Kyoto Shopping

These street is bordered with tons of little stores offering various type of goods. You will find specialized stored selling only local crafts and paintings as well as the usual souvenir shop selling everything written "Kyoto" on it.

What to buy: I found a vast variety of silk paintings and traditional drawings insome stores very worth buying. The price are decent.

What to pay: Less than in department stores

All these department stores are very big and offer everything you could think of. If after a day of walking through the old town and temples, you want to relax a bit by shopping around, it's a good alternative...

What to buy: Clothes, souvenirs, cosmetics

You can get a lot of nice souvenirs from Kyoto from this shop. They sell a lot of purses and hair pins for girls. Actually, come to think of it, most of the merchandise was for girls! I bought a cute purse for my niece there.

What to pay: A little less expensive than the other stores.

With the flash thunderstorm descending on Kyoto, we took refuge in this vast expanse of covered street shopping arcades. All total the arcade is about 2Km and has everything under the sun and some other bits too. A fantastic sushi restaurant we happened on for lunch will be on my list of things to do for next trip.

We found this guy outside one of the major temples in Kyoto (I think it was the golden pavilion). His ink drawings of the various temples in Kyoto were on shikishi and if he likes you, he will draw something on the back for you so you can have art on both sides.

What to buy: Buy the pic from him and buy the frame to go with the shikishi and you have a cheap art souvenir for yourself or for someone else.

What to pay: 1,500 yen for the picture and 1,000 yen for a frame. ($20-25). You would never guess it was cheap art tho. I wish I'd have bought more of it for gifts.

You can buy old kimonos, antiques etc. at the following markets:

Toji Temple Market, in Minami-ku on the 21st of every month.
(075-691-3325)

Kitanotenmangu Market, in Kamigyo-ku on the 25th of every month.
(075-461-0005)

Anything and everything can be found here.
The customer service is phenomenal, gift wrapping is standard. Beautiful store, beautiful things, beautiful shopping experience.

What to buy: Buy something with the Emperor and Empress of Japan. Anything Geisha . . .etc.
A kimono makes a great wall hanging-for a less expensive alternative buy a childs kimono it's easier to mount and frame.
A nice sake set is a good souvenier as well.

Until recently, the brand-conscious Japanese were willing to pay two or three times more for brand names, however, the slowdown in the Japanese economy has forced people to consider otherwise...
100 yen shops, where you can get interesting goods- from fashlights to CD holders, and some typical `Japanese' souviners... (even if they are made in China!)
Its a welcome break from the over-priced shops all around. A must visit for all bargain hunters!

What to buy: Check out the ones on Terramacchi street. Theres a new one that had come up not much before i visited, and it was quite classy actually- not the usual plastic stuff... we were left wondering if it was the wrong shop judging by the displays and goods available!
Its good value for money even if much of the stuff there has a little `made in China' label!