Kyoto University Museum
Ginkakuji, Kyoto
- Wed to Sun
- 9:30 to 16:30
- Mon, Tue
- Closed
Last entry 16:00. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays even when they are holidays, 28 December to 4 January, 18 June, and the Wednesday of the third week of August.
Source: museum.kyoto-u.ac.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Kyoto University's museum holds about 2.6 million specimens and objects, and its permanent galleries cover natural history, cultural history and the history of technology. On some Saturdays graduate students run the Children's Museum, explaining the exhibits in conversation with visitors, and adults are welcome too.
Insider tip
Entry is ¥400 (university students ¥300), cash only, and it's free if you're under 18 or over 70. The entrance faces Higashioji-dori, so you don't go through the campus, and it's two minutes from Hyakumanben bus stop. It's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
What's on near Kyoto University Museum
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Kyoto University Museum, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Hyakumanben Handmade Market at Chion-ji
百万遍さんの手づくり市
Time 8:00 to 16:00 Station Hyakumanben bus stop (City Bus 206), 1 min walk
Makers sell their own crafts, ceramics, clothes and food in Chion-ji's grounds on the 15th of each month. Places are allotted by lottery among applicants, and it runs in the rain.
Daderot, CC0 1.0 Autumn Secondhand Book Fair at Chion-ji
第50回 秋の古本まつり（百万遍知恩寺）
Time 10:00 to 17:00 (first day opens after the memorial) Station Hyakumanben bus stop (City Bus 206), 1 min walk
About 200,000 secondhand books fill Chion-ji's grounds for five days, with an auction and a corner of complete sets. On the first morning, before the stalls open, there's a memorial service for old books with the temple's giant rosary.
Daderot, CC0 1.0 Autumn Used Book Fair at Chion-ji
秋の古本まつり（百万遍知恩寺）
Station Demachiyanagi (Keihan), 10 min walk
The autumn one of Kyoto's three big used-book fairs, run in the temple grounds by the antiquarian booksellers who've belonged to the association since it began. It opens with a memorial service for books, which the organisers say is the only one in Japan, and has a charity auction and a corner of complete sets.
Daderot, CC0 1.0 Setsubun Festival at Yoshida Shrine
節分祭（吉田神社）
Time Demon-chasing rite on the 2nd, fire festival on the 3rd Station Kyodai-seimon-mae bus stop (City Bus 201, 206)
About 500,000 people come over the three days, and about 800 stalls line the grounds on the 2nd and 3rd. On the 2nd a figure in a golden four-eyed mask chases red, blue and yellow demons round the dance stage in a Heian court rite, and on the 3rd old charms burn in a fire pit 4 m across.
Saigen Jiro, CC0 1.0 Nearby
Around Ginkakuji
Temple gardens along a canal path, under the Daimonji hill
Get to Ginkaku-ji for its 8:30 opening, because the temple fills up as the day goes on. Then walk south on the Philosopher's Path, about 1.8 km of stone path beside a branch of the Lake Biwa Canal, and turn off it for the temples on either side. Honen-in's grounds open at 6:00, and you don't pay to go in.
Ginkakuji has 15 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 7 shrines and temples, 2 museums, 2 restaurants, 1 viewpoint, 1 shop, 1 neighbourhood and 1 bathhouse. Read the Ginkakuji guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Kyoto University Museum?
- Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市左京区吉田本町).
- What are the opening hours of Kyoto University Museum?
- Wed to Sun 9:30 to 16:30; Closed Mon, Tue. Last entry 16:00. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays even when they are holidays, 28 December to 4 January, 18 June, and the Wednesday of the third week of August.
- How do I get to Kyoto University Museum?
- The nearest station is Hyakumanben bus stop (City Bus 3, 7, 31, 201, 203, 206). Kyoto University Museum is in Ginkakuji, Kyoto.
- How much does Kyoto University Museum cost?
- Kyoto University Museum is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Kyoto University Museum?
- Plan for 1-2 hours.
- When is the best time to visit Kyoto University Museum?
- Rainy days.
Stay near Kyoto University Museum
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