Kyoto Travel Guide 2025 π―π΅ Shizuka Reacts to Top Spots & Hidden Gems
Hey guys, as you may have noticed, we have done a few food guides recently, recapping my various experiences all across Japan in my almost six years working on this channel. So, today I’m going to be reacting to a few of my old videos and diving into some of the best places that I visited in Kyoto. It’s really easy to get to Kyoto from Tokyo by bullet train. And what’s really nice about Kyoto is that it shows a side of Japan where tradition and history is much more wellpreserved than Tokyo due to its long history and lack of damage during the war. So today I’ll be running through some well-known spots that I’ve visited and some off the-beaten path spots that I really think you should check out while you’re there. And just so you know, I joined a bunch of food tours in Kyoto. And if any of you are wanting to have the same experience that I did, you can also book them on byfood.com by scanning the QR code on the screen somewhere and it’ll show a bunch of experiences that I did and probably some other really fun ones. So don’t forget to check that out. And without further ado, let’s dive into my Kyoto recap video and also it’ll be kind of a reaction video. So I haven’t seen some of these videos in a while, so we’ll see what happens. Let’s dive in. So, I’m going to start with my video in Kyoto where I went to a place called Ninen Zaka and San Nenzaka. This is an area around Gion in Kyoto. And it leads basically it’s a street. There’s some famous stairs in Ninzaka and in San Nenzaka. And this street leads up to the famous world heritage site called Kiom Mizuera Temple. But what’s really nice about the Ninaka street is it has so many little shops and cafes. Very quaint little traditional looking buildings. So if you want to experience some history, this is a really beautiful place. But do be careful because the stairs in Ninzaka and Sanenzaka have some superstition attached to them. And the Nin Zaka, it literally means 2year hill. And supposedly if you trip on the stairs in Ninzaka, you will die within 2 years. So stakes are really high. Be careful. Don’t trip. And senaka is the same thing. I think it means threeyear hill. If you trip on those stairs, you will die within 3 years. Slightly better prospects, but still not grapes. Here we go. Hi, welcome to Japan by There we go. There’s the Yucata. Today I’m all kimono because I am in Kyoto on the Nak. Was it actually kimono? I thought I was wearing yukata today. These are really historic. This was like how many years ago was temple and these streets are 2022. Okay, this was 3 years ago with souvenir shops. It may have been a restaurant. So, I can’t wait to take a walk. Let’s go explore. It said that on the Nina and Zaka if you stumble into warning everybody to not follow the steps are destined to die within 2 years. It seems that the superstition comes from the fact that they were just trying to warn people to be careful probably on these like steeper slopes. I think it was it was a scare tactic to prevent people from getting injured. So, a benevolent scare tactic. It’s kind of like how we try to scare kids into behaving. Oh my goodness. This has got to be perfect place to have a traditional K. This was a really cool restaurant called Okdang and they serve tofu. I think tofu has an interesting image abroad as being a vegetarian food in Japan. Obviously, it just has a really long history. So, this is a a local food in Kyoto especially, it is very famous for tofu. The texture feels a little bit rougher. It doesn’t have I think for people who come from abroad, I don’t think you’d find that it has a ton of flavor. It you’ll find it that it doesn’t tastes like have a ton of flavor. Try it with your famous sheet. I’m not lying there. Um, I think there’s it depends on the ways that they prepare it, but I think what’s different about like traditional Kyoto style tofu is you can really taste the soybean flavor, like the natural flavor, which is something that a lot of people abroad, I think it’s an acquired taste, and that people don’t really appreciate. I’ve heard a lot of people say like tofu is a blank slate, and it’s about the sauces that you use. You don’t need to hide the flavor of tofu entirely. That’s what I think. One thing I do recommend to people to do in Ninzaka Sanenzaka area is to dress up in kimono or Yucata as I’m doing, you can go to various rental shops in the area. There’s a bunch. And I do really recommend this cuz the atmosphere is so traditional and you can go to these really historic restaurants and you just fit you fit into the the atmosphere completely and it’s not something that you can really do as well in Tokyo. Okay, so now I’m going to watch the video called the best foods you must try in Arashima Bamboo Forest. This is a very famous iconic bamboo forest in Kyoto that everybody usually goes to at least once when they visit Kyoto. I’m a little disappointed to say that it it has become very touristy. It’s been touristy for many years. The best times that you could go to avoid this touristiness is very early in the morning. But I will say when we filmed this video, it was during the time when the borders were still closed in Japan due to the pandemic. So I had a very special experience to see almost nobody in that forest. Let’s look through this video and see what else I did after going to the forest. Arashyama