Art Museum Spots in Kyoto Area

Area

Kyoto
- Japan
- Hokkaido / Tohoku
  
  Hokkaido
  
  Aomori
  
  Iwate
  
  Miyagi
  
  Akita
  
  Yamagata
  
  Fukushima
- Kanto
  
  Ibaraki
  
  Tochigi
  
  Gunma
  
  Saitama
  
  Chiba
  
  Tokyo
  
  Kanagawa
- Koshinetsu / Hokuriku
  
  Niigata
  
  Toyama
  
  Ishikawa
  
  Fukui
  
  Yamanashi
  
  Nagano
- Tokai
  
  Gifu
  
  Shizuoka
  
  Aichi
  
  Mie
- Kinki
  
  Shiga
  
  Kyoto
  
  Osaka
  
  Hyogo
  
  Nara
  
  Wakayama
- Chugoku
  
  Tottori
  
  Shimane
  
  Okayama
  
  Hiroshima
  
  Yamaguchi
- Shikoku
  
  Tokushima
  
  Kagawa
  
  Ehime
  
  Kochi
- Kyushu / Okinawa
  
  Fukuoka
  
  Saga
  
  Nagasaki
  
  Kumamoto
  
  Oita
  
  Miyazaki
  
  Kagoshima
  
  Okinawa

Category

Leisure / Hobbies

Culture / Tour

Art Museum

Kyoto International Manga Museum

4.0

609 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Karasuma-ku Ikegami Le, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto

This manga museum in Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto, is Japan's largest manga museum. It first opened in 2006. Including valuable works from the Meiji period and the post-WWII period as well as popular modern titles and foreign works, they have almost 300,000 pieces in their collection. One of their showcases is a ''Manga Wall'' with 50,000 volumes of manga arrayed on bookcases that visitors can freely read. The spacious building is the former Tatsuike Elementary School and people can be found everywhere inside or outside on the lawn reading manga. This is a popular location for foreign tourists and couples.

This is a museum just for manga, a must for lovers of manga and subcultures. As long as you pay the admission fee, you can immerse yourself in the world of manga all day long. The museum has a...
Kyoto Kyocera Art Museum

4.0

204 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoto-shi Sakyo-ku Okazakienshojicho 124

Two special exhibits were very interesting. One on suggesting what future art will look like and one on fabric. Each entrance was priced separately. These two and the general exhibit were...
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto

4.0

158 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Sakyou-ku Okazakienshoujichou

This art museum inside Okazaki Park in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City first opened its doors in 1963. The museum’s annex, a modern building of glass and gray walls, was completed in 1986. The museum collects and preserves modern art from both within Japan and around the world and boasts a collection of over 12,000 pieces. The museum places particular emphasis on art from Western Japan and the Kansai region with a focus on Kyoto and has a collection of many works from the Kyoto and Kansai art worlds. The museum also displays industrial art pieces. In addition to a permanent exhibit whose contents are changed periodically, the museum also holds special exhibitions. The adjoining authentic Italian café is also popular.

The museum is not a large building. I recall seeing 3 levels of exhibitions permanent and also special exhibition. The permanent exhibition was nice although there was no description in other...
Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art

4.0

151 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Prefecture Otsumi-gun Oyamazaki Town 5-3

Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art is located in the town of Oyamazaki, Otokuni County, Kyoto Prefecture. Industrialist Shotaro Kaga designed and built the original building, Oyamazaki Villa, which was later remodeled and converted to a museum. It holds exhibits and displays collections of artists associated with the folk art movement. Located on the slopes of Mount Tennozan, it offers a beautiful panoramic view of the confluence of three rivers: the Kizu River, the Uji River, and the Katsura River.

This relatively small villa museum offers a look at a Western-style residence in Japan along with much decorative art and a few Monet paintings. We made a day trip here from Kyoto with a friend, and...
Hosomi Museum

4.0

83 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Sakyou-ku Okazakisaishoujichou 6-3

An art museum primarily dedicated to ancient Japanese art located in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City. The museum first opened in 1998. The museum displays pieces collected by three generations of the Hosomi family, which was started by industrialist and Japanese art collector Kokoan Hosomi. The museum’s collection spans some 1,000 pieces and covers virtually every genre and period of Japanese art, including Shinto and Buddhist art, tea ceremony art, and Edo paintings. The museum holds a variety of special exhibits. It also houses a tea room and shop and is adjoined by a café, making it a popular place for art lovers.

