On December 30, 2025, as the New Year drew to a close, the Nishiki Market shopping district in Kyoto's Nakagyo Ward bustled with shoppers browsing ingredients for the New Year. The area beneath the 400-meter arcade stretching east to west was filled with the energy of people preparing to welcome the New Year.
With approximately 130 stores selling fresh fish, dried goods, and salted and dried fish, the market, known as "Kyoto's Kitchen," boasts rows of celebratory sea bream, black beans, and dragon skin rolls (fish fillets wrapped in kelp).
At pickle shops, seasonal senmaizuke (pickled vegetables) and suzukizuke (pickled sushi) were selling out one after another. Many tourists were also shopping for wagyu beef and grilled seafood skewers, and by noon, the crowds were shoulder-to-shoulder. However, some commented that it was "easier to walk around than last year," perhaps due to a decrease in Chinese tourists following the Chinese government's request to refrain from traveling to Japan.
