If you like shopping, you will love Kyoto. Kyoto used to be the old capital of Japan, and so it has a long history of high-quality shops, that nowadays is kept alive by the many shops and vendors you will find all over the city.
There are some extremely famous shopping areas, especially Shijo-dori and the Nishiki Market where you will find anything you might want to give to your friends back home: kimonos, green tea, woodblock prints, Japanese paper, and much more!
Check out our short guide and learn more about shopping in Kyoto!
Highlights
- The most popular shopping street in Kyoto is Shijo-dori, always bustling with both, locals and tourists.
- If you feel nostalgic, head to the Higashiyama District, an old-fashioned neighborhood that you will love.
- The flea markets are a wonderful opportunity to buy rare and unique items.
- In Kyoto you will find plenty of shops selling signature Japanese souvenirs.
- Like yukata, woodblock prints, green tea, and much, much more.
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Our second trip is now booked with Alisa Liu of Asia Highlights
She represents the very best travel agent to coordinate and customize your journey to Asia. This second trip, using Alisa Liu, will take us through Japan. More
, Mar 2024
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Customized Trip Planning
My experience with Alisa at Asia Highlights has been excellent. I wanted to customize my trip to South Korea and Japan. I made several changes and asked many questions which she answered promptly. My trip included only hotels and transportation because I wanted to explore on my own. This gave me the option to book my own tours if I want. I selected Asia Highlights because of the great reviews and booked because Alisa was helpful in planning my trip. More
JBC, Feb 2024
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Japan Tour
Alisa did a fantastic job, answering all my questions and catering to what I want for our upcoming Japan tour. The itinerary was so detailed! We are so excited for our trip! More
Theresa Beltran, Feb 2024
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The experience of working with Bert was…
The experience of working with Bert was amazing! Everything is clear! The route he introduced and planned for the travel in Japan was amazing! More
Polina Fedorina, Feb 2024
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Outstanding Agent
We haven't taken our trip to Japan yet with Asia Highlights, but I am so impressed by the thoroughness, communication skills, and attention to detail of their hard working agent, Claire Wong. I sent an inquiry to Asia Highlights and immediately I was given Claire as my agent. She designed a trip for my family that works for us and my communications with her via WhatsApp have been excellent. She always gets right back to me with answers and suggestions. Her English is perfect. Because of Claire, I have a very high regard for Asia Highlights, and I'm glad that I chose this company for our trip to Japan. More
Edwin Lowe, Feb 2024
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Japan Trip Planning
Although our travel plans will not materialize for another 2 months, we had the absolute pleasure of working with Bert Hu in putting our trip to Japan together. Bert was extremely professional in meeting our needs and tailoring a trip to our interests. Bert was also quite patient and helpful when we had to change a few details and add a couple days. I'm sure I'll have more wonderful things to say after our experience in Japan. More
John, Feb 2024
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Bert Hu knowledgeable travel adviser.
Hello! My trip adviser Bert Hu gave very clear instructions about the my travel plan to Japan. He is very knowledgeable and guided me step by step. I highly recommend Bert Hu as a personal travel adviser. Thank you for making my future trip easily accessible. More
Fatema Mohammedi, Feb 2024
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Awesome
Such a great company to help us find our next family trip. We have been working with Bert Hu he is very informative and helpful. Looking forward to continuing doing business and our travels to Japan. More
Shaunda, Feb 2024
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It is my first time in Japan
It is my first time in Japan, I am glad that i found Asian highlights especially meeting claire the travel agent! She is amazing. She is very helpful all through out the process, she respond quickly to all my inquiry. She made the process so smooth. During the trip, I have to praise the company for giving us amazing accomodations and the best tour guides. Claire made everything happened. There are few bumps and she solve it right away.She was honest about the things that she can not provide. It is my first time to ask for help from a travel agency , I am glad I found Asia highlights. If I will plan tour in the future I will definitely ask help for this company. I recommended this company to my family and friends! Thankyou once again. More power! Keep it up Claire! More
Cc, Jan 2024
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Claire has listened carefully
Claire has listened carefully to our ideas and has created a highly customized journey for us. She has been very responsive and has shown a deep knowledge of travel options in Japan. More
Michael Brandenburg, Jan 2024
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Sharon from Asia Highlights
I highly recommend Sharon and her tour guidance.She is very patient and utmost polite.I absolutely loved coordinating my iteniery with her although I was unable to travel to Japan this time.She is an absolute gem and I recommend her to make your Japanese holiday an extraordinary and hassle free experience. More
Tess Thomas, Jan 2024
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10 Day Family Vacation in Japan
