Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings
Shijo-Karasuma, Kyoto
Sanjo-dori was Kyoto's main east-west street until the trams of 1912 pulled the centre south to Shijo, and plenty of the buildings put up along it since the Meiji era are still standing. Look for the red brick of the 1902 Nakagyo Post Office at the Higashinotoin corner and the 1906 Bank of Japan branch that's now the Museum of Kyoto annex.
Insider tip
Walk it east from Karasuma towards Teramachi. At the southeast corner of the Sanjo-Karasuma crossing is a road origin marker set up in 1920. The Museum of Kyoto annex is free to walk into.
What's on near Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
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 The Indomitable Power of Go Nagai
令和6年能登半島地震復興祈念 不滅の力 永井豪 -永井豪記念館リバイバル-
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
When the 2024 Noto earthquake burned the Go Nagai Memorial Museum in Wajima, 108 original drawings and figures by the creator of Mazinger Z, Devilman and Cutie Honey were found intact inside. They're shown here with original manuscripts and a new manga he drew for the show, and the museum is closed on Mondays (open 11 Jan) and from 28 Dec to 4 Jan.
Photograph by Mike Peel www.mikepeel.net., CC BY-SA 4.0 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.
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
- How do I get to Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings?
- The nearest station is Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line). Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings is in Shijo-Karasuma, Kyoto.
- How much does Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings cost?
- Nothing. Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings is free to visit.
- How long do you need at Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings?
- Plan for 30 min.
- When is the best time to visit Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings?
- Late afternoon.
Stay near Sanjo-dori Brick Buildings
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