Entry costs 1400 yen for an adult. You see a few very nice old paintings, and then some memology of them. Like a hokusai painting but with Atom Boy or Hatsume Miku painted in. Which is almost like...
Shokoku-ji Temple Jotenkaku Museum

4.5

69 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Prefecture Kyoto City Kamigyo-ku Imadegawa-ku Karasuma Dongyu

This art museum is on the grounds of Shokoku-ji Temple in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City. It opened in 1984 as part of the celebrations of Shokoku-ji Temple's 600-year anniversary. It collects and displays writings, paintings, and works of art from a variety of temples including Shokoku-ji Temple, Rokuon-ji Temple (the Golden Pavilion), Jisho-ji Temple (the Silver Pavilion), and other sub-temples. Here you can see five National Treasures of Japan, 145 Important Cultural Properties of Japan, and a great number of Cultural Properties of Japan. Their permanent displays include famous painted sliding doors from Rokuon-ji Temple by Ito Jakuchu, ''Budo Shokinzu'' (Grapes and Small Bird) and ''Tsukiyo Bashozu'' (Japanese banana on a moonlight night).

コロナが落ち着いていた12月半ばに伺いました。人気もなく、ゆっくりじっくり拝観出来ました。何といっても、若冲の襖絵が圧巻。ちょうどベンチが置いてあるので、そこに座って暫く眺めていました。至福の時でした。少し前に、若冲の展覧会があった様ですが、またその様な催しがあれば、東京から駆け付けます。
Garden of Fine Arts Kyoto

4.0

59 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoto-shi Sakyo-ku Shimogamohangicho

"A one-minute walk from Kitayama Station and a five-minute walk from the ""Kitayama Ekimae"" bus stop. This outdoor art museum adjoins the Kyoto Concert Hall. The museum consists of murals created with ceramic tiles. The museum is a world-first experiment at creating a mural garden enjoyed outdoors. In total, there are eight murals on display, four of which were exhibited at the 1990 International Garden and Greenery Exposition. The remaining four were newly created and thus can only be viewed here."

It is a very small open-air museum, which is located at the exit of Subway Kitayama station. All art objects are imitations, but they are so impressive as if they were real ones. “Ultima cena” is of...
Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum

4.0

41 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Higashiyama-ku Kiyomizu Buddhist temple in front of Shimokita Shimizu 3-337-1

An art museum dedicated to collecting and displaying primarily cloisonné ware, gold and silver lacquerware, metalwork, earthenware, and carvings from the late Edo, Meiji, and Taisho periods. The owner, enchanted with the artworks of the Meiji period made with such fine technique, came up with the idea of opening a museum after attempting to purchase masterpieces from the period that had ended up overseas. The contents of the museum’s standing exhibits is completely changed out once each year. The Museum also holds special exhibitions every three months.

Its not a very big museum, but that just adds to the whole coziness of the place. Exhibits are nicely done in a traditional way.
Raku Museum

4.0

42 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Prefecture Kyoto City Kamigyo-ku Osho-koji Road Ichijo Ru

Raku ware is an art and craft form which has existed from some 450 years, since the Momoyama period. This art museum, adjoining the Raku ware studio, was founded in 1978 on Aburanokouji Street Ichijo kudaru by Raku Kichizaemon, 14th head of the family. The museum’s collection of historic pieces, tea ceremony implements, and ancient documents spanning have been passed down for 450 years to serve as models for the next generation and serves as the core of the tradition that is Raku ware.

The exhibit we saw was a small collection of ancient tea bowls and some modern versions. The explanations were very brief and highly specialized. If you are not already a fan of Raku ancient bowls, I...
Kyoto Prefectural Insho Domoto Museum of Fine Arts

3.5

43 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Kita-ku Hiranokamiyanagichou 26-3

An art museum located close to the Kinugasa Campus of Ritsumeikan University which collects the works of Japanese painter Insho Domoto, who flourished in the Taisho and Showa periods. Established in 1966 by the artist himself for the display of his works, in 1991 the museum was donated to Kyoto Prefecture. In addition to the artworks themselves, the entire museum, designed inside and out by Domoto, could be called a work of art by the man.

