I'm Haruki — I'll Take You Through Nishiki Market and Explain Kyoto Food the Way My Family Knows It
📍 Kyoto, Japan
About This Experience
My name is Haruki. My family has had a tofu shop in Nishiki Market in Kyoto for three generations. Nishiki is a 400-year-old covered food market — 100 stalls in a lane barely wide enough for two people — and it contains the entire food culture of Kyoto in condensed form. I take groups through Nishiki at 9am when the stall owners are still setting up and before the tourist crowds arrive: fresh tofu from our shop, Kyoto-style tsukemono pickles from the vendor who has been making the same recipe for 50 years, tamagoyaki (sweet egg roll) on a stick, and skewers of marinated chicken and vegetables. Then we walk to a nearby temple for yudofu — the Kyoto hot tofu dish that is eaten as a meditative meal in the temple precincts — which is one of the most quietly extraordinary food experiences in Japan.
Traveler Reviews
Taha Shater
bassem Mohamed
R Vs
Amara Osei
Victoria sanchez
Meet Your Guide & Host
Haruki Nishimura ✓ Verified
I was born in Nishiki — the street in Kyoto that has been a covered food market for 400 years and is known as Kyoto's Kitchen. My family has had a tofu shop on the same street for three generations. Kyoto food is its own category within Japanese cuisine — kaiseki, the formal multi-course tradition, is only part of it. The yudofu (hot tofu) in the temple districts, the tsukemono (pickles) that you buy from the specific vendor in the right part of Nishiki, the obanzai (home cooking) that Kyoto women have been making since the imperial court was here — this is what the city actually eats and almost no visitor finds it.
View full profile & all experiences →Frequently Asked Questions
How long is "I'm Haruki — I'll Take You Through Nishiki Market and Explain Kyoto Food the Way My Family Knows It"?
This experience lasts approximately 3.5 hours.
How much does "I'm Haruki — I'll Take You Through Nishiki Market and Explain Kyoto Food the Way My Family Knows It" cost?
It's $20 per person. You book and message your guide in the Local Guide app.
What languages is it offered in?
Haruki Nishimura hosts this experience in Japanese, English.
Who is my guide?
Haruki Nishimura, a verified local guide. I was born in Nishiki — the street in Kyoto that has been a covered food market for 400 years and is known as Kyoto's Kitchen. My family has had a tofu shop on the same street for
Book in the Local Guide App
Browse, connect with your guide, and arrange your experience — all in one place
Join guides in 50+ countries earning on Local Guide. Set your own schedule, set your own price. Free to start — publish your first experience in under 10 minutes.
Discover More Local Experiences
Find authentic experiences with local guides in Kyoto and cities worldwide. Free on iOS & Android.
