For one-stop souvenir shopping, your best bet is Kyoto's largest craft, gift, and souvenir center. Five floors of merchandise contain almost everything Japanese imaginable: pearls, lacquerware, dolls, children's toys, kimono (including antique kimono), woodblock prints, pottery, paper products, swords, lanterns, silk and textile goods, painted scrolls, T-shirts, and jewelry boxes -- and that's just for starters. You can even buy the socks worn with geta wooden shoes and the obi sashes worn with the kimono.
You can easily spend an hour or two here just wandering around; artisans also demonstrate their various crafts, including woodblock printing and the production of damascene. You can even try your own hand at 10 different craft activities, including woodblock prints, cloisonné, damascene, and more, with instruction provided. No reservations are necessary, but plan on at least an hour. Lessons run ¥1,890 to ¥3,990 and are a great way for older children to get creative while you shop. And if you spend more yen than you have in your wallet, you can exchange money here at a favorable rate. Other facilities include a tourist office on the ground floor, a buffet restaurant serving lunch daily from noon to 2pm for ¥1,575, and an Internet cafe charging ¥400 for the first half-hour of Internet use and ¥200 for each half-hour after that. Open daily from 10am to 7pm.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
