UPDATE April 2013: Sadly, Pizza Ya has now closed.
Foreigners coming to Japan for the first time go through various rites of passage, one of which is the intense rush of self-satisfaction you get when you finally manage to order a pizza over the telephone in Japanese. Well, alright. Well done, you. However, I do have one small point to make. That over-priced-mush delivered to your lazy-ass-door is not pizza! But I know where you can get some and at a reasonable price too. Pizza Ya, is undoubtedly the finest pizza restaurant in Kyoto. Everything here is prepared by hand by the master using the finest natural ingredients and is (of course) totally free of nasty additives. I’ll let these pictures speak for themselves.
Here’s the olive and anchovy with tomato sauce…
and without tomato sauce…
And here’s a good old fashioned tomato and mushroom topped taste-tastic delight:
I cannot stress enough how good those home-made crispy bases are. And all washed down with ice-cold Sicilian beers – yum. (In Sicilia fa sempre caldo!) As the master makes each pizza from scratch, you’ll have to wait a while, but don’t bolt your pizza when you get it. For one thing, you’ll burn your mouth off, and for another this is pizza for grown-ups and is meant to be savoured.
To find it; head west on Shijo till you are roughly halfway between Kawaramachi .JPG)
and Karasuma (where Starbucks is). Then turn left and go south on Yanaginobanba. Keep your eyes peeled to the left as it’s tucked away in a corner and quite easy to miss. It’s a tiny wee snug of a place so if you are in a large group you might need to book it in advance, but as it’s one of Kyoto’s best kept secrets it doesn’t usually get too busy.
Pizza Ya is open everyday from 12:00 – 23:00 (12:00 – 22:00 on Sundays).
UPDATE (January 2013): Apparently now closed on Mondays.
Tel: 075-344-3374
Here’s a map:
View Larger Map
Even better than Il Pappalardo in Higashiyama ku? 🙂
I’m not familiar with that fine establishment Mr. Great but the pizzas at Pizza Ya are the best I have tasted in Japan… The only thing is the owner is completely lacking in social skills which creates rather an odd atmosphere. I live nearby now so always get take-outs. 😉
After seeing your writeup, I tried to stop by last night – it looks to be closed?
Excellent directions, btw!
I’ll have a check and get back to you… In the meantime maybe try Tramonto: http://www.deepkyoto.com/?p=5963
The lights were on when I went by last night! The owner is a bit of an odd fish, so he may have just taken a random night off when you went by that night…
My boyfriend found this post and insisted we try this place. After ringing the takeout bell the guy let us in. Relieved to read that he’s an odd fish in the comments as we are now sitting here very perplexed by him!!
Yep, he’s quite eccentric. But he does make very fine pizzas.
Pizza Ya ピザヤ is closed on Mondays.
To confirm this you can, 1) check any Japanese-language website with info about ピザヤ or 2) visit this little shop on a Monday to see that it is closed.
This placer no longer exists. I went there and there’s a different restaurant un placer. However, if you want some pizza, there’s pizza hut and pizza goichi one block away.
Hi Andreina,
If you look at the top of the post you will see an “update” from 2013 stating that Pizza Ya is now closed.