Kyoto National Museum is a major art museum in Japan and one of the country’s four national museums. The other national museums are in Tokyo, Nara, and Kyushu.
Kyoto National Museum has two principal museum buildings set in pleasant gardens: the Meiji Kotokan Hall and the Heisei Chishinkan Wing. The Meiji Kotokan Hall, also called the Main Hall of the Former Imperial Museum of Kyoto, is the original museum building; a fine red brick Meiji era structure completed in 1895 and opened in 1897. It is designated, together with the Main Gate and historic ticket area, as an Important Cultural Property.
Kyoto National Museum and Rodin’s Thinker
The Meiji Kotokan Hall was designed in a French Renaissance style by Katayama Tokuma. Katayama was a pioneer of European style architecture in Japan and also designed the Nara National Museum. The building is normally closed to museum visitors and has been closed since 2015 while the museum prepares seismic upgrades.
Above the front entrance of the Meiji Kotokan Hall is a triangular pediment with carvings representing the Buddhist gods of the arts
The other main building, the Heisei Chishinkan Wing, is a simple but elegant structure designed by the internationally acclaimed contemporary architect Taniguchi Yoshio and opened in 2014.
The Heisei Chishinkan Wing of Kyoto National Museum
The Heisei Chishinkan Wing is the museum’s modern exhibition building and the usual place to see Collection Exhibitions when they are on view. Exhibition use changes through the year: the museum alternates between Collection Exhibitions, Special Exhibitions, and Museum Garden-only periods, and the galleries may be closed during reinstallation. Check the museum calendar before visiting if you are going specifically to see gallery displays. When Collection Exhibitions are open, you may find fascinating archaeological relics, beautiful statues, sculptures, paintings, calligraphy, pottery, metalwork and lacquerware. Many of the priceless antiquities on display are on permanent loan from Kyoto’s many temples and shrines.
The museum shop
For food and shopping, Museum Shop Benrido is located at the south gate and sells art reproductions, postcards, books, and museum-developed goods. Café Maeda Coffee serves coffee, tea, light meals, cakes, parfaits, and other sweets, with views toward the Meiji Kotokan Hall and the museum garden. Museum admission is not required to enter either the shop or the cafe.
If you are lucky when you visit Kyoto National Museum, you may also get to meet Torarin, the museum’s official mascot.
Torarin!
Torarin was inspired by the 18th-century Edo-period painting Tiger and Bamboo, by Ogata Korin, which is in the Kyoto National Museum collection.
The original painting of a tiger by Ogata Korin
You can find plenty of souvenir items featuring Torarin in the museum shop, which include mugs, bottle-openers, t-shirts, playing cards, and of course cuddly toys. Regular art reproductions, post cards, and art books are also on sale here.
Be sure to ask for a picture with Torarin if you see him
Access
The museum is directly across the street from Sanjusangendo Temple, so these two locations can easily be visited together. By train, take the Keihan Main Line to Shichijo Station and walk east along Shichijo Street for about 7 minutes. From Kyoto Station, take Kyoto City Bus 206 or 208 from bus platform D2 to Hakubutsukan Sanjusangendo-mae. To walk from Kyoto Station would take about 20 minutes.
A view of the Meiji Kotokan Hall from inside the Heisei Chishinkan Wing
Opening Hours
Opening hours vary depending on whether the museum is holding Collection Exhibitions, a Special Exhibition, or a Museum Garden-only period. For Collection Exhibitions and Museum Garden-only periods, the museum is generally open from 9:30 to 17:00, with entrance until 16:30, and on Fridays from 9:30 to 20:00, with entrance until 19:30. Special Exhibitions have their own hours.
Closed on Mondays. When Monday is a national holiday, the museum is open but closed the following Tuesday. The museum is also closed for year-end and New Year’s holidays and other scheduled closure days.
Admission
Collection Exhibition admission is 700 yen for adults and 350 yen for university students. Museum Garden-only admission is 300 yen for adults and 150 yen for university students. High school students and younger, and youth aged 0-17, are admitted free for Collection Exhibitions and garden-only admission. For special exhibitions, special fees and free-admission rules apply.
Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved. Last updated 07-Jul-2026.
