market runs west from them, and east of Kawaramachi-dori the Takase canal and Pontocho squeeze in before the Kamo River. You'll come here to eat, mostly. Some of the tea, incense and paper shops date from the Edo period.
Kawaramachi has 26 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 5 shops, 4 cafes, 4 restaurants, 3 shrines and temples, 3 landmarks, 2 bars, 2 neighbourhoods, 1 park or garden, 1 market and 1 bathhouse. Read the Kawaramachi guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Nishiki Market?
- 609 Nishi-Daimonji-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都府京都市中京区西大文字町609番地).
- How do I get to Nishiki Market?
- The nearest station is Shijo (Karasuma Line), Karasuma (Hankyu). Nishiki Market is in Kawaramachi, Kyoto.
- How much does Nishiki Market cost?
- Nishiki Market is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Nishiki Market?
- Plan for 1 hour.
- When is the best time to visit Nishiki Market?
- Any day but Wednesday.
Stay near Nishiki Market
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