Kyoto National Museum
An 1895 imperial building classified as an Important Cultural Property — the architecture is part of the collection.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Kyoto offline.
Opened in 1897 as the Imperial Museum of Kyoto, this Higashiyama institution focuses on pre-modern Japanese and Asian art. The original Special Exhibition Hall, designed by Katayama Tōkuma in 1895, along with its Main Gate, ticket booth, and perimeter fences, were collectively designated Important Cultural Properties in 1969 — meaning the building you walk through is as protected as what hangs inside.
What to look for
- The 1895 Special Exhibition Hall by Katayama Tōkuma — the main exhibition building, designated an Important Cultural Property
- The Main Gate, ticket booth, and fences, all sharing that 1969 Important Cultural Property designation under the original museum name
- Pre-modern Japanese and Asian art in the Collection Hall, completed in 1966
Located in Higashiyama ward; the museum has run a Saturday Lecture Series since 1973, worth checking if your visit falls on a weekend.
Kyoto National Museum is one of 39 sights worth the detour in Kyoto, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Kyoto pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Kyoto
- Kiyomizu-dera TempleA monk traced a golden stream to its source on Mount Otowa in 778. Pilgrims are still arriving.
- Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)A gold-wrapped pavilion torched by a novice monk in 1950 and rebuilt by 1955 — every gleaming surface you see is modern.
- Fushimi Inari-taishaTen thousand orange gates, every single one paid for by a Japanese business, tunnel up a sacred mountain.
- Heian-kyō (Kyoto)Japan's capital for over a thousand years — and by one legal argument, still.
- Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion)The silver coating was never applied — and that unfinished state became the point.
- Kyoto Imperial PalaceJapan's imperial seat for 538 years — until the emperor moved his residence to Tokyo and the palace lost its central role.