Quail egg as tako brains...

The market. A collection of the best produce available at the time. Each day, farmers bring the fruits of their labor to the centralized market to sell. This has been a part of the worlds culture since recorded time. 

In Kyoto, there is a market called Nishiki market. It runs on one street for about 6 long blocks. Inside you will find a bounty of food, souvenirs, knives, spices and tea. Each stall is masterfully organized ergonomically to ensure all the given space is optimized. From giant tubs of pickles in koji to make your own pepper mix stations, they had it all plus space to walk. 

The gentlemen above were swift with their knives to break down 40 chickens. 

The best part of this market, aside from all the pickles, master butchers and incredible rice, was the prepared food. The two to three bite morsels on a stick with ribbons of kewpie and tonkatsu atop. Some sellers had sweet potato with extremely crunchy breading while others had grilled eel and traditional egg blocks (tamago). It was heaven for the taste buds of anyone. 

This was truly just a teaser because it made me more excited to make way to Tokyo for Tsukiji market. But it was an incredible teaser to eat my way through.