Kyoto · Local

Best Local Secret in Kyoto

7 places, each checked by our team.

• Demachi Masugata Shotengai 出町桝形商店街Demachi — A short, old-school covered shopping arcade just west of the Kamogawa Delta, full of fishmongers, mochi shops, a mini-cinema and local diners. It's…
• Gojo-Rakuen and the Takase Canal 五条楽園・高瀬川Gojo / Takase River — A small quarter of grand former teahouses along the willow-lined Takase canal south of Gojo, with ornate wooden facades and tile-work. Now quiet,…
• Kamogawa Delta Stepping Stones 鴨川デルタ 飛び石Demachi / Shimogamo — Where the Kamo and Takano rivers meet, turtle- and plover-shaped stepping stones cross the water to a grassy delta. Kyoto students picnic here,…
• Koyaku-zushi Alley 膏薬辻子Shijo-Karasuma — A narrow, L-shaped lane of machiya townhouses hidden between Shijo and Ayanokoji, a few minutes from Karasuma, where the monk Kuya once built a…
• Sanjo-kai Shotengai 京都三条会商店街Sanjo / Nijo — One of Kyoto's longest covered shopping arcades, 800 m of local life west of Horikawa: butchers, croquette stands, tofu, pickles and old cafés, with…
• Toji-in Temple 等持院Kinugasa / Ritsumeikan — The Ashikaga shoguns' family temple near Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji, with two pond gardens and statues of the Ashikaga shoguns.
• Yogen-in Temple 養源院Higashiyama-Shichijo — A small temple behind Sanjusangendo with Tawaraya Sotatsu's painted doors and a 'blood ceiling' made from Fushimi Castle floorboards.