Prompted by another forumite, I'm making a shameless plug. Mods, if this is inappropriate, do delete the thread.

Cover An Insider's Guide to Authentic Kyoto for Foodies.jpg

An Insider’s Guide to Authentic Kyoto for Foodies

Gastronomy is a way to experience regional style and, by extension, national style. The way a group or a nation approaches food and drink can reveal a lot about their history and approach to life, culture, and therefore, style. It is one of the most satisfying and enjoyable ways to experience a craft which is actually a confluence of a variety of crafts – cooking, knife making, vessel making, et al. You get to feel a fusion and complex layers of other people’s lived experience.

Because I was getting numerous requests for advice on where to eat in Kyoto (likely because the yen is cheap as chips these days), I decided to write a Kyoto culinary travel guide about food, drink, and things related to gastronomy: from fine dining to favourite classics, ingredients, and utensils.

There are numerous guidebooks and online resources on Kyoto. Does anyone need another one? The short answer is, it depends. Because Kyoto has so much to offer, it can become an enormous undertaking to sift through all the information, particularly if you have a more general starting point or you don’t know where to start, especially if this is your first time visiting Kyoto.

Many guides are written to appeal to a broad audience for all the obvious reasons. In contrast, this one was, to use a fashionable word, curated with a specific audience in mind: foodies.

It is based on what I had compiled for a pair of friends who are foodies and one of them had previously been a professional cook (and likely one of the best Firefly customers). They were visiting Japan for the first time, with Kyoto being their main destination. Compiling something for people who understand the subject – even if they have had only a limited exposure to the Japanese kitchen – can be both easy and daunting. Easy because it's always more fun to do something for someone that you know will appreciate it, daunting because they cannot be hoodwinked with random tripe – no pun intended. Therefore, I had to deliver substance, not fluff. In order to bring more focus to the selection of establishments, my working assumption was that this will be their only visit to Kyoto so that I need to make this one count. By that, I mean that whichever option(s) they choose, they will have a memorable and, hopefully, meaningful experience.

Since this was their first trip to Japan, I also wanted to provide some context – history, ingredients, methods, etc. – rather than just giving a short description of what’s on offer. I think that knowing a bit about the background enhances the dining experience, allowing one to discern certain details that one might miss otherwise.

In other words, the guide was curated with intent and purpose. It sounds obvious, but sometimes, it’s worth mentioning the obvious. (For those with gluten intolerance, I have tried to indicate where wheat is used.)

This guide is not for everyone because it may challenge your notion of Japanese food or at times expose you to ingredients that are completely alien to you. The main focus is Kyoto cuisine, not Japanese food in general or the best pizzeria in the city.

However, if you are like my foodie friends, this guide is a great shortcut, a valuable timesaver, particularly for a city like Kyoto with its tremendous depth and breadth. Much of the content is difficult to find in English.

The establishments in this guide were selected for a couple of reasons.

I have been to most of them myself. They are personal recommendations.

There are a few places where I have not been, but they were recommended by other foodie friends whose opinions I trust, which I disclose.

Many of the featured establishments have been around for generations, some for hundreds of years. The reason is that whilst Kyoto is a modern city, it is also an ancient city where much of Japanese culture sprouted and developed, including many aspects of the Japanese kitchen. Visiting these establishments, experiencing their hospitality, and sampling their wares is literally taking a tour through a significant part of Japanese culinary history, often in the original setting. It’s a unique opportunity for anyone taking an interest in Kyoto and Japanese culture more generally. Through these establishments, you can feel the Kyoto style and by extension a core aspect of Japanese style.

I have included practical information including address on Google Maps, hours, and price range.

The Guide is available on Amazon to preview and download for US$4.95 (plus VAT if applicable).

I have had a multi-part feedback that I thought was interesting (or curious, depending on viewpoint). It does provide you with some more insight into the content, so I'll share it in the interest of managing your expectations.

A nice little guide to Kyoto restaurants that may be most useful for those with some familiarity with Kyoto and Kyoto foods. I lived in Kyoto for a few years and recognized some old favorites and many newer places. I appreciate the addition of shokudo which I think tourists largely ignore, but used to be so much more popular. And the shopping advice and explanations of sake, knives, etc. will be appreciated by foodies.
I did wish it was more comprehensive and photos would be a nice addition. It's very link heavy which is fine if you're reading it electronically.
One might hope for a Part 2!
  • On being comprehensive, as you might discern from the subtitle and the description, it was not the intent. One of the challenges of a bigger city like Kyoto that has so much to offer is the tyranny of choice -- it's very real. The target audience consists of foodies visiting from abroad for a week or so and having a fairly focussed objective in terms of food and other things related to food.
  • There are only 2 photos that are actually in the Guide for a couple of reasons. One is that it's not intended as a coffee table book although the content could very well be a basis for a fabulous coffee table book with the help of a good photographer (not some shitty iPhone pics). Rather, it's meant to be carried on your portable device like you would carry a paperback edition of Zagat's. With that in mind, I also wanted to keep the file size as small as possible, which means not many images.
  • It is an e-book so you're meant to be reading it electronically. It may have not been clear to the reviewer that the Guide comes only in e-book format. And yes, there are plenty of links, many of which lead to photos of the subject at hand, but also other useful destinations like Google Maps.


As of this writing, it is the #1 New Release in Culinary Travel in the US. It is in the Top 10 of Culinary Travel in the US and Dining Travel Reference in Australia.

Once you've read it, please submit a review, however short or long, at http://Amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B0CPPYWZJ9.

Many thanks for your consideration.