has been a really popular destination to visit, not only for foreign travelers, but for Japanese visitors for over a thousand years. So it’s definitely a must-sea place. food tour by food food tour to discover all the best food spots in the area. It’s so beautiful here. And Arashama Bamboo Forest is actually considered one of the Can you believe how there’s nobody in this forest of Japan? And a soundsscape is apparently a location where you can enjoy the natural sounds. No kidding. That this was a soundsscape and you can hear the birds. It’s a really That was really really pretty. soundsscape. I wish that it was still like this and there were not it was not overrun with with people. What can you do though? Like everybody wants to go to these special places. But the downside is they become a little bit less special when everybody goes there. It’s a weird balance. Hello. Okay. I’m meeting my tour guide. Your tour guide. I’m going to show you some shop where you can try Kyoto specialies and you will see photogenic food. Oo, I love photogenic food. Photogenic foods in Japanese instab. And you write that as instab bay. So that should help you remember. So, one food that we tried at the beginning of this tour that I thought was really nice actually were these adorable odango, which are dango are like little mochi balls on a skewer. They have like different flavored uh like red bean paste or I think like sweet potato paste, black sesame paste, different flavors on each dango. So, you get like different flavors in in one skewer. And they were decorated to look really cute. I thought those were nice. Cute and tasty. Like fusion of modern and traditional. It’s a really nice blend of cute bean paste flavor with chestnut. And it’s got a nice like fall autumn feel to it. Oh, there was a yuzu one. Yuzu. This is my first time trying yuzu flavor. Yeah, that was really good. You there all there will always be different seasonal ones. So look for that in this area. Here is Oh, another place we went to. Yeah. Which is famous. Yoia Cafe. So now we are going to the cafe. They have a cafe. So Yojia is very notable name because basically they were known for making abura toriami which means oil blotting paper. So this is the old school way that people would blot their shiny oily skin. Okay, let’s go check it out. So, I visited the cafe and we tried this wonderful parfait. This cafe has very fancy looking. Very fancy looking parfait. It looks really fancy. Wow. And on the top of it, they have the logo of the Yojia Cafe. It’s this beautiful traditional looking probably uh Japanese geisha, I would imagine, or just a traditional image of a Japanese woman. M and I really enjoyed this parfait now are autumn. They had a couple of different seasonal ones taste and the Korean and there were just so many layers in the parfait. I feel like parfets are always good cuz there’s a little something that everybody can enjoy in each layer. So that was nice. That was a nice And I think you can also do lunch there. Yeah, this was really nice. She she took me to some really cool places. And I think what was nice about doing a tour, when you join a tour, then you do kind of guarantee that there is someone who’s local who can show you the spots that are worth trying, whether it be a dish that is kind of unique or traditional to the area or just a really like modern and interesting food that you might want to try. Okay, now it’s time to dive into our Uji video. Um, where we are focusing on green tea and matcha foods because as some of you may know, Uji is really the famous city in Japan for matcha green tea. So that’s where a lot of the most famous green teas are sourced from. Not the only place of course, but Uji is definitely one of the major cities. So it does draw visitors who love matcha. So, in this video, I went to Uji for the first time, and then I tried a bunch of foods that use matcha in them. So, let’s see what I ate. This was a few years ago as well, 3 years ago. So, yeah, I definitely don’t remember everything. So, let’s see what I did. Here we go. Hi, welcome to Japan by Food. I’m your host, Shuka Anderson. Today, I am in the hair. Uji Kyoto. Uji is beloved and for their amazing green tea in matcha. So today we’re going to be visiting some of the oldest tea shops in the world and also exploring what kind of modern twists to the classic cup of green tea we can find today. This is a really historic city. But I will mention that it is a bit out of the way. If you’re visiting Kyoto, it takes about 30 minutes by train give or take to get to Uji. So you it does take a bit of commitment to go there. Today we’ll see the new face of matcha in the modern era. Let’s go see what they’ve got. Oh, I forgot it had a little garden. A wide variety of matcha desserts, but it also has matcha meal options, which I like unusual and unique. It’s a little hard to decide, but I think what really stands out to me is their matcha curry udon. So, let’s give it a try with this beautiful little set that comes with a matcha parfait. This looks and it’s coming back to me. So this is the taste is coming back to me too while looking at these images. The curry soup has been infused with matcha. Okay, hold on. I’m going to pause it there. So this green colored udon, curry udon. Image wise, very impactful. I think I noticed that there’s some grilled mochi in there, I think, which I’d forgotten about, but