After our ceramics tour of Western Japan, my wife Joan and I spent a few days in Kyoto, my favorite place in the world to be as a tourist. It is full of temples and shrines, the greatest gardens to be found anywhere, charming old commercial buildings and residences and, certainly not last, sophisticated great food.
For me, the food starts at the fantastic Nishiki market, right in the middle of town, off the covered shopping street Teramachi. Friends have told me that the really best food is in the ground floor of the department stores, but I must say that what I saw at the Nishiki market looked fresh and appetizing. It is also much more fun to visit, although department store food markets can be quite amazing in Japan.
The market is picturesque, and I got good shots of many of the local specialties.
Yuba (tofu skin), many types of pickles, for which Kyoto is particularly famous, rice, mushrooms, konbu from different parts of Hokkaido (see packages), tea, shirako (tuna sperm), yakitori, hand-made bonito flakes and the machine that one uses to make them, and tiny fish used atop rice.
A truly amazing market!
Bobby Jay
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