“Nishiki Market Has Become a Place for Foreigners”: What Kyoto Locals Really Say
「錦市場は外国人向けに成り下がった」京都の地元民の本音
This is a Kyoto food-walk review with 3.5 million views — but scroll into the comments and the loudest voices aren't rating the snacks. They're Kyoto locals, and they're basically on your side. The single most-liked comment of all (20,198 likes) isn't about food: it's locals saying they hate the attitude that any quality is good enough as long as the customer is a foreigner. Right behind it, 9,388 people agreed that Nishiki Market has become a place aimed at foreigners and is too crowded to recommend. It's not visitors they're annoyed at — it's the shops charging tourists too much for too little. Here's what Kyoto locals actually say, and the couple of places a few of them would send you instead.
“Speaking as a local, Nishiki Market has degenerated into shops aimed at foreigners, and it's so overcrowded that I honestly can't recommend it.”
地元民からすると錦市場は外国人向けのお店に成り下がったし、人混みすぎてあまりおすすめはできません
Scroll while you watch
What locals said (excerpted from 1354)
- @ネコタックさん👍 20,198
That line at the end — “I hate the stance that any quality is good enough as long as the customer's a foreigner” — I really feel that. I hate it too.
最後の「海外の人ならどんな品質で出しても良いだろうっていうスタンスが嫌い」って言うところ、本当に分かる私も嫌い
- @kanoefuyu4405👍 11,236
“A taste that really tells you you're on a trip.” God, that is so relatable.
「旅行に来たなぁって味」 わかり味が凄い
- @国産チキン-t2o👍 2,132
I'm a local myself, and I had no idea it had turned into nothing but tourist-facing shops.
地元民ですがこんな観光客向けの店ばかりになっていたんですね。
- @user-qf4jk2ij1i👍 877
The point isn't whether I'd go or not — of course I wouldn't. It's that serving foreigners who came all the way to Japan overpriced, half-baked food just because they can't judge the taste or the price is incredibly rude.
問題は自分が行くか行かないかではなくない？そりゃ自分は行かないよ… せっかく日本に旅行しにきてくれてる外国人に、味も値段もわからないからといってテキトーなもの高価で出すってめちゃくちゃ失礼
- @弱心-n6w👍 784
You could just write it off as “it's for foreigners,” but yeah — more and more places have slipped on quality and, honestly, on price too.
外国人向けって言われたらそれまでやけど質はもちろん値段もアレなところ増えたよなぁ
- @hkmy3420👍 403
Exactly. Call it “attracting inbound tourists” if you want, but it's just a ripoff.
ほんそれ インバウンド集客っていうかただのぼったくりなんよ
- @useomochi👍 552
For what it's worth, central Kyoto is far from the sea, so I wouldn't recommend eating raw seafood here in the first place…
そもそも京都の市内側は海から遠いので生の海鮮を食べるのはお勧めできません…
Where locals go instead
- @sekai444👍 295
It's a bit of a train ride, but the Fushimi sake district is a lovely spot.
ちょっと電車乗るけど伏見の酒処はいいですよ
Places named in this article
- Fushimi Sake District伏見の酒処Fushimi, south Kyoto
The one alternative named in these comments: “It's a bit of a train ride, but the Fushimi sake district is a lovely spot” (295 likes).
Named in the source comments — hours, prices, and openings change, so check each map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Is Nishiki Market worth visiting?
- Kyoto locals in this 1,354-comment thread overwhelmingly say no — the most-liked warning (9,388 likes) calls it a place that has degenerated into shops aimed at foreigners and is too crowded to recommend. If you still go, locals' complaints suggest treating it as a quick walk-through rather than a meal stop.
- Why do Kyoto locals avoid Nishiki Market?
- Three reasons keep repeating in the comments: the crowds, shops that now target tourists instead of locals, and overpriced food — “call it attracting inbound tourists if you want, but it's just a ripoff.” Notably, their anger is aimed at the shops, not at visitors.
- Where do locals go instead of Nishiki Market?
- In this thread, the one place a local recommends instead is the Fushimi sake district, a short train ride south. One local also cautions against raw seafood in central Kyoto in general — the city is far from the sea.
¥5,000 Beef Skewers: Is Nishiki Market a Ripoff? A Kyoto Local Goes Back
“I'll just come out and say it: thanks to the inbound tourists, both Kuromon and Nishiki have turned, all at once, into vulgar markets with no atmosphere left. The days when I used to go to the old Fumiya were better.”
Read this roundupThis is one of 9 local roundups for Kyoto. See them all →
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