An immersive picture scroll experience "in a hundred different ways," "Mika Ninagawa Exhibition with...
Kyoto is known as a center of various cultures, with its ancient traditions, architecture, and landscapes that retain the atmosphere of the ancient capital. Did you know that Kyoto is also dotted with many art spots where works of art from all over the world gather? We have selected some of the best art museums for you to visit. We also introduce original goods and café menus that can only be purchased at these museums! Why don't you take a break from the busyness of your daily life and enjoy the comfortable silence and unique art?
The Kyoto Kyocera Museum of Art opened in 1933 as the Tairé Memorial Museum of Kyoto in the Okazaki area, home to world-famous temples, shrines, and theaters, and has spun a long history as an art spot in Okazaki. In 2020, the museum will take on a new name and be reborn as an art museum with a new wing, café, and museum shop. In addition to the exhibits, visitors can enjoy the beautiful interior, including the streamlined glass ribbon facade and the central hall with its spiral staircase.
Exhibition Schedule for 2025
January 10 (Fri.) - February 24 (Mon., holiday) Collection Room Winter Special: "The World Fascinated with Kyoto Ceramics: Divine Art of the Meiji Era
January 11 (Sat) - March 16 (Mon) The Triangle Morimi Sakamoto: Fire, Earth, and What You Want to Eat
January 11 (Sat) - March 30 (Sun) Mika Ninagawa Exhibition with EiM: Light on the other shore, shadow on this shore
March 7 (Friday) - June 8 (Sunday) Monet: A Time of Water Lilies
March 29 (Sat) - June 1 (Sun) The Triangle, Eriko Ye
April 25 (Fri)-September 7 (Sun), 2010 Yayoi Kusama: The World of Prints - Repetition and Proliferation
September 13 (Sat) - December 7 (Sun): 100 Years of Mingei: The Beauty of Everyday Life Spun by Kyoto
September 25 (Thu) - December 7 (Sun) Hello Kitty Exhibition - As I Change, So Does Kitty
After enjoying the art, you will have an enjoyable time at the museum store [ART RECTANGLE KYOTO], where you can choose from exhibition goods, limited edition products and original goods that allow you to enjoy Kyoto's traditional culture. Rediscover the charm of art in a new way.
If you are looking for a place to fill up before or after viewing art, head to ENFUSE, a museum café. The menu features a variety of elaborate dishes prepared using ingredients and cooking methods unique to Kyoto. The open space with curved glass windows creates a relaxing atmosphere. The café can also be used as a stand-alone restaurant.
[The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto is located in Okazaki Park. The permanent "Collection Gallery" exhibits a wide range of modern art from Kyoto and other western Japan, including Japanese-style paintings, Western-style paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, lacquerware, dyed textiles, jewelry, photography, and contemporary works. In addition to the permanent collection, a series of special exhibitions that change about five times a year are also on display! The museum is a must-visit destination throughout the year, as you can always find something fresh and stimulating for all five senses.
Exhibition Schedule for 2025
-March 2 (Sun) 120th anniversary of the birth of Living National Treasure Tatsuaki Kuroda: A Journey of Wood, Lacquer and Raden (mother-of-pearl inlay)
March 25 (Tue) - June 29 (Sun) - Colors and Poems of the Soul 1890-1918
July 19 (Sat) - September 15 (Mon): The Secret of Kimono: Where Yuzen is Made
October 7 (Tuesday) - November 24 (Monday, holiday): 50 years after his death: Impression Domoto (tentative name)
In addition to exhibition catalogs and art books, the museum store [AR-PRU] offers a lineup of glass artifacts and museum goods from overseas. [Check out the original goods available only here, such as postcards of artworks from the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.
The café de 505 (café de Gomargo), which is attached to the building, is a hot spot where visitors can enjoy drinks, sweets, and light meals while admiring the view of Lake Biwa's waterway! The café is also popular as a place to enjoy nature to your heart's content, such as cherry blossoms and autumn leaves, depending on the season.
The Asahi Group Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art opened in 1996 after restoring the English-style Oyamazaki Villa, which was built between the Taisho and early Showa eras. The museum's collection includes approximately 1,000 unique works, including works related to the folk art movement supported by Tamesaburo Yamamoto, the first president of Asahi Beer Company (now Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.), and the masterpiece "Waterlilies" series by Claude Monet, a master of the Impressionist school. The vast garden, which covers an area of approximately 5,500 tsubo (approximately 1,860 square meters), is decorated with trees whose expressions change with the seasons, allowing visitors to enjoy the changing nature of the four seasons.
