Kyoto Art Center
Shijo-Karasuma, Kyoto
- Daily
- 10:00 to 20:00
Hours for the galleries, library and information corner. Closed 28 December to 4 January and now and then for maintenance.
Source: kac.or.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Kyoto Art Center took over the 1931 building of Meirin Elementary School, which opened in 1869 and closed in 1993. Since 2000 it has run galleries and performances, and it lends studios to young artists free of charge. The ground-floor Maeda Coffee cooks inside an artwork, a box-shaped kitchen tower by the artist Teppei Kaneuji and the architect Toshikatsu Ienari.
Insider tip
Entry is free, though some events charge. The library has about 5,500 items on open shelves, and the information corner hands out flyers from galleries and theatres across Japan. The cafe opens 11:00 to 18:00.
What's on near Kyoto Art Center
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Kyoto Art Center, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Gion Matsuri Yoiyama (first procession)
祇園祭 前祭宵山
Time Evenings Station Shijo (Karasuma Line) or Karasuma (Hankyu)
The floats of the first procession stand built in the streets round Shijo-Karasuma, lit by komagata lanterns with Gion-bayashi music played on top. Old townhouses in the float districts open to show their folding screens, and the float associations display their figures and tapestries.
Gion Matsuri Float Procession, Hanagasa Parade and Kanko-sai (second procession)
祇園祭 後祭山鉾巡行・花傘巡行・還幸祭
Time Floats and Hanagasa from 9:30, mikoshi from about 16:00 Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line), 1 min walk
The second procession, revived in 2014, leaves Karasuma-Oike at 9:30 and runs the first route the other way. The Hanagasa parade sets off from Shimogyo Junior High for the Otabisho and Yasaka Shrine, and from about 16:00 the mikoshi go back to the shrine.
Medalist Exhibition
メダリスト展
Time 10:00 to 18:00, Fridays to 19:30 (last entry 30 min before) Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line), 3 min walk from exit 5
An exhibition on Tsurumaikada's figure skating manga Medalist, with new illustrations drawn for it, famous scenes from the manga, sets that recreate its world and picks from the TV anime. It fills the museum's third and fourth floor galleries.
Photograph by Mike Peel www.mikepeel.net., CC BY-SA 4.0 KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival 2027
KYOTOGRAPHIE 京都国際写真祭 2027
Time Hours and closing days vary by venue Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line)
A month of photography shows in machiya, galleries, museums and temples around the city, in exhibition spaces designed with architects and craftspeople. The 2027 theme, artists and venues are still to be announced.
Kan'ei: Beauty Nurtured by Peace
特別展「寛永 太平がはぐくむ美」
Time 10:00 to 18:00, Fridays to 19:30 (last entry 30 minutes before) Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line), 3 min walk
Marking 400 years since Emperor Go-Mizunoo's visit to Nijo Castle, the museum shows the Kan'ei culture of Hon'ami Koetsu, Tawaraya Sotatsu and Nonomura Ninsei, with scrolls and screens of the imperial procession and a Kano Sanraku hawk painting from Nijo Castle. It's closed on Mondays (open 12 Oct) and 13 Oct, and the ticket covers the permanent galleries too.
Photograph by Mike Peel www.mikepeel.net., CC BY-SA 4.0 Nearby
Around Shijo-Karasuma
Kyoto's old bank corner, with kimono streets one block back
Shijo-Karasuma is the crossing where the subway meets the Hankyu line from Osaka, and by 1915 three of the big banks stood on it. It doesn't look much like the Kyoto on the posters. Walk one block west, though, and you're on Muromachi-dori, the old kimono wholesalers' street, near the lanes where the Gion Matsuri floats are built every July.
Shijo-Karasuma has 16 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 4 shops, 3 shrines and temples, 3 cafes, 3 museums, 1 restaurant, 1 bar and 1 neighbourhood. Read the Shijo-Karasuma guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Kyoto Art Center?
- 546-2 Yamabushiyamacho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市中京区室町通蛸薬師下る山伏山町546-2).
- What are the opening hours of Kyoto Art Center?
- Daily 10:00 to 20:00. Hours for the galleries, library and information corner. Closed 28 December to 4 January and now and then for maintenance.
- How do I get to Kyoto Art Center?
- The nearest station is Shijo (Karasuma Line). Kyoto Art Center is in Shijo-Karasuma, Kyoto.
- How much does Kyoto Art Center cost?
- Nothing. Kyoto Art Center is free to visit.
- How long do you need at Kyoto Art Center?
- Plan for 45 min.
- When is the best time to visit Kyoto Art Center?
- Afternoons.
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