I think that’s a really cool touch. Okay, start with the soup. Let’s see what I say. I’m going to say the exact same thing, probably. That is an unexpected flavor. It tastes like curry. So, it tastes like a almost a classic curry udon soup, but with a little added hint of matcha, leafy bitterness. It’s really interesting. Okay, that was noodle. I knew it would say that. Good. Here we go. I had a little extra information, but a little bit curry, but a little bit of matcha bitterness. This last part I think is the most memorable part of my trip. Um, this is when I visited a historic tea house called Tsuen Tea. And this shop is said to be the oldest tea house in Japan. And apparently it is also one of the world’s oldest companies. On their Wikipedia page, it says that they are the 13th oldest company in Japan and it’s the 30th oldest company in the world. That information alone is a reason to visit. The tea house, Suen Tea House, was founded in the year 1160 in Uji City and the location is where it is today. Let’s see how I enjoyed. I have my traditional and my matcha and I’m so sweet and matcha that I have here because the history here is unast. So it really is going to be like tasting. The bowl of matcha to start with my cup of matcha tea. That smells so nice. The matcha bowl is so beautiful, too. Like you’re standing inside. It just looks so traditional. It just smells wonderful. Let’s give it a taste. I should probably be holding it better. I’ve learned since then, you should have one hand on the bottom, right hand on the side, and drink it like this. I think the best way to describe it, I was young, I was green. It still has that hint of bitterness that just pun intended, but it is so smooth and little hints of sweetness from nature. There’s no sugar added. It there should never be sugar in matcha. This is the way to enjoy it. I would agree with this statement that you traditionally there is no sugar in matcha. And I still believe that the best way to enjoy matcha is without sugar. I know that matcha lattes are all the rage in many countries right now. And I will not deny that they’re good. They taste good. But I do think the real matcha is still the one that’s not sweet. And I have an interesting fun fact, like a behindthe-scenes fun fact about this. I went to a Japanese restaurant in Vancouver who a family friend was running. And then one of the ladies who worked at that Japanese restaurant, she mentioned to me that her family had a tea shop in Uji Kyoto and that I should go there someday. And I completely forgot to do that. We connected. I added her on Instagram. I went here. We filmed here. The video went up and then she replied to me and said, “Oh, you went to our family’s tea house. What? like this is your this is your family’s this historic tea house is your family’s tea house. And then she was like, “Yeah, you uh you were supposed to interview my brother who’s the current head of the of this tea house, but he was sick. So you interviewed her wife, his wife. So your your family name is is Suen.” And she was like, “Yeah, I’m Yuka Suen.” And I was like, “What the heck? You are literally the descendant of this historic tea house.” And I had no idea. I had zero idea. I met her at a Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. So insane. I just thought that was so crazy. I found that out after going to the tea house. All right. Yeah, give it a try. If you want to go to Kyoto and then go a little bit out of the way, Uji is probably a really cool place to visit. All right. Now we’re diving into the our best cocktail bars in Kyoto video featuring a friend of a good friend of mine, Gosha, who is a very who’s very knowledgeable about cocktails. Honestly, she was a longtime bartender. Um, so she really knows what she’s talking about and she also lives in Kyoto, so she’s the perfect guide for taking you around Kyoto. This was not a tour video, so she was just showing me around and she introduced me to all of these really cool bars. And what’s great is that she knows all of the people who work at these bars because she’s in the bar scene. So, it was a great experience for me. Um, but let’s see where we visited. You know the saying, it’s always 5:00 somewhere. And I’m taking that saying literally today because it is noon right now. But I’m going to be showing you the beautiful city of Kyoto through its cocktail bars. Some of you may not know this, but Kyoto is becoming really well known for its incredible cocktail bars. And it has just some of the most unique and high level cocktail. I really feel right now. I’m ready to give someone their shot. So, I’m going to show you guys four of those bars today. Okay, one note. Some of these videos are a little bit challenging to film when we’re just featuring bars because I do have to remember what I need to say despite having an increasing number of drinks in me as we go. My first bar of the day is located in the B1 floor of the Kyoto Tower Sando building just across from Kyoto station. So, it’s very easy to get to. And this first bar is called The Roots of All Evil. Very cool name. cocktail bar and they have over a 100 different types of craft gin from all across Japan and around the world. So, this basement floor of this building was actually a really cool place to visit and I recommend it a lot because I don’t think it’s it’s touristy whatsoever. This is genuinely a place where I think