Great food court in the basement (bottom level). It’s essentially a market with many vendors selling rice balls, sushi, tempura, etc.

Inside the Ebisu Garden Place. Lowest level of the Mitsukoshi department store.

A small, pleasant sandwich shop in Yebisu Garden Place. Very close to the Westin Tokyo.

There is a lot of good, cheap food on the outskirts of Akihabara. The mall near the train station is just one of the options. We ate at the Ramen shop and had Ramen soup, tofu, fish, and rice balls.

Great continental breakfast.

Ate at the Curry Station for lunch. There are a lot of other restaurants also in the Shinagawa Station.

To order, simply insert your money into the vending machine out front, where you select a meal (photos) and a little ticket comes out. Then, when you go inside, give this ticket to the waitress and she’ll bring out your food.

A small, family run shop that makes excellent Okonomiyaki. They don’t speak much english, but do have english menus available.

On Sanjo-Dori, 2 blocks west of the Westin Miyako Kyoto on the North side of the street.

Order the Okonomiyaki (a pizza-like dish made with eggs, vegetables, meat and plenty of oil!) and it will be grilled at the table. The Yakisoba is also good. The soda bottles have a little marble in it. Fun.

Small bakery filled with traditional buns and Japanese sweets.

The small bakery is on the west side of Shirakawa-dori, around Imadegawa-dori.

Perfect place to stop for breakfast or a snack as you walk up Shirakawa-dori to the Philospher’s path. The sugar buns are highly recommended (be warned, some are filled with curry!). If you miss this bakery, keep walking north along Shirakawa-dori and you’re sure to run into many more bakeries (a patisserie and gift-shop is just north of Yamata Bakery)

Just a small Korean restaurant we found on our way back to the hotel. They served good hot food on a cold day. The only name that was in English was “Korean Restaurant”!

Walk along Sanjo St.

The Japanese equivalent of American Fast Food.

A very popular conveyor-belt sushi spot.

@ Sanjo St. and Karamachi St. There isn’t really a sign out front, just a long line of people.

When you get there, you can sign up for two types of seating. The left column is for table only. The right side is to sit at the counter.
Make your own tea with tea bags and cups above.
When finished with the meal, push round button and they will come and add up all the plates for you.

ケーキバイキングあり

551 Horai is well known for the meat buns that they sell to-go. Try the butaman—BBQ pork buns. They are the best. There’s no ambience (it’s fast food) but it’s great.

@ downstairs in the Kyoto Station.

“551” is pronounced “go-go-ichi” in Japanese. So if you’re lost, just ask for “go-go-ichi-horai”. It’s really fun to say 10 times fast too.

A small coffee shop across the street from Nijo-Jo Castle.

Right across the street from Nijo-Jo Castle.

The toast (Japanese style) is excellent. But if you get the Egg Sandwich, it’s big enough for two.

A great place to have lunch after walking the Imperial Palace grounds. Excellent Ramen noodle soup and a fast paced environment.

Between Muromachi and Karasuma Streets. Located in a small alley-way.

Order what the guy next to you is ordering. The menu is completely in Japanese, but they have a few pictures on the walls to help you out.

Toraya has been making traditional Japanese confectionery since the 16th century. They keep the Imperial family stocked with beautifully designed, impressively made sweets.

On Karasuma-Dori on the NorthWest side of the Imperial Palace. There is no English sign outside the Kyoto shop so just keep your eye out for a shop with a long counter full of sweets.

After picking out your favorite confections, enter the Imperial Palace across the street and eat while sitting in the garden (tables are available).
Toraya is worth a visit, but it is not as impressive as expected considering their long history and reputation. There are many other great sweets shops in Kyoto with better tasting sweets at a less expensive price.

The Shakey’s Pizza in Japan is nothing like the counterpart in America. Yes, they do sell pizza, and fried chicken, and even salad, but imagine having a dessert pizza. They have an all-you-can-eat, if you can take it. It’s quite a high-school hangout so be prepared for some strange happenings!

Where the Shin-Kyogoku and Teramachi shopping arcades end at Sanjo-Dori. It’s on the second floor, but you can’t miss it.

Order the all-you-can-eat meal, and try out all the strange pizzas.

Some random cafe that we stopped by on the way to Kyoto Station. They served traditional breakfast foods (in a Japanese sort of way, of course!) Fruit, yogurt, toast, and coffee.

On the South-East corner of Shichijo and Karasuma Dori

551 Horai is well known for the meat buns that they sell to-go. Try the butaman—BBQ pork buns. They are the best. There’s no ambience (it’s fast food) but it’s great.

@ downstairs in the Kyoto Station.

“551” is pronounced “go-go-ichi” in Japanese. So if you’re lost, just ask for “go-go-ichi-horai”. It’s really fun to say 10 times fast too.

A vendor in the dessert basement of the Isetan Department store. They have many types of dessert, including chocolate and apricot bars, but their specialty is the Brownies du Japon.

Dessert floor of the Isetan Department Store (basement).

A Kyoto branch of the famous New Orleans cafe. They serve the famous Cafe au Lait with Chickory in all its splendor. A great break from shopping.

On the 2nd level of Kyoto Station, over-looking the atrium.

On the long walk back to the subway from Kinkakuji Temple (along Kitaoji Street), we stopped at this very interesting restaurant. They have many combination meals including steak + all-you-can-eat salad bar. But, don’t expect an American-style salad bar, it’s simply some greens.

Along Kitaoji Street, near the Kinkakuji Temple.