Kyoto International Manga Museum Tickets

The Kyoto International Manga Museum occupies a handsome former primary school in the centre of the city, and its premise is gloriously simple: walls of manga, tens of thousands of volumes shelved floor to ceiling, and permission to pull down anything and read for as long as you like. Part library, part museum, it treats manga with the seriousness the art form has earned while staying a completely relaxed place to spend an afternoon.

Reading, browsing, learning

The famous Wall of Manga runs through the old classrooms and corridors, organised by decade and genre, with a substantial section of translated works in English and other languages so overseas visitors can settle in too. Exhibitions explore manga history, technique and artists, portrait artists sketch visitors in manga style on busy days, and on fine afternoons readers spill onto the lawn outside with their chosen volumes. The preserved school building, creaking floors and all, adds real charm.

Who should go

Manga readers could lose a day here, but the museum also works for the merely curious, explaining how manga became central to Japanese culture. Families do well too, with children’s collections and space to sprawl. Allow anywhere from ninety minutes to half a day depending on your reading appetite.

Getting there

The museum stands at the Karasuma-Oike crossing, directly above Karasuma-Oike Station where the Karasuma and Tozai subway lines meet, a few minutes from Kyoto Station by subway. From the Kawaramachi shopping district it is an easy fifteen minute walk.

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