Five shops in Kyoto offering interesting tsukemono pickles

Tsukemono is Japanese pickles, and Kyoto is famous for the variety of pickles you can get here. You can find almost anything pickles here, even apples! The vegetables are pickles in many different ways, some with salt, some with vinegar, others with miso or soy sauce. My personal favorite is cucumber pickled in rice bran (nukazuke). But without further ado, here are five great tsukemono shops in Kyoto:

Murakami-Ju Honten is famous for their “senmai-zuke”, which is thinly sliced daikon. You can even eat the kelp with which the senmai-zuke is pickled with. Senmai-zuke is maybe the most famous of the tsukemono pickles of Kyoto, so it’s a fitting start for our look at the pickles of this old capital. 

At Murakami-Ju Honten they also have English explanations of the pickles they sell, so it’s easier to know what you’re buying here. All in all, a great shop in a convenient location by Hankyu Kawaramachi Station. 

You can find Nishiri’s shops all around Kyoto, but their Gion shop has the best selection of interesting tsukemono. Here you can find such delicacies as apple tsukemono pickles, which are great with ice cream. It’s even probiotic! 

Or would you like to drink cherry blossoms? These cherry blossoms are pickled in salt, and they can be drunk like tea. The cherry blossoms are pickled in salt so there’s a nice saltiness to the taste, and it’s not overly sweet. 

You’ve probably already seen pictures taken at Uchida Tsukemono Nishiki-Koji, as it’s one of the most picturesque shops in Nishiki Market (the main picture of this article is also from Uchida Tsukemono Nishiki-Koji). 

Here you can try many different tsukemono pickles before you buy them, so you can be sure you’re getting something you like. And as the shop is located in Nishiki Market, it’s easy to go to, as Nishiki Market is probably already on your Kyoto-itinerary. 

This tsukemono shop is also located in Nishiki Market, but Nishiki Takakura-ya also serves you pickles as a kind of street food. Normally they have cold, refreshing cucumbers on offer, but in summer they sometimes also have eggplants too. 

As benefitting a sightseeing spot such as Nishiki Market, you have many choices when it comes to free samples. So, when passing by Nishiki Market, remember to also buy a cucumber from Takakura-ya to refreshen your day. 

Narita is famous for their pickled suguki, which are said to be one of the three most famous pickles in Kyoto. These radish-like vegetables are pickled whole, so they feel pretty big. 

What’s most special about this shop is the building it’s in. It’s a traditional Japanese house called machiya where you can feel the history behind these tsukemono pickles. They even have seats for you, so you can relax if you’re tired from sightseeing, as this shop is close to the famous Kamigamo Shrine.