Kyoto

Kyoto is known as a city with many ramen shops, and rich, hearty bowls are the local favorite. Styles vary, from soy sauce broth with floating pork back fat to thick broth made by slowly simmering chicken bones. Many shops pile on Kujo green onions, a very Kyoto touch. Some areas, like Ichijoji's ramen street, gather popular shops, so comparing bowls is fun. It shows another side of Kyoto, different from its image of refined cuisine. Many shops stay open late.

Typical price

¥800–1,200

Where

Kyoto City (Ichijoji and around)

A rice bowl loved in Kyoto homes and udon shops. Chopped fried tofu and Kujo green onions are simmered in a sweet and savory broth, bound with egg and served over rice. The name is said to come from Mt. Kinugasa in northwest Kyoto, whose snow-covered look resembles the egg topping. The fried tofu soaks up the broth for a gentle flavor. It is often on the menu at Kyoto udon and soba shops. Enjoy this simple, homey Kyoto taste. It is inexpensive and easy to order.

Typical price

¥600–900

Where

Kyoto City

One of Kyoto's signature dishes: tofu warmed in a clay pot of kelp broth. Kyoto is blessed with good groundwater and has long produced high-quality tofu. Because the dish is so simple, you can taste the smoothness of the tofu and the sweetness of soybeans. It is eaten with a soy-based sauce and condiments such as green onion and bonito flakes. Many long-established yudofu restaurants are found around Nanzenji Temple and Arashiyama. Pair it with temple visits, especially in winter.

Typical price

¥2,500–5,000

Where

Kyoto City (Nanzenji, Arashiyama and around)

Yuba is the thin skin that forms on the surface of heated soy milk, lifted off as it forms. It has long been used in vegetarian temple cuisine in Kyoto, a city of many temples. Freshly lifted nama yuba is silky and smooth with a gentle soybean sweetness. It can be eaten like sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce, or in hot pots, simmered dishes and rice bowls. Try it at specialty yuba shops and traditional restaurants. Some shops let you watch yuba being made.

Typical price

¥2,000–5,000

Where

Kyoto City

A famous Kyoto soba: hot soba in broth topped with dried herring simmered sweet and savory. In Kyoto, far from the sea, preserved dried herring brought from Hokkaido by kitamaebune trading ships was a treasured ingredient. The sweetness and flavor of the tender herring melt into the broth and go well with the noodles. It is said to have been created at a long-established soba shop in Gion. Many soba shops in Kyoto serve it, and it is especially warming in the cold season.

Typical price

¥1,000–1,800

Where

Kyoto City

Pressed sushi of mackerel cured in salt and vinegar, laid on vinegared rice and wrapped in kelp. The road along which salted mackerel from Wakasa Bay was carried to Kyoto is called the Saba Kaido, the mackerel road. By the time it reached Kyoto, the fish was perfectly seasoned. It has long been a feast for festivals and celebrations in Kyoto homes. Enjoy the rich flavor of thick mackerel and the aroma of kelp. Long-established sushi shops in Kyoto sell it to take away.

Typical price

¥2,000–5,000

Where

Kyoto City

Kamo eggplant, one of Kyoto's heirloom vegetables, is round, large and dense. For dengaku, it is cut into thick rounds, fried or grilled, and spread with sweet miso. The meltingly soft eggplant pairs perfectly with the toasty sweetness of the miso. It is in season in summer and served at restaurants offering Kyoto cuisine. It is an easy way to taste the goodness of Kyoto vegetables. It goes well with both rice and sake.

Typical price

¥800–1,500

Where

Kyoto City

Kyoto's signature winter pickle: shogoin turnips, a Kyoto heirloom vegetable, sliced thin and pickled in sweet vinegar with kelp. The name, a thousand slices, is said to come from cutting the turnip so thin you could get a thousand slices. It features a crisp texture, kelp umami and mellow sweet-sour flavor. It is counted among Kyoto's three great pickles. In winter it lines the shelves of Kyoto pickle shops. Its elegant look makes it a welcome souvenir or gift.

