- (Speaks Foreign Language) and welcome back!
For those of you who don't know, my name is Shana and
I am ITA alumni who's been living in Japan now for
a little over two years, so in this video, which is
a little bit long, but I promise you it's totally
worth watching, I take you on an awesome food tour
of the Nishiki Market, which is a very famous
market in the Kyoto area.
Now, you might even see a familiar face on this vlog.
So, let's go ahead and take a look.
Hey guys, so, this is my (speaking foreign language) brother
Jun Pei and we are heading down to the Nishiki Market
in Kyoto, which is a bout...about?
I just did that really weird.
Which is about a 20 minute walk from my apartment.
So it's pretty close, not bad,
especially on a nice day like this.
It's pretty hot, but it's beautiful, so let's go.
So we are hot and sweaty but we have officially arrived at
the Nishiki Market and look who we found!
- Hi, oh my god! What a coincidence!
- What a coincidence, we totally didn't plan this at all.
So, we're gonna go on a little bit
of a food tour with you guys, so, you ready?
- Ready.
- Let's go!
- [Shana] Let's go! We totally weren't just in here.
(Speaks Foreign Language)Rice crackers of different flavors.
Which one's your favorite?
- [Charlotte] This one looks the most exciting.
- This is seven spices, you like the super fine.
Red Perilla. Mmmmmm. Mmmmmmm.
(Lively Music)
You can get lots of fresh seafood at this market,
which is pretty cool.
Of course, you've gotta get in on the traditional
kinds of Japanese sweets.
Ah, yes, it's like rock candy.
- [Charlotte] Yeah, but it's (mumbles).
- I didn't know that.
There you go. There you have it! News with Charlotte.
(Speaks in Foreign Language)
When you're in Kyoto, you also have to try the Matcha,
which you can get everywhere in Kyoto and it seems to be
very critical in the Nishiki Market as well.
Tanuki! Gotta love him.
- I saw a tanuki the other day.
- You did? Did he actually - Yeah.
- Have the real giant, you know?
- (Mumbles)
(Shanna Laughing)
- Probably not, probably not, but that's what they're
famous for, the little statues, so.
Oh! Look at this.
There you go.
I can't eat that, but she can.
- No, I can't.
- [Shanna] You can't?
- Well, I won't, but Jun Pei can.
- [Shanna] Jun Pei can?
- I think so.
- [Shanna] Do you wanna try one, Jun Pei?
He's gonna try it.
- [Jun Pei] You talking about that one?
- [Shanna] Yeah.
(Shopkeeper Speaking Foreign Language)
- Okay. - [Shanna] All right.
- [Charlotte] Oh god, the whole head.
- [Shanna] How is it?
- Well, I don't know how to describe the taste,
but it's chewy. - [Shanna] Okay.
- Chewy... - [Shanna] What is the taste
similar to? Like, what kind...
- Like a biscuit.
- [Shanna] A biscuit? - Yeah.
- [Shanna] Really? - Mm-hm.
- [Shanna] Interesting. - Yeah, a biscuit and chewy.
But much harder and not crunchy.
- [Shanna] Not crunchy. - Not crunchy, no.
- [Shanna] Ah, so it's like... - Kind of soft.
- [Shanna] A really chewy biscuit.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [Shanna] Interesting! All right.
Is it worth trying? - No.
(They Laugh) - [Shanna] The truth.
The hard truth. (Laughing)
- It looks so bad.
- [Shanna] I can't eat it because I don't eat meat, but
thank you for being a trooper, Jun Pei.
- Yeah. (Shanna Laughing)
- Here we have some Japanese sake
that we all volunteer as tribute to taste test.
It's such a hard, hard job.
- I guess I'll do it if it's for, I mean, ITA.
(Shanna Laughing) Just for you.
- [Shanna] (Speaking Foreign Language).
This is a special Gion Matsuri sake.
(Speaking Foreign Language)
- It's so good! - [Shanna] Is it?
Yeah? All right, I'm gonna try it now.
Oh my god, that's amazing.
That's really good.
- Really good, like light and perfect.
- [Shanna] Yeah.
Which one are you trying now?
(Conversing in Foreign Language)
- Rice Juice.
- [Shanna] Amazake is really delicious too.
- [Man] Sorry, are you taking picture of me?
- [Shanna] Oh, no, you're fine, YouTube video.
(Conversing in Foreign Language)
Amazake is really healthy for you too.
It's very healthy for you.
- There's no alcohol in this one.
- [Shanna] I know, it's beautiful.
- Presentation is really important in Japan.
- [Shanna] Ten out of ten for presentation.
Beautiful, beautiful.
- Gonna carry it in the crest manner.
- [Shanna] Yes.
(Shanna Laughing)
You have to hold your arm out and put the bag
on your arm just like that.
If you're not doing that, you're not doing it right.
(Shanna Laughing)
Lots of different pickled vegetables, which is
a huge thing in Japanese Cuisine.
- (Speaking Foreign Language) is wasabi, pickled.
I'll try some.
- [Shanna] How is it?
- Good. - [Shanna] Yeah?
- Yeah, pretty good. - [Shanna] Awesome.
- A little spicy. Wasabi. - [Shanna] Oh, okay. Nice.
- So, this all is kimchi and I think I want to try...
Ah, the decisions...this one.
- [Charlotte] Life is hard here in Japan.
- It is. There's so many things to eat.
So, when you do this, do not put this in your mouth,
because you will get yelled at.
Put it in your hand and then try it.
Oh my god. - [Charlotte] Good?
- That's amazing! - [Charlotte] Really? I wanna
try it too. - You have to try it.