This museum is for Mr.Domoto who was a famous Japanese painter between 1910 -1970. An unique combination of Japanese and Western painting techniques. It locates close to the famous Kinkakuji and...
Shokado Garden Art Museum

4.5

34 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Yawatashi Yawata Ominaeshi 43-1

This garden art museum is associated with Shokado Shojo, who was the priest of Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine in Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture in the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1868). Works tied to Shojo are on display. In addition, the Shokado Garden is where you can enjoy cultural assets that are national historical sites and scenic spots such as Soan Shokado and Izumi-bo Shoin along with the scenery of the four seasons. Also known as the birthplace of the Shokado Bento lunch box, you can eat it while watching the garden from Kyoto Kitcho Shokado Store on site.

松花堂弁当の名前の由来となった庭園。今でも園内に料亭「吉兆」があって、予約をすれば松花堂弁当が食べられる。庭園は内園と外園に分かれているが、内園は2018年の地震で影響を受け、現在修復中で見学できない。それにしても修復に時間がかかり過ぎている気がする。内園の主な見所は、いくつかある茶室。そのほか美術館もある。
Sumiya Motenashi Cultural and Art Museum

4.5

50 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Shimogyou-ku Nishishinyashikiageyachou 32

One often hears of geisha quarter “Shimabara” in Kyoto period dramas. Now it is Nishishinyashiki Ageya-cho, and what remains of that time is the Sumiya Motenashi Museum of Art and Culture. Sumiya was a high-class pleasure house built at the beginning of the establishment of Shimabara in 1641. The wide garden facing the tatami room has a tea house, and the place was used not only for parties but tea ceremonies and gathering of haiku poets too. In 1952 it was designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan as a place retaining the culture of feasts and hospitality.

This place is a real find and usually off the beaten tourist track for non Japanese. To get the best its advisable to have the benefit of an interpreter. We hired a Japanese tour guide for the day as...
Fukuda Art Museum

4.5

15 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoto-shi Ukyo-ku Sagatenryujisusukinobabacho 3-16

嵐山という見所がたくさんあるエリアの中、限られた時間で鑑賞できるちょうどいい規模の美術館です。展示内容も京都ゆかりの画家さん達の作品が取り上げられており、展示数は多くはありませんがその分作品ひとつひとつに解説がついています。文字も大きめで読みやすく、一部を除いて写真が撮れました。今後の展示が楽しみです。
Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art

3.5

32 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Higashiyama-ku Gionmachikitagawa 271

A three-minute walk from Gion-Shijo Station and a five-minute walk from Kawaramachi Station. This art museum is located just east of the intersection of Hanamikoji-dori Street and Shijo-dori Street. The museum has exhibition spaces on floors B1 through 5. Focusing on works by Kagaku Murakami, Kaoru Yamaguchi, and Rosanjin and has exhibition spaces dedicated to collections of pieces by each of these artists. In addition, the museum has numerous other modern paintings, calligraphy pieces, photographs, and other works of art and holds several special exhibitions throughout the year which make use of the entire museum excluding the Rosanjin exhibit. There's also a museum shop.

This is a 10-minute visit museum not worth your time or money. Would have written more if there was what to write about
Izumiya Hiroshi Furudate

4.5

34 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoto-shi Sakyo-ku Shishigatanishimomiyanomaecho 24

Stunning paintings of Japanese Birds on parchment and cloth were impressive in their precision and detail. One large room, but not with all 3,000 Items on display, so very manageable. Then...
Nomura Art Museum

4.0

21 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Sakyou-ku Nanzenjishimokawarachou 61

An art museum located near the north gate of the Nanzen-ji Zen Temple. The museum was founded in 1984 based largely around the collection of Tokushichi Nomura, founder of Nomura Securities. The museum’s collection consists of tea ceremony implements, paintings, calligraphy works, Noh masks, and Noh costumes gathered by Nomura, who, while being active as an industrialist, also greatly enjoyed the tea ceremony and Noh theater. The museum displays selections from its collection of some 1,700 items, including seven Important Cultural Properties such as calligraphic works by Sesson Shukei and Syuho Myocho.

