Manga is one of the cultural staples of Japan. The first library and museum in Japan devoted to manga, the Kyoto International Manga Museum opened in 2006 and has 300,000 items in its collection. In the “Manga Expo” section, you can read translated versions of popular manga as well as comics published in foreign countries.
Walls of Manga
There are tall shelves of books that cover the walls of the 1st to 3rd floors. Approximately 50,000 manga representing a wide variety of genres are arrayed in individual book form from floor to ceiling for your reading enjoyment.
Art Object “Hi no Tori”
Tzuka Osamu is a manga artist who made important contributions to the development of Japanese manga and anime. Hi no Tori is one of the major charactors he created. A gigantic representation of this character produced using techniques utilized in Buddhist sculpture hangs in the 2nd-floor atrium.
Manga Studio
Young manga artist demonstrate how to create manga, allowing you to see how underdrawing, inking-over and other procedures that you normally would not be able to see are done. Open only on Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
Portrait Corner
You can have an artist draw a standard likeness of you or request to be portrayed as a character in an anime. It costs 1,000 yen per person and takes about 20-minute.
Cafe and Shop
The shop carries items related to popular manga and anime, as well as original museum items only available here. You can also purchase translated version of the latest popular titles and the enduring masterpieces.
Address : 452 Kinbukicho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-0846
Access : 3-minute walk from Karasuma-Oike station on the Kyoto city subway Karasuma line or Tozai line.
Admission : 800 yen (re-entry is permitted only on the same day)
Hours : 10:00 to 18:00
Closed : Closed Wednesday or Thursday when Wednesday is a national holiday