Museum · Karasuma Oike

Kyoto International Manga Museum 京都国際マンガミュージアム

A 1929 elementary school turned manga library and museum, with a 200-metre "Wall of Manga" of 50,000 volumes you can pull out and read on the lawn.

About

Run jointly by Kyoto City and Kyoto Seika University, the Kyoto International Manga Museum opened in 2006 in the former Tatsuike Elementary School, a Showa-era building whose wooden corridors and classrooms are preserved. Its collection of some 300,000 items covers manga from Meiji-era satire to modern magazines, and about 50,000 volumes line the shelves of the Wall of Manga that runs through the building, freely available for reading, including translations. Exhibitions explore the history of manga and specific artists, and on many weekends live demonstrations by artists who draw portraits are held. In good weather, visitors read on the artificial lawn outside. It is a great rainy-day stop in central Kyoto and a quiet change from temples.

Highlights

• Wall of Manga, 50,000 volumes free to read
• Former 1929 elementary school building
• Manga history exhibition
• Portrait drawing by manga artists
• Reading on the lawn

Tips

• Re-entry is allowed on the same day: grab lunch nearby and come back.
• The English and foreign-language section is on the first floor.
• Closed Wednesdays.
• Karasuma Oike Station is 2 minutes away.

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

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