We had the absolute best time in Japan! Jennifer was our wonderful tour guide in Tokyo and Ho was our amazing tour guide in Kyoto and Osaka. We can’t thank them both enough for making our 10 day sightseeing trip truly a trip of a lifetime!! More
Sabrina Wilmoth, Jan 2024
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Trip to Japan
Family trip to Japan. Excellent itinerary, allowed for seeing many different sights in multiple cities in Japan. The tour was well-paced with enough time to explore on our own in the evenings. Tour guides were knowledgeable, had great attitudes and were accommodating, willing to modify our plans to allow us to see other sights if we wanted to as well. The vans were large and comfortable for the longer drives and water was always provided. More
May, Nov 2023
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Alisa Liu is a star to work makes Asia Highlights even better
Alisa Liu was my contact person for Asia Highlights. She was remarkably punctual, she was thoughtful, and she handle an emergency on my end, with grace and patience. She recommended great hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka Japan that put us in the center of the action. The guides she choose were personable, punctual a knowledgeable about their cities. More
Brent Zadorozny, Oct 2023
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Excellent service
Started using Asia Highlights to plan my trip to Japan. Sharon was very helpful, giving me all the information I would need for the tour. I would definitely use Asia Highlights again, when planning another trip to Asia. More
Rachel Nelson, Oct 2023
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Japan tour
Our airport pick-up went very smoothly. Our guide, Vivian, on the second day was very nice, very accommodating, took into account our preferences. In Osaka, our trip to the castle was a very long walk with lots of steps to climb and quite honestly wasn’t very interesting. But Dotonburi is a must-see and we enjoyed that very much.Our trip to Hiroshima was very memorable. I highly recommend it. Our guide, Etsuko, was very knowledgeable and kind. The trip to Miyajima island, on the other hand, wasn’t too memorable. Our next city, Kyoto, is a truly wonderful place to visit. All the temples we went to were very interesting and very distinctive from each other (Kinkakuji temple, Nijo castle, Sanjusangendo temple,Kiyumizo temple, Fushimi Inari shrine, Kasuga Taisha shrine, Tojaidi temple). The sake tour was a downer and wouldn’t recommend it.Our guide, Ritsuko, was a darling. She was very knowledgeable too and kind and warm and easy to talk to. Our last tour in Tokyo was a rainy day and Sue, our guide, was able to change our tour to the next day. She was so efficient and so accommodating and so kind and very knowledgeable too. More
Mrs Cristina Hidalgo Loris, Oct 2023
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Very good tour of Japan
Very good tour around Japan for 10 days, including Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto. Excellent guides and experiences. Albee, the tour organiser, was always available to sort out changes to itinerary or extra requests. More
Guy Slimmon, Oct 2023
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Everything is good
All of the hotels were wonderful and our guides were super friendly, knowledgeable and flexible. We had a 10 day trip that included multiple cities and lots of different sights, we squeezed in as much as we could, including a 2 day hiking trip to Mt. Fuji (our guide Sun Nan was awesome!). Our guide in Tokyo, Jennifer, was lovely and our guide for 2 days in Kyoto, Dennis, was also super great. We did a food tour in Osaka with Vivian which was nice Sallie Fujimoto-Swun More
Ideale Tran, Oct 2023
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Thank you for the wonderful experience…
Thank you for the wonderful experience we all truely enjoyed. From the beginning (making first contact with Sharon from Asia Highlights) to the end (Saying good bye to our amazing guide Lilly) the experience was top notch. Great communication while preparing the trip and excellent local knowledge of our tour guide. I can highly recommend Asia Highlights and would not hesitate to use them again for our next trip. More
Dany Gruosso, Oct 2023
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Vacations in Japan
The guides Jessie and Vivian were very kind and professionals and the drivers as well. In a future vacation we will get in touch with Asia Highlights without a doubt. More
Hilda Andrade, Oct 2023
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Most popular shopping areas
In Kyoto there are tons of places for shopping, and you might feel overwhelmed. To help you in your shopping adventures, we have gathered some of the best shopping spots of the city such as Shijo Street, the most popular place for shopping, and Nishkii Market, an 800-year-old market with hundreds of shops and restaurants.
Other popular places are the Kyoto Handicraft Center, the Higashiyama District, and the flea markets held once a month.
Shijo Street
Shijo-dori is the main street of Kyoto, always packed with locals and international tourists. There are tons of shops, mostly gathered between Kawaramachi-dori and Karasuma-dori. That is where you will find the famous department stores of Daimaru (with eight floors of cosmetics, jewelry, and fashion), Takashiyama, and Fujii Daimary.
On Shijo Street you will find everything, from food to clothing (especially kimono and yukata).
Nishiki Market
Nishiki Market is one of those places that you cannot miss. The market started as a fish wholesale district around 1310. Today it is one of the most important markets in Kyoto.
It is a five-block marketplace with hundreds and hundreds of shops and restaurants, selling goods produced locally. You will find literally everything to do with food, from cookware to ingredients, the market is also known as Kyoto's Kitchen.
