The 19th Kyoto Night Market will be held on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, 2026, at Ohigashi-san Plaza (お東さん広場) in front of Higashi Honganji. The event is organized by Kyoto Night Market Project LLC (合同会社京都夜市プロジェクト).
The theme this time is "autumn appetite." The featured project is the "Iga-Ueno and Nabari Gourmet Festival" (伊賀上野・名張 美食まつり), in which five booths from the Iga and Nabari area of Mie Prefecture set up special stalls. Iga beef, known as the "yokozuna of meat," Iga-grown Koshihikari rice, and the local sake of Nabari, a well-known sake-brewing town, are introduced as flavors of the ninja homeland.
The grounds will also have a wide range of food stalls and food trucks, craft and experience booths, and a fallen-leaf bookmark workshop that families can enjoy together. Combined with the evening illuminations at Higashi Honganji and Shosei-en nearby, visitors can spend an autumn night in Kyoto.
Kyoto Night Market aims not only to create nighttime sightseeing and spending opportunities, but also to be a place of exchange that connects people visiting Kyoto with the food, culture, and people of regions across Japan.
Delicacies of Iga and Nabari, from the Home of the Ninja
Iga Beef, the "Yokozuna of Meat"
Iga beef is a branded beef raised slowly, with attention to feed and environment, mainly from Japanese Black heifers. It is known for its fine marbling and the elegant richness of fat that melts lightly in the mouth. At the market, Iga beef appears in easy-to-eat forms such as croquettes and beef tendon curry.
Main items on sale:
- Okuda butcher shop (精肉のオクダ): Iga beef umami croquette, Iga sweet pumpkin croquette, Iga beef trimmings (frozen pack), simmered Iga beef (shigure-ni)
- Buonappetito! YOMOYAMAくん: Iga beef tendon curry
Iga Rice with a "Special A" Rating
Iga-grown Koshihikari rice is glossy, with a rich sweetness and umami and a good balance of taste, aroma, and stickiness. Three natural conditions are behind its flavor: the large day-to-night temperature swings unique to the Iga Basin, clay-rich soil that dates back to ancient Lake Biwa, and clear water flowing down from the mountains. It has earned a "Special A" (特A) rating in the rice taste ranking of the Japan Grain Inspection Association (日本穀物検定協会) and is one of the region's signature agricultural products.
Main items on sale:
- Tominaga rice shop (富永米穀店): special Iga rice onigiri (rice balls), grilled onigiri, Iga rice for gifts (1 kg and 2 kg), Iga rice gift sets, special greeting-rice sets, Iga-yaki "Kamado-san," Iga Musubi goods
Nabari's Local Sake
Nabari in Mie Prefecture is a sake-brewing town home to breweries that are highly regarded across Japan. Individual breweries there include 木屋正酒造, which brews the sake Jikon (而今), and 瀧自慢酒造, which brews the sake Takijiman (瀧自慢). Sake brewing that makes use of good water and rice and the cool winter climate is one part of Nabari's food culture.
At the venue, the region's sake culture is introduced, and paid tasting of local sake is available.
Jikon and Takijiman are introduced as representative brands of the region. They do not indicate the brands that will be offered for tasting or sale on the day.
Alcohol will not be served to anyone under 20 or to people who will be driving.
Five Special Booths from Iga and Nabari
Beyond tasting the food, the five booths let visitors learn about sightseeing and specialty products of Iga and Nabari.
Booth and main offerings:
- Iga-Nabari Hometown Introduction Tent (伊賀・名張 ふるさと紹介テント): local sightseeing information, furusato nozei (hometown tax donations), and mail-order products
- Iga-Nabari Delicacies Introduction Tent (伊賀・名張 うまいもの紹介テント): paid local sake tasting, ninja-themed Japanese sweets, Iga-yaki pottery, and more
- Buonappetito! YOMOYAMAくん: Iga beef tendon curry, glowing cat-bottle juice, cotton candy
- Okuda butcher shop (精肉のオクダ): Iga beef croquettes, Iga beef trimmings, simmered Iga beef, and more
- Tominaga rice shop (富永米穀店): Iga rice onigiri, grilled onigiri, Iga rice for gifts, and more
Iga and Nabari are known for ninja culture, and Nabari has a history of being written in old times with the character 隠 (nabari). Through the food and crafts of this region, visitors to Kyoto Night Market can discover new sides of Iga and Nabari.
Fallen-Leaf Bookmark Making for Families
For an autumn activity, a hands-on workshop invites visitors to make an original bookmark with colorful fallen leaves. Choose your favorite leaves and turn them into a bookmark of your own. Pictures can also be drawn on a wooden bookmark, so the workshop suits everyone from small children to adults. The finished bookmark can be taken home.
Dates and hours: Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Capacity: First 200 participants each day
Fee: ¥200
Venue: Special experience booth at the "Lawn Plaza" (芝生広場) of Ohigashi-san Plaza
The workshop ends when materials run out.
Autumn Night Illuminations Nearby
During the event, the evening illumination "NAKED GARDEN NIGHTS Higashi Honganji and Shosei-en" is held around Higashi Honganji and Shosei-en. Visitors can enjoy food and shopping at Kyoto Night Market, then stroll through the nearby illuminations and spend a relaxed autumn evening in the Higashi Honganji area.
Kyoto Night Market aims to extend visitors' stay from late afternoon into the night and to create more opportunities for local spending by encouraging people to move between the market and nearby nighttime sightseeing resources.
Kyoto Night Market and the illuminations are separate events with different organizers. For the illuminations' admission conditions and hours, please check the official information.
- Illumination information: NAKED GARDEN NIGHTS Higashi Honganji and Shosei-en
Comments from the Organizer
The organizer says that Kyoto Night Market wants to be a place to enjoy Kyoto nights and, at the same time, a place to meet the food, culture, and people of regions across Japan. Following the special stall by the Aki no Miyajima Tourism Association (安芸の宮島観光協会) in September, this time Iga and Nabari, the home of the ninja, bring the appeal of their local food. The organizer hopes that encounters at Kyoto Night Market will also become a reason to actually visit Iga and Nabari, and wants to grow the market from a simple food event into a place of exchange that connects regions and people.
About Kyoto Night Market
Kyoto Night Market is a night market that began in June 2025 at Ohigashi-san Plaza in front of Higashi Honganji. With the aim of enriching nighttime sightseeing in Kyoto and revitalizing the local economy, it continues to hold events that combine food, crafts, traditional culture, experiences, and entertainment.
Valuing a space where local residents and visitors from Japan and abroad can enjoy themselves together, the organizers work to spread tourism demand into the evening, expand local spending, and promote exchange with regions across Japan. Cumulative attendance has passed 500,000 (as of October 31, 2026).
Event Details
Name: The 19th Kyoto Night Market
Special project: Iga-Ueno and Nabari Gourmet Festival (伊賀上野・名張 美食まつり)
Dates: Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, 2026
Hours: 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Venue: Ohigashi-san Plaza (お東さん広場) in front of Higashi Honganji (Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto)
Admission: Free (some experiences, food, and drinks are paid)
Scale: 99 stalls
Special Iga and Nabari stalls: 5 booths
Organizer: Kyoto Night Market Project LLC
Supported by: Kyoto City
Cooperation: Nabari City Tourism Association (名張市観光協会)
Stall contents and hours may change depending on weather and other conditions.
- Official website: https://kyotonightmarket.com/
- Instagram: @kyotonightmarket