This is a great small museum, extremely well located in a beautiful neighborhood, near Nanzenji and the other great temples of Higashiyama. In our November visit they had a ground floor exhibit of...
Kodaiji Sho Museum

3.5

34 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoto-shi Higashiyama-ku Takadai Terashita Kawaracho 530

This museum is on Neneno-michi street, on the west side of Kodai-ji temple. Its exhibits center around treasures of Kodai-ji, which was built at the behest of Kita no Mandokoro Nene to honor her late husband Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and its related temples. This museum also holds the statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi seen so often in textbooks and on TV, as well as other items connected to Hideyoshi and Nene, like the Famed Men and Flowered Land standing screen, or the Kechimyaku Bako box. It conveys the quiet world of faith left behind by Kita no Mandokoro, and offers a sense of deep peace and relaxation. There is a combined ticket that allows you to tour both the museum and the connected Kodai-ji temple.

高台寺の近くにある掌美術館には高台寺にまつわる資料が展示されています。一部屋だけの小さな美術館ですが、ねねについてなど理解を深められます。
Chado Research Center

4.0

8 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Horikawa-dori Teranouchi Agaru Teranouchitatecho

"This center exhibits mainly tea ceremony utensils and related arts and crafts, as well as documents and historical materials. A replica of ""Yuin"" tea room, one of the representative tea rooms of the Urasenke school, is in the gallery room on the second floor, and visitors can tour the interior of the tea room. At the tea service, visitors can enjoy a traditional Japanese confection and a bowl of matcha tea (reservation required by the day before, 500 yen for adults). In addition, there is a library specializing in the tea ceremony, ""Konnichian Library"", which houses about 60,000 books and other materials related to the tea ceremony (Opening days and times differ from those of the museum. Admission free)."

茶道に関する図書を収蔵・保管するための「今日庵文庫」、茶道の資料が展示されていたり、体験ができます。
Hakusasonso, Hashimoto Kansetsu Garden and Museum

4.5

4 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Sakyou-ku Joudojishibashichou 37

Hakusasonso, a memorial to the Japanese-style painter Hashimoto Kansetsu, is located near Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavilion) in Kyoto's Sakyo Ward. The villa that Hashimoto designed for himself and the four-season garden are open to the public. Hashimoto's works are displayed inside the house, and other exhibits, such as his collection, are displayed there as well. There is a restaurant on the premises, and tourists appreciate it as a quiet spot to relax after visiting Ginkakuji.

I have been coming to Osaka on business trips for more than twenty years and whenever possible I arrange a day trip to Kyoto. Almost every time my way leads me to this pittoresque small garden which...
Koryo Museum of Art

4.0

6 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Kita-ku Shichiku Kamishi-machi 15

As an institution focused on displaying and researching the arts and crafts of the Korean peninsula, the Koryo Museum of Art has a collection of nearly 1,700 items. These cover a wide range: archeological artifacts, such as polished stone knives, tiles, and copper mirrors, ceramics such as Koryo celadon and Korean white porcelain, wooden craftwork decorated with mother-of-pearl and horn, landscapes, paintings of plants and animals, and vernacular paintings, Buddhist art, and ethnographic materials. The museum changes its exhibits four or five times per year on a rotating basis.

こじんまりとしてるが、しっかりと歴史民俗資料も展示されており、美術工芸品もあり、十分に楽しませてくれた。個人の思いで設立されたと聞き、一層感動しました。

Leisure / Hobbies Culture / Tour Art Museum

Kyoto Areas

Its wooden tea houses, shuffling geisha, and spiritual sights have seen Kyoto hailed as the heart of traditional Japan, a world apart from ultramodern Tokyo. Despite being the Japanese capital for over a century, Kyoto escaped destruction during World War II, leaving behind a fascinating history which can be felt at every turn, from the fully gold-plated Kinkakuji Temple down to traditional customs such as geisha performances and tea ceremonies, which are still practiced to this day.