Typical price

¥800–2,000

Where

Kyoto City

Pickles of eggplant, cucumber and other vegetables fermented with red shiso and salt. One of Kyoto's three great pickles, it is said to come from Ohara, a village north of Kyoto. It features a vivid purple color from the shiso and a refreshing sourness. It is perfect with rice and delicious on ochazuke too. In Ohara you can also enjoy views of shiso fields. Kyoto pickle shops sell many kinds. It is also tasty chopped and mixed into rice.

Typical price

¥500–1,200

Where

Kyoto City (Ohara and around)

A signature Kyoto summer dish. Pike conger, hamo, is full of small bones, so it requires honekiri, a skilled technique of scoring the flesh finely while leaving the skin intact. The scored fish is dipped briefly in boiling water and chilled in ice water, and the flesh opens like a white flower. It is classically eaten with pickled plum paste for a refreshing taste. Kyoto's Gion Festival is even called the hamo festival, showing how essential it is. Enjoy its soft, fluffy texture at Kyoto restaurants.

Typical price

¥2,000–5,000

Where

Kyoto City

A famous Kyoto sweet: thin, soft dough of rice flour, sugar and cinnamon, steamed and wrapped around bean paste. Its triangle fold is distinctive, combining chewy dough with smooth paste. Besides cinnamon, there are flavors such as matcha and seasonal fruits. It is a classic Kyoto souvenir, and many yatsuhashi shops are found around Shogoin and Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Choosing your favorite while sampling is fun. It does not keep long, so eat it soon.

Typical price

¥500–1,000

Where

Kyoto City

One of Kyoto's best-known sweets: dough of rice flour, sugar and cinnamon rolled thin and baked. Its gently curved shape is modeled on a koto, a Japanese harp. Enjoy its crisp bite and the aroma of cinnamon. One theory says the name honors Yatsuhashi Kengyo, regarded as the founder of koto music. A traditional sweet made in Kyoto since long ago, it keeps well and is perfect as a souvenir. Try comparing it with the soft nama yatsuhashi.

Typical price

¥500–1,000

Where

Kyoto City

One of Kyoto's best-known sweets, made by a long-established confectioner. Chewy dough made with glutinous rice wraps chunky red bean paste and is baked. The name comes from the shape of the woven hat worn by ajari, monks training on Mt. Hiei. Enjoy the moist, chewy dough and the refined sweetness of the bean paste. It does not keep long, so eat it soon. It is sold at Kyoto Station and department stores and is a hugely popular souvenir. Warming it makes the dough fluffy.

Typical price

¥120–150 each

Where

Kyoto City

A parfait made with plenty of matcha from Uji, a famous tea-growing area. Matcha ice cream, matcha jelly and matcha sponge cake are beautifully layered in a glass with rice dumplings, red bean paste and chestnuts. Enjoy the rich aroma of matcha and its balance of bitterness and sweetness. Around Uji's Byodoin Temple and in Kyoto's Gion, many cafes are run by long-established tea merchants, and popular ones draw lines. Some even let you choose how strong the matcha is.

Typical price

¥1,200–2,000

Where

Uji, Kyoto City

A Japanese sweet eaten in Kyoto at the end of June, when the Nagoshi no Harae purification ritual is held. White uiro is topped with sweet azuki beans and cut into triangles. The triangle is said to represent ice for beating the heat, and the azuki beans ward off evil. In the past, when ice was precious, people ate this sweet instead and prayed for good health for the rest of the year. Enjoy its chewy texture and gentle sweetness. It appears at Kyoto confectioners around June.

Typical price

¥200–350 each

Where

Kyoto City

A Kyoto sweet of soft mochi filled with salty red peas and smooth bean paste. The mame mochi of a long-established shop in Demachiyanagi is especially famous, with lines forming almost every day. The salty peas, gentle sweetness of the paste and chewy mochi make a perfect combination. It does not keep, so eat it the same day. Enjoying it leisurely on the banks of the Kamo River is a very Kyoto pleasure. Savor the bite of the peas too.

Typical price

¥200–300 each

Where

Demachiyanagi, Kyoto City