Izakaya Shiko: Kyoto Karasuma Oike

The other day I went to Kyoto and did some sightseeing and strolled around the city. But the main purpose of my visit was to meet my Australian friend there who was visiting Japan. He said, 'Our guide will take us to the secret places'. When I met them, 'our guide' turned out to be one of 25 Kyoto Tourism Ambassadors, and he didn't even tell us where he was taking us! It was truly a 'mystery tour' in Kyoto, and the restaurant he took us to for lunch was 'Shiko' in Karasuma Oike. The cozy Izakaya is run by a lovely married couple serving a variety of Japanese cuisine. Most importantly, this place is not well-known by tourists and is frequented mainly by local people. Trust our ambassador, this is truly one of the best-kept secret places in Kyoto!