Regional food guide

What to eat in Kyoto

Written by hand, not generated. Dishes, markets, timing and prices for Kyoto.

5 dishes 7 food areas See Kyoto restaurant picks Open the food map

Far from the sea, Kyoto built its table on pickles, dried fish, tofu and vegetables. Temple cooking and home-style side dishes still appear on restaurant menus, and prices differ sharply between the tourist thoroughfares and the lanes one block back.

What people eat here

Start with the local defaults

Nanzenji and Arashiyama

Yudofu

Tofu warmed in kelp broth and eaten with soy sauce and condiments, served as a course near the temples.

Obanzai

Seasonal vegetable side dishes served several plates at a time. Best taken as a lunch set.

Nishin soba

Soba topped with sweetly simmered herring — a relic of how an inland city used dried fish.

Saba zushi

Salted mackerel pressed onto rice, descended from the old route that carried fish inland.

Gion and Uji

Matcha desserts

With tea country close by, matcha parfaits and warabimochi are everywhere.

Where the food is

Markets, streets and harbours

View all (4)

Demachi and Imadegawa

A student quarter — cheaper, and open later.

Restaurants nearby

Fushimi

The sake brewing district, with food built around what goes with it.

Restaurants nearby

Ichijoji Ramen Street

Ramen shops cluster along Higashioji-dori near Ichijoji Station in northeast Kyoto, known as the ramen battleground of the city. It took shape around shops that opened in the 1970s; styles run from rich tonkotsu to Kyoto-style chicken broth.

Restaurants nearby

Uji Byodoin Omotesando

The approach to Byodoin in Uji, south of Kyoto, is lined with tea houses and matcha shops, some around 200 years old. Matcha soba, parfaits and tea tastings in the home of Uji tea.

Restaurants nearby

When to go

During cherry blossom season in April and autumn colour in November the whole city is extremely crowded; without a booking you will struggle.
From May to September some restaurants set platforms out over the river for summer dining.
Lunch courses often serve the same composition as dinner at around half the price.

Worth knowing

1Course restaurants expect a reservation; walk-ins are frequently turned away.
2Some private lanes in Gion prohibit photography. Check the signs.
3The price gap between the main tourist streets and the lanes one block in is large.
4Lunch service is short at many places, and choice drops sharply after 14:00.

What it costs · Per person, roughly

An obanzai lunch set runs JPY 1,500-2,500 and a yudofu course JPY 2,500-4,000.