Exhibition Schedule for 2025
Sunday, April 6: Matsumoto Shunsuke: City and People - Painting with a Brilliant Eye
April 19 (Sat) - July 6 (Sun): Connecting Mingei (folk art) En-Gururi - from the collection of Tamesaburo Yamamoto
The museum store on the first floor of the main building offers original goods related to the museum's collection and books about the Asahi Group Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art. Be sure to stop by after enjoying the art.
The coffee shop offers a wide variety of coffee menu items such as cakes, coffee, and Asahi beer! The terrace seats offer a view of the three rivers Kizu, Uji, and Katsura, as well as the garden, allowing you to relax and enjoy the rich natural surroundings. Depending on the time of year you visit, a menu in collaboration with an exhibition may also be available, so check the official website for details.
Located in Arashiyama, Saga, the Fukuda Art Museum is an art museum that is popular both in Japan and abroad as a source of Japanese culture where beautiful nature and Japanese art are beautifully combined. The museum's beautiful, art-like interior, with exhibition rooms designed to resemble storehouses and exterior glass walls designed in the Ajiro pattern, is also noteworthy. The museum's concept is "to create works of art that are inspiring even for those who are not familiar with art," making it an art spot that even beginners to art museums can easily visit.
Exhibition Schedule for 2025
February 1 (Sat) - April 13 (Sun) Higashiyama Kaii and the Journey of Landscape Painting from Japan to the World
April 26 (Sat) - July 6 (Sun): The Life of Kyoto's Master Painter, Sakuraya Kijima
Saturday, July 19 - Monday, September 29: New Japanese Painting at the Expo: The Beauty of Japan in Full Bloom (tentative)
October 11 (Sat) - January 18 (Sun), 2026: Enjoying Uemura Shoen's beautiful paintings (tentative)
The museum store sells exhibition catalogs and original goods. The shop offers a variety of goods that stimulate the senses, including crafts and collaboration goods by artists associated with Kyoto.
Bread, Espresso, and Fukuda Art Museum, a collaboration with the nationwide coffee shop Bread, Espresso, and Fukuda Art Museum, is a café open only to museum visitors. Visitors can enjoy a variety of drinks, light meals, sweets, and other elaborate menu items. Visitors can relax and soak up the afterglow of the art in a space that has a soft impression with the look of wood grain.
Located on the 7th floor of JR Kyoto Isetan in the JR Kyoto Station Building is the Museum of Art "Eki" KYOTO, which exhibits a wide range of art from classical to contemporary art, paintings, photography, and animation. It is a beloved spot as an art museum where visitors can encounter genre-less art, unbound by time. The museum is directly connected to Kyoto Station, making it easy to drop by on a rainy day or during a shopping trip. Forget the hustle and bustle of the city and experience art.
Exhibition Schedule for 2025
Jan. 2 (Thu) - Feb. 3 (Mon) Kyoto: Hitoshi Komatsu, a painter and hermit who lived in Ohara, Kyoto: "Maze the Nature" (Closes at 18:00 on Jan. 2 only)
February 7 (Fri)-16 (Sun) Kyoto New Exhibition of Nihonga 2025
February 19 (Wed) - March 30 (Sun) Crane Town Museum Collection: The World of Realistic Paintings
In addition to goods related to the exhibition, the store also offers a variety of railroad goods related to JR West, and as a facility operated by JR West, it is a great place to purchase goods that are full of originality. (*Railroad goods available change according to the time of the year.
Saga Arashiyama Bunkakan is an art museum located about a 5-minute walk from Togetsu Bridge in Arashiyama. After its renovation in November 2018, the museum was reborn as an art museum that introduces Japanese art more broadly, while deepening the contents of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. The museum has been reborn as an art museum that introduces a wider range of Japanese art.
Exhibition Schedule for 2025
February 1 (Sat) - April 13 (Sun) I LOVE Hyakunin Isshu
April 26 (Sat) - July 6 (Sun): The Life of Kyoto's Master Painter, Sakuraya Kijima
The museum store sells original goods and books related to the Hyakunin Isshu and the exhibition. The Hyakunin Isshu cookies (432 yen (2 cookies)) are popular as unique souvenirs! This is a great place to check out when visiting the museum, as unique and original goods are available for purchase.
At the attached [Arashiyama OMOKAGE Terrace], you can enjoy a café while relaxing and gazing at the garden that changes from season to season with its beautiful nature. In addition to coffee and sweets, there is a full food menu, making it the perfect place to fill up before or after viewing art! You can also use the cafe only, so feel free to use it during your stroll in Arashiyama.
Over 600 interviews per year! An order site carefully selected by the editors who knows Kyoto and Shiga.
nowOfficial LINE friend registration500 yen OFF coupon is being issued!
Distributed every Friday morning at 8:00 am! From new restaurant information to event information that we want to share with you, We deliver articles about Kyoto that are useful to know. About 20,000 people have registered.Click here to add a friend!