Nishiki Market and the downtown arcades
Kyoto's kitchen, the covered market, the Teramachi arcades, and a shrine for scholars. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Nishiki Market, west end
Start at the Karasuma end of *Nishiki* — 'Kyoto's kitchen', a covered lane four hundred metres long. Come before the crush around eleven. Eat as you walk, but pause before you buy; many stalls would rather you didn't snack on the move.

2. Aritsugu
Among the food, the knife-maker — copper pots, blades ground and named in front of you. You don't have to buy. But watch a chef's knife being finished and you'll see why this shop has outlasted everything around it.

3. Nishiki Tenmangu
The shrine that caps the market's east end, wedged into the arcade with lanterns and a bronze ox you rub for luck. Dedicated to the patron of scholars; the gate stands right where the food stalls give out.

4. Teramachi arcade
Turn north into *Teramachi* — once the street of temples, now a covered *shotengai* (covered shopping street) of stationers, tea merchants and old bookshops. Quieter and more local the further up you go.

5. Shinkyogoku arcade
One block east, *Shinkyogoku* runs parallel — louder, younger, all souvenirs and snacks, with small temples improbably tucked between the shops. Walk one arcade up and the other down to feel the difference.

6. Sanjo-dori, toward the river
Where the arcades meet *Sanjo-dori*, the brick-and-stone Meiji frontages take over — the old post office, the former bank. Follow Sanjo east toward the Kamo; the Keihan line at Sanjo ends the walk.

Nishiki Market and the downtown arcades