Konnichiwa, lovely readers!
It’s Francesca back for one last Kyoto feast before we trade noodles for noodles (Vietnam, here we come 🇻🇳!). Our final day in Kyoto was a rainy one, but you know what that means — comfort food, covered markets, and the ultimate excuse for a lazy movie night. Here’s how we wrapped up our week of Kyoto magic…
☔ Morning Tea: Floats, Bagels & Fried Chicken (obviously)
We woke up to rain (again) — classic Kyoto-in-July vibes. So we had a slow morning at home, listening to the rain and trying to decide if we had space left in our stomachs for one more food adventure (spoiler: we did).
Around midday, we ventured out and were lucky enough to catch part of the Gion Matsuri parade! 🎊 The huge floats rolling down the streets were like ancient parade ships sailing through the crowd — lanterns glowing, drums beating, and umbrellas bobbing everywhere.
We ducked into a tiny bagel shop called Rabbit Bagel for a snack while we watched the festivities.
- Ted and I shared a salty chocolate bagel and a coffee chocolate one (verdict: yum + yummier)
- Dad went rogue and grabbed a plain bagel stuffed with fried chicken and salad — classic Dad move 🐔🥗
🍜 Lunch: Rainy Ramen & Market Mayhem
After our bagel break and a bit of crowd-surfing through the streets, we made our way to the famous Nishiki Market for some food adventuring.
But first — ramen.
Ted had been begging to try it since Day 1, so we stopped at a ramen joint just outside the market and ordered two bowls to share:
- One with a soy-based broth 🍜
- One with wontons (a nice little dumpling surprise)
- Plus a bowl of rice for Lucia, who’s staying loyal to her one-true-carb
The noodles were slurpy and springy, and the broth was warm and comforting…
BUT (and don’t cancel us) — we all agreed: ramen is not our fave Japanese dish. Still tasty, but we’re team sushi/okonomiyaki/anything on a stick.
So we slurped up, bowed politely, and headed into the bustling market, which was absolutely heaving (rain + lunch hour = sardine city).
Inside, we saw (and sniffed) everything from eel skewers to matcha candies.
We saved space for one more mochi, and found a strawberry-flavoured beauty near the end. Squishy, sweet, and perfectly chewy.
Then we hit a little bubble tea + crepe café for a chilled boba break. Bliss.
🎥 Afternoon: Pokemon, Packing & Tom Hanks Kisses
With full bellies and soggy feet, we decided to head home for some downtime. We’re heading to Vietnam tomorrow, so we packed our bags, organised our snacks, and squeezed in a quick trip to the Pokémon Centre (Ted = overjoyed, Lucia = buried in the Pikachus).
Back home, we curled up for a movie. Ted’s been curating an ’80s/’90s movie marathon, so today’s pick was:
🎬 Big — starring Tom Hanks and very questionable romantic decisions.
Ted was not impressed with all the kissing. “Gross,” he declared. Boys. 🙄
🍣 Dinner: Supermarket Sumo Feast, Round Two
For our last dinner in Kyoto, we kept it chill and did another round of our favourite: supermarket sushi party!
Here’s what made it to the table:
- A stack of maki rolls
- Salads, kimchi, and chicken & rice
- And the best part? Bottles of Ramune soda, sealed with a marble that you pop in to open. Lucia thinks it’s magic.
We ate sitting around the little table on the floor, giggling about float parades, soggy bike rides, and whether we could live on mochi forever.
✨ Final Thoughts from Francesca
Today was the perfect way to wind down our time in Kyoto — a little slower, a little soggier, but still packed with flavour. From bagel snacks under umbrellas to ramen slurping and market munching, we squeezed every last bite of goodness out of the city (plus a few bubble teas for good measure).
Even though we got rained on (again), it just made the warm food taste even better — and honestly, ending with a supermarket sushi feast and a movie night at home was kind of the perfect goodbye.
Thanks for following along on our Kyoto foodventure!
Francesca (plus Ted, who still says the kissing scene was gross, and Lucia, now officially obsessed with Ramune bottles) 💖🍜☂️
P.S. I already miss okonomiyaki. And the bagels. And the mochi. And the deer. Basically everything. Except the rain.
Ted Tastes Francesca Feasts 
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