Museum · Okazaki

Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art 京都市京セラ美術館

Japan's oldest surviving public art museum, a 1933 Imperial Crown-style landmark reborn in 2020 with a glass "glass ribbon" entrance by Jun Aoki, showing modern Kyoto art and major touring exhibitions.

About

Opened in 1933 as the Kyoto City Museum of Art, it is the oldest public art museum building in Japan still in use, in the Imperial Crown style that tops a Western structure with a Japanese roof. A three-year renovation led by architects Jun Aoki and Tezzo Nishizawa reopened it in 2020 with a sunken glass entrance plaza, the "glass ribbon", a central hall under a restored skylight, a new contemporary wing (Higashiyama Cube) and a Japanese garden behind. The Collection Room shows its holdings of Kyoto modern painting (Nihonga), crafts and sculpture in seasonal rotations; the autumn 2026 display tells the museum's own story. Big touring shows in the main halls change through the year. The museum also has a cafe, shop and a terrace onto the Okazaki park facing the Heian Shrine torii.

Highlights

• 1933 Imperial Crown-style building, the oldest of its kind in Japan
• Glass ribbon entrance plaza by Jun Aoki
• Central Hall under a restored skylight
• Collection Room of Kyoto Nihonga and crafts
• Higashiyama Cube contemporary gallery

Tips

• Collection Room fees are modest; special exhibitions cost extra.
• The Japanese garden at the back is free and often empty.
• It faces MOMAK across the road; combine both.
• Closed Mondays.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Heian Jingu Great ToriiPhoto Spot · 10 m away
• National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (MOMAK)Museum · 60 m away
• Yamamoto MenzouRestaurant · 110 m away
• Kyoto Kanze Noh TheatreShows & Entertainment · 160 m away
• Okazaki ParkPark · 180 m away
• Kyoto Museum of Crafts and DesignMuseum · 230 m away
• ROHM Theatre KyotoShows & Entertainment · 290 m away
• OkakitaRestaurant · 330 m away