Kyoto locals would probably pop by after work. You can grab a little drink at some of these little bars down there. And they also have tons of um little izakayas and they’re all on the basement floor of this building. Oh yes. And this girl who works at the at the bar was really cool too. She had a really cool vibe and really friendly. of drinks. Yes, it just had the the most beautiful. Definitely not as sweet as I thought it was going to be. Immediately looked like a little terrarium into a beautiful botanical garden. If you want a nice fresh kind of herbal floral drink, this is the one for you. Hi, nice to meet you. We’re going to meet Gosha. This is my friend. She lives in Kyoto. So Goha has a very strong bartending background. That is great. I see her every time I go to Kyoto or whenever she comes to Tokyo. The bar and the restaurant industry and it’s called Goou. So go out because her name is the head of her own company called Go. Go knows some of the best bars all across Tokyo and Kyoto. And she knows a lot of the bartenders. It’s so fancy. You like it? I love Apothecels. Yep. Yep. And of course, beautiful bottles. And you can see all the infusions. Also, I love that all of the bartenders wear lab coats. Or maybe it’s not lab coat, but it’s more of a pharmaceutical coat. So, they’re wearing their white jackets because the bar is called Apotheca, which is based on kind of a old school apothecary where they used they would used to use maybe alcohols and herbs to make a concoction that would help you when you were sick. So, that’s sort of the inspiration. Now we got to enhance your penicellin as well. I’m going to enhance my penicellin now. I cannot wait. Now I’m enhancing my penicellin. Ready to give someone their shot. Maybe I know it looks like a real syringe actually. That’s a good point. There is this. It’s not sharp though. So that’s all I have to say. It does look like a real syringe. It’s not you. I do not believe that you could withdraw blood with this thing. It’s Put put a white coat on me. Let’s do it. Oh yes, I love it. I love this is the first time that we did this really this Photoshop thing. As bartenders, we always want to bring like a fun experience to the customers. The floating technique is very common, but for the bartender to give the option for you to make and then you can also enjoy it and now we can also understand why the bartender puts something on top of your cocktail. Anyway, thank you for the great recommendation. Let’s move on to the last the last bar that we went to. This one, what is I would say fancier affair. Oh my gosh. You can see all of Kyoto here. Yes. And the view was to die for. So beautiful. The best seat in the house. The biggest selling point of the K36 rooftop bar, the bar and rooftop is the view. It’s remarkable how much you can see of Kyoto. Cheers. Beautiful. A beautiful a really I think some classic flavors. It’s actually very refreshing. Uh again, it’s based on rum and it has rosemary, blue curisso, which is the rosemary and a little citrusy and it also has elder flour liquor. Yeah. So, the oldfashioned, it really you can really highlight the liquor, the taste of the liquor in the drink, which is not always my go-to. I do prefer something a little bit sweeter, I think. But otherwise, if you like a good old-fashioned, that’s why it’s called Oldfashioned. Okay, well, that basically wraps up, I think, pretty much everything I’ve ever done in Kyoto on video. That was quite a lot. We I’m surprised at how much has happened over the years. Um, and it’s all been really such a fun adventure. So, I’m really I feel really grateful to be a part of all of this. But I hope you guys enjoyed watching me kind of look back at some past Japan by food videos. And I would love to hear which episodes were some of your favorites that I’ve visited over the years in Kyoto that we touched on today. So, if you wanted to go sometime in the future to Kyoto, make sure to check out the byfood.com website. We’ll have a QR code on the screen and you can book some of these tours still. And let me know what you think about these kind of reaction videos. We’ve never done this before, but let me know if you enjoy this format and if you’d like to see me react to anything else. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this video and we’ll see you very soon in another one. Bye, guys. If you enjoyed this video, click the photos on the left for more and click the one on the right to learn more about buy food and book your own Japan adventures. Bye.
π Many of the featured experiences are available on byFood.com, so you can follow in Shizukaβs footsteps on your own Kyoto adventure: https://bit.ly/4jPC4fc
This week, Shizuka takes a trip down memory lane as she reacts to past videos from her travels in Kyoto β one of Japanβs most iconic and culturally rich destinations. With nearly six years of experience exploring Japan through byFood, she shares insider tips, personal reflections, and behind-the-scenes stories from her time filming in Kyoto.
From famous temples and scenic streets to hidden gems and local food experiences, this video offers a unique, firsthand look at what makes Kyoto so special. Whether you’re planning your first visit or just want to dive deeper into the city’s charm, this guide has something for everyone.
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1 Comment
can't wait to visit in early October!