Strolling around the Nishiki Market, you can try the free goodies offered by the many stalls you will find. You can also eat something at the many small restaurants selling ready-made food.
Kyoto Handicraft Center
Kyoto, the seat of the Imperial Court for over 1000 years, has set the quality standards for Japanese arts and crafts, and today is the most important center for traditional Japanese crafts.
You will find all the crafts there that you might want to bring back home, such as:
- Pottery, with kiyomizo pottery being the most popular one
- Kimonos in Kyoto, there are two methods of manufacturing, silk weaving and silk dyeing
- Japanese dolls
- Folding fans, you will find the highest quality fans of the country
- Lacquerware, frequently used in tea ceremonies.
Higashiyama District
Maybe you want to get out of the city andvisit a quieter shopping place. Then, don't look any further and go to the Higashiyama District. Located in the sloping eastern mountains of Kyoto, the district is a traditional neighborhood, with wooden houses, cobblestone pathways and traditional shops, a unique way to get a glimpse of the old Kyoto capital.
There are tons of old-fashioned shops where you can buy pottery, souvenirs and delicacies. Shopping there, is a truly memorable experience.
Shin Kyogoko Arcade
Shin Kyogoko Arcade is the shopping place for the youngsters. It offers a huge variety for reasonably priced trendy clothes. This is the second oldest shopping strip in Kyoto (the first being Asakusa Nakamise). And if you decide to shop til you drop, as they say, you will find plenty of restaurants where to grab a delicious bite.
Flea Markets
To those interested in unique, unusual objects, we strongly recommend visiting the Flea Market on the Toji Temple grounds. The market is open on the 21st of every month, from dawn till dusk, with dozens of vendors selling almost anything you can think of, both new and second-hand. Every Sunday, instead, you will find antique dealers, all located in specific areas.
Another flea market you should check out (held on the 25th of every month) is the Tenjin-san flea market. There are more than 1,000 shops surrounding the shrines, selling pottery, toys, second-hand goods, food, kimonos, and much more. Kimonos and antique goods are the most popular items of the market.
What to buy
After we have seen some of the best shopping places of the city, let's look at the best souvenirs you can bring back with you, from yukata to green tea, from washi to woodblock print. You will find shops selling only products of the highest quality.
Yukata
Yukata is a casual summer kimono, usually made of light fabric, worn by both, men and women. Usually, when you visit a ryokan, you will be supplied with a yukata and we bet that it will be the most comfortable dress you have ever worn.
So, if you want to bring one back home, we suggest you check out the many department stores in Kyoto, especially the Daimaru and the Takashimaya department store, where you will find plenty of English-speaking shopping assistants.
Green tea
Green tea is a must-try in Japan, and a lot of people like to pack some, so as to let their loved ones try back home. If you think about it, it is the perfect gift: affordable, easy to carry and delicious and healthy.
The most famous green tea shop is Ippodo, in business since 1717. They let you try the different teas they have and pick up the one you like the most.
Washi
Washi , the traditional Japanese handmade paper has been a product of Japan for more than 1300 years. It is thin and strong, and, of course, more expensive than standard paper. Like green tea, it is a unique, precious gift that is also easy to carry with you. All the shops will put the paper in cardboard tubes for safe transport.
Morita Washi is an institution of washi. You will find an incredible variety of paper and paper goods there, and you will spend hours browsing in their shop.
Lacquerware
The rest of the world has a long-lasting fascination with Japanese lacquerware, and rightfully so you just need to see high-quality lacquerware to understand its beauty and the amount of skills required to craft it. It is an expensive gift, a gift for that special person that you know, that can appreciate such a precious object.
Zohiko is arguably the best lacquerware shop in Kyoto. It is such a nice shop that it can be almost considered a museum, with extraordinary pieces of lacquerware that can cost several thousands of yen.
Woodblock prints
Woodblock prints are an exceptional piece of art to bring home, and you can do this for a very reasonable price, most places have them for about USD 30. They are perfect to frame and to hang on the wall in the nicest room of your house.
The Kyoto Handicraft Center is, of course, the place to go for some high-quality woodblock prints. Besides that, you can also attend a demonstration or take part in classes in block carving and printing.
Some tips for shopping
When shopping in Kyoto, it is not that hard to get good deals at department stores like Isetan and Daimaru. Inside the Demachi Shotengai shopping arcade, you will find plenty of small shops selling everything.There are also lots of 100-yen shops, selling small, practical objects for the equivalent of a dollar fifty. The flea markets are also ideal for some good bargains.
If you bring your passport with you, you can prove that you are a tourist and then save the 8% sales tax that is added to every merchandise. There are also many tax-free shops; check them out!
When buying a kimono (or a yukata) don't buy the first one you see. Try to avoid the expensive souvenir shops and head to the department stores.
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