(Charlotte Laughing) - It's so good. Oh my god.
- I think it has Goma-ae in it.
- [Shanna] I think so too. It tastes like
it has Goma-ae in it.
- It's like spicy, but savory. - [Shanna] Oh my god.
- Yum! - [Shanna] It's the perfect
amount of garlic flavor. That's delicious.
If nothing else, if you're trying to escape the summer
heat and you come down to the market, it's great,
because a lot of these little shopping rooms are
air conditioned, so when you're walking down the actual
aisle, you get a little bit of AC and if you come in here,
you get a lot of AC, so that's nice.
A plethora of pickled products to try.
(Laughing)
- You can never go wrong with alliteration.
- [Shanna] Wasabi pickled potato.
How is it? - Slimy.
(Shanna Laughing)
- [Shanna] Not worth it? Should I not try it?
- Don't try it. - [Shanna] Okay.
Look at all the cute treats!
Lots of different juices that you can try.
Mmmmm.
(Speaking Foreign Language)
- Kakigōri is another thing that's really famous in Japan.
It's like shaved ice, but it's different than shaved ice
you get in the west, it's a lot more, like,
- Softer and sweeter. - Soft and sweet and melt in
your mouth, not like, freeze in your mouth and then melt.
That's the only way I know how to describe it.
- Yeah, and it's primarily a summer hit.
- Mm-hm, a lot of places don't sell it any other time,
so if you're here during the summer, you have to try it.
Mochi snacks; traditional Japanese snacks.
Fresh fish.
Many a fried treat.
You have to, if you come here, try the eel, because it's
very delicious and, supposedly it's very good for you.
Narazuke, pickled goodies, Japan
is all about the pickled goodies.
There're also quite a few little restaurants, there's a
famous ramen shop that you can check out and get food while
you're here as well.
Lots of fresh vegetables.
Wow, these are tiny little fish that get put on lots of
different things, but it's really popular on salad.
Mochi!
Oh my god, this is absolutely delicious.
Absolutely delicious.
That one that I was just pointing to and saying was
really good is called the Ichigo Daifuku and one
of my students actually bought me a bunch of those
from a local place and they're amazing, you have to try it.
- [Charlotte] Seaweed? - [Shanna] Seaweed.
(Speaking in Foreign Language)
How is it? - Really good. Savory.
Salty savory. - Yes, yes, very delicious.
(Speaking in Foreign Language)
All right, (Speaking in Foreign Language).
Mm. - That's also, like, a savory.
- Yeah, it's very light though, it's not super overwhelming
with the flavor and it's very smooth.
- Soybeans. - [Shanna] Mm! Mm!
(Speaking in Foreign Language)
- All right, so next, we're going to try the chestnuts.
Get one, Charlotte. (Laughing)
Cheers. (Laughing)
That's really good. - It tastes like fall.
- Mm-hm. Mm. Roasted chestnuts are where it's at.
Crepes! Crepes are a huge thing in Japan.
People love them here, you find crepe shops everywhere.
Soft shell turtle, little fishies that are
trying to escape for their life.
River snail.
Look at the tiny clams, (Speaking in Foreign Language).
Fruit direct market juice.
Next thing on the list, and it's something that you have
to try while you're in Kyoto especially but you can get
it pretty much anywhere, but we're gonna try it here today
is the matcha or green tea ice cream.
We got the green tea and milk flavor with the rice cracker
topping and Jun Pei got the green tea with the rice cracker
topping and it's gonna be delicious.
(Speaking in Foreign Language)
Oh my god, it looks so good. Yes. Alright.
I love matcha.
- Oh, so cute. - That is so cute!
- Oh, that's good ice cream.
- Mm. I can get down with that matcha milk swirl.
- The swirl is good.
Sometimes, more matcha is too much.
- A full cone of straight matcha is really rich.
It's very, very rich.
I can get down with the matcha swirl though.
When you reach the end, you find yourself at Teramachi,
which is the covered shopping district in Kyoto and
it's actually a really awesome shopping area, so I
highly recommend going there, but
that's not what today is about.
So, black sesame is another really popular and interesting
thing here and I think I'm going
to get the black sesame soft ice cream.
(Speaking Foreign Language)
All right, it's a little messy.
- [Charlotte] As all good things are.
- That, Charlotte, you're gonna die.
- [Charlotte] Look at all this happiness.
- It's so good. - [Charlotte] Mm.
(Eating Sounds)
- Need some more good stuff.
It's so unique. It's like a really different flavor.
- One of the great things about coming to these markets with
friends is that you can buy and share food and then
you get to eat and try even more food.
- You can eat so many more things with a team than
you can by yourself. - Mm-hm. It's so nice.
And then when you find something that you really like,
you can just get more for yourself.
- Easy. Simple concept. - Mm-hm.
So, one kind of bummer about this market is that it does
shut down pretty early so usually about five, five thirty,
you stop being able to go shopping and eat food and try
things and whatnot, but, if you can
get here early, it's really awesome.
And that pretty much wraps up my Nishiki Market food tour.
Japan has some really delicious and amazing foods and going
to one of these markets is just a really easy and simple
way that you can actually walk around and try a whole
bunch of different ones and it's even better if you go with
some friends. So, I hope you guys liked this video.
If you have any questions at all, whether it's pertaining
to Japan, to your TEFL Certification, to travel, to
anything, please feel free to leave a comment.
Please feel free to follow me on any of my social media and
message me, I also make YouTube videos
so you can check out those.
And, also, don't forget to go to the ITA webpage and also
follow them on all of their social media.
They have people who are always available to answer your
questions as well. Thank you so much for watching and
I will see you guys next time.
Bye!