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Pickles for sale at Nishiki Market.

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Overview

If all you're interested in on your Kyoto trip is dining on great cuisine, knocking back sake and craft beer at bars, boutique shopping and staying in some of the finest ryokan, you may just never leave Downtown Kyoto (which is, naturally, smack bang in the middle of the city). And you wouldn't need to sacrifice culture or sightseeing, with heavyweight attractions such as Nijō-jō, the famed Nishiki Market and a smattering of small temples, shrines and museums.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Vendors prepare chestnuts to sell at Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Japan on 22 November 2016. 1011566827 traditional, street, asian, nutrition, priest, tourism, fruit, editorial, cooking, design, east, tradition, chinese, famous, stall, recommend, sale, asia, vendor, nut, cuisine, chef, color, people, culture, food, castanea, healthy, place, chestnut, travel, vegetable, market, business, tourist, architecture, marron, buy, furniture, decoration, colorful, merchant, city, nishiki market, japan, street food, japanese, sell, kyoto, shop

    Nishiki Market

    Downtown Kyoto

    The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…

  • KYOTO, JAPAN - March 27, 2014: The Nijo-jo Castle on March 27, 2014 in Kyoto, Japan. The Nijo-jo Castle was the residence of the Tokugawa shoguns in Kyoto, who had been ruling Japan for over 260 years ancient, asia, asian, blue, building, castle, concentric, cultivated, culture, day, defense, entrance, fortification, garden, heritage, higashi, historic, historical, history, honmaru, japan, japanese, keep, kyoto, landmark, landscape, nijo, nijo-jo, ninomaru, old, oriental, palace, path, precision, protection, structure, tradition, traditional, travel, tree, vintage, wooden

    Nijō-jō

    Downtown Kyoto

    The military might of Japan's great warlord generals, the Tokugawa shoguns, is amply demonstrated by the imposing stone walls and ramparts of their great…

  • Kyoto International Manga Museum

    Kyoto International Manga Museum

    Downtown Kyoto

    Located in an old elementary school building, this museum is the perfect introduction to the art of manga (Japanese comics). It has 300,000 manga in its…

  • Ponto-chō

    Ponto-chō

    Downtown Kyoto

    There are few streets in Asia that rival this narrow pedestrian-only walkway for atmosphere. Not much to look at by day, the street comes alive at night,…

  • Mibu-dera

    Mibu-dera

    Downtown Kyoto

    Mibu-dera was founded in 991 and belongs to the Risshū school. It houses tombs of pro-shogunate Shinsen-gumi members, who fought bloody street battles…

  • Museum of Kyoto

    Museum of Kyoto

    Downtown Kyoto

    This museum is worth visiting if a special exhibition is on (the regular exhibits are not particularly interesting and don’t have much in the way of…

  • Shiori-an

    Shiori-an

    Downtown Kyoto

    Located in a large merchant’s house, this kimono-shop-museum walks visitors through the architecture of a traditional building built in the daibeizukuri…

  • Rokkaku-dō

    Rokkaku-dō

    Downtown Kyoto

    This tucked-away temple makes for a worthy detour when hitting the boutiques and restaurants downtown. The name refers to its unique hexagonal shape, and…

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