Nishiki Market, Kyoto

 

If you are a foodie, visiting markets in Japan is a must.

Kyoto's famous four-hundred-year-old market called Nishiki Market is known for its 

fresh produce and specialty ingredients. There are plenty of stalls selling fresh seafood, 

pickled vegetables, spices, sweets and free food samples everywhere! 

I can easily spend the whole morning immersing myself into this culinary and cultural experience.

After wandering through rows and rows of strange and wonderful food 

it's also interesting to see a shrine towards the end of the street on the eastern side. 

It is called Nishiki Tenmagu Shrine dedicated to the god of learning.
Then we somehow ended up at Teramachi Shopping Arcade, this place is lined with stores
selling everything from clothes to books, souvenirs to jewelries, food to  music,
you name it this place has it all. There's also great bargain at the ¥100 shop!

Fresh Oysters

Fresh sashimi,  we couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Fresh salmon and tuna drizzled with lemon juice.

Fresh tuna and scallop

Cod roe

Dried fugu (blowfish, puffer fish) fin. 

It is soaked in hot sake for ten minutes and served. This rare drink is called Hirezake.
It is often enjoyed by older Japanese men in the colder months of the year.

 

Dried kelp

Chirimen Zansho (dried baby anchovies), octopus, snails, squids.

Abalone

Fish pancake stuffed with red bean paste.

Senbei (rice crackers) in various flavours.

Chestnuts

Sake barrels

Pickled vegetables

 

Nishiki Tenmagu Shrine

I'm guessing these are Omikuji (fortune-telling rolled paper).
I've never seen them rolled like these before. So kawaii (cute)!

Nama yatsuhashi are soft triangle-shaped sweets that come in fillings like red bean, black sesame or fruity flavours. The soft, chewy and mochi-like skins are made from rice flour. These are huge in Kyoto.