Kyoto National Museum
Higashiyama, Kyoto
- Tue to Thu, Sat, Sun
- 9:30 to 17:00
- Fri
- 9:30 to 20:00
- Mon
- Closed
Last entry 30 minutes before closing. Special exhibitions open 9:00 to 17:30 (Fridays to 20:00). Open on a Monday holiday, closed the next day. Closed 28 December to 1 January.
Source: kyohaku.go.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
The Kyoto National Museum opened in 1897 as the Imperial Museum of Kyoto, in the Meiji Kotokan designed by Katayama Tokuma. That building has been closed since 2015 ahead of earthquake-proofing work, so the exhibitions are in the Heisei Chishinkan wing by Taniguchi Yoshio, opened in 2014.
Insider tip
Check what's on first. The museum switches between special exhibitions (The Tale of Genji, on until 29 November 2026, is ¥2,200 for adults), collection shows (¥700) and garden-only weeks (¥300), when the galleries are shut. Under-18s get into collection shows free. It shares a bus stop with Sanjusangendo.
What the guides say about Kyoto National Museum
20. Mind Mondays and Wednesdays. The Kyoto National Museum, the art museums in Okazaki, the zoo and the imperial sites close on Mondays. The Kyoto Railway Museum, the Manga Museum, the State Guest House and many Nishiki shops close on Wednesdays.
8. Sanjusangendo. A hall 120 metres long holds 1,001 statues of Kannon, every one a National Treasure. Entry's ¥600 and your shoes come off at the door. The Kyoto National Museum shares the bus stop, but check what's on first.
What's on at Kyoto National Museum
Upcoming events at Kyoto National Museum and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
The Tale of Genji: Radiance of the Heian Court
特別展 源氏物語 王朝のかがやき
Time 9:00 to 17:30, Fridays to 20:00 (last entry 30 minutes before) Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
The Kyoto National Museum's first Tale of Genji exhibition in about 50 years shows paintings, crafts, manuscripts and commentaries, about 250 works across its Kyoto and Tokyo runs, including the Aobyoshi-bon text edited by Fujiwara no Teika and the scattered 'phantom' Moriyasu Genji scroll. The display changes on 3 Nov, and the museum is closed on Mondays (open 12 Oct and 23 Nov), 13 Oct and 24 Nov.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 New Year Feature: All About Sheep
新春特集展示 ひつじづくし 干支を愛でる
Time 9:30 to 17:00, Fridays to 20:00 (last entry 30 minutes before) Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
For 2027, the Year of the Sheep, the museum's New Year display gathers sheep in art from its collection, an animal rarely kept in Japan outside Hokkaido, so expect some oddities. A tea utensils feature runs at the same time, the ticket covers every gallery in the Heisei Chishinkan, and it's closed on Mondays (open 11 Jan), from 28 Dec to 1 Jan and on 12 Jan.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 The Great Kano School, Part 2: Edo to Meiji
京都国立博物館開館130周年記念 特別展 大狩野派 第2部 江戸～明治編
Time 9:00 to 17:30 (last entry 17:00), Fridays to 20:00, closed Mondays except 19 July Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
The second half of the museum's 130th-anniversary survey of the Kano painters, Japan's biggest school of artists, in the first show this size in half a century. Part 2 takes the story from the Edo period to Meiji with every work changed from Part 1. It's open to 20:00 on Fridays, and ticket prices haven't been announced yet.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 800 Years of the Shimazu Clan of Satsuma
京都国立博物館開館130周年記念 特別展 薩摩島津家八〇〇年
Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
Heirlooms of the Shimazu, the samurai family who ruled southern Kyushu from Satsuma, marking 800 years since the death of their founder Shimazu Tadahisa. The museum says it's the first big show of the clan's treasures on Honshu, and some pieces change during the run.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 Shuntoe Peach Festival at Sanjusangendo
春桃会（三十三間堂）
Time 9:00 to 15:30 Station Hakubutsukan Sanjusangendo-mae bus stop (City Bus 206, 208), right by the stop
On 3 March, a day of threes at the hall of 33 bays, entry is free and the Ikenobo school offers flowers. You can view the 1,000 Kannon statues from a raised platform, and a women's peach charm (¥1,000) is sold that day only.
Olivier Bruchez, CC BY-SA 2.0 Nearby
Around Higashiyama
Kiyomizu-dera at opening, then the temples and pottery below it
Higashiyama is a whole ward, but this guide covers the slope from Kiyomizu-dera down to Shichijo-dori. Go early. The temple's gates open at 6:00, and if you're there then, you'll reach its wooden stage long before the day's crowds. Later, walk down past the pottery shops of Gojozaka to Sanjusangendo, where 1,001 statues of Kannon stand in a hall 120 metres long.
Higashiyama has 22 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 10 shrines and temples, 4 shops, 2 museums, 2 neighbourhoods, 1 cafe, 1 viewpoint, 1 restaurant and 1 landmark. Read the Higashiyama guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Kyoto National Museum?
- 527 Chaya-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市東山区茶屋町527).
- What are the opening hours of Kyoto National Museum?
- Tue to Thu, Sat, Sun 9:30 to 17:00; Fri 9:30 to 20:00; Closed Mon. Last entry 30 minutes before closing. Special exhibitions open 9:00 to 17:30 (Fridays to 20:00). Open on a Monday holiday, closed the next day. Closed 28 December to 1 January.
- How do I get to Kyoto National Museum?
- The nearest station is Shichijo (Keihan). Kyoto National Museum is in Higashiyama, Kyoto.
- How much does Kyoto National Museum cost?
- Kyoto National Museum is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Kyoto National Museum?
- Plan for 1-2 hours.
- When is the best time to visit Kyoto National Museum?
- Friday evenings.
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