Kyoto has many tourist attractions, but there are also many unique museums that you should definitely visit. Not only the museum's extensive collection, but also its architecture, gardens, and other spaces are so beautiful that they are worth seeing. Through the museum, you will be able to experience the city and history of Kyoto, a new way to enjoy Kyoto. This time we will introduce three recommended museums.

Enjoy beautiful Western-style houses and gardens along with art
Asahi Group Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art (Oyamazaki Town, Kyoto Prefecture)

The Asahi Group Oyamazaki Villa Museum is located halfway up Mt. Tennosan in Oyamazaki Town, and is housed in a Western-style building built between the Taisho and early Showa periods. The main building is Oyamazaki Villa (registered tangible cultural property) built by businessman Shotaro Kaga, and a new building designed by architect Tadao Ando was built in 1995 and 2012, and the museum space is also a work of art.

Kaga traveled to Europe, visited the British Museum and Kew Gardens, and became the first Japanese person to climb the Junggraf Alps. Based on his experiences, he is said to have designed the Oyamazaki lodge and the approximately 5,500-square-foot garden. ing. The garden's appearance changes dramatically depending on the season, such as cherry blossoms in spring and lotus flowers in early summer, making it a place you'll want to visit in all seasons.

In addition, if you go up to the tea room on the terrace of the main building, you can see the three rivers of Kizugawa, Ujigawa, and Katsuragawa, as well as a spectacular view of the cityscape of Kyoto.

Many of the museum's holdings are from the collection of Tamesaburo Yamamoto, the first president of Asahi Beer Co., Ltd. The main building houses ceramics centered around the works of Mingei movement artists such as Kajiro Kawai, Shoji Hamada, and Bernard Leach, as well as works by artists related to the Mingei movement such as Keisuke Serizawa (dyeer) and Tatsuaki Kuroda (woodworker). There are many works by major artists, and the new wing is lined with a collection of Western art, including Impressionist master Claude Monet's masterpiece ``Water Lilies'' series, as well as sculptures by Alberto Giacometti, Isamu Noguchi, and Henry Moore. We hold special exhibitions about four times a year, and we also change the permanent exhibits for each special exhibition.

Asahi Group Oyamazaki Lodge Museum

5-3 Zenihara, Oyamazaki-cho, Otokuni-gun, Kyoto Prefecture
075-957-3123 (general information)
Opening hours: 10:17 to 16:30 (last entry until XNUMX:XNUMX)
Closed: Every Monday (the following day if Monday is a holiday), New Year holidays. There may be temporary closures due to exhibition changes.

Enjoy Japanese wabi-sabi and eat Shokado bento
Yawata City Shokado Garden and Art Museum (Yawata City)

Yawata City Shokado Garden and Art Museum is located near the national treasure Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine and is known as a famous garden in Kyoto and Rakunan. This is a facility connected to Shokado Shojo, a cultural figure who excelled in calligraphy, painting, and tea ceremony in the early Edo period, and also a priest at Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine, from which Shokado bento originated.

The approximately 2 square meter garden, where the world of Japanese wabi-sabi spreads out, includes the "Outer Garden" with three authentic tea rooms, the souan "Shokado" designated as a national historic site, and the Senbo Shoin. It is made up of an "inner garden" with over 40 types of bamboo, over 300 camellias, plums, cherry blossoms, hydrangeas, and autumn leaves, allowing you to enjoy the scenery of each season.

*Souan "Shokado" is scheduled to be open to the public for a limited time from September 2023, and from September 9 to March 2023, arrangements are being made to open it to the public on Sunday tea ceremonies in the tea room in the garden. Details will be announced on the Shokado website as soon as they are decided, so please check back.

There is an art museum next to the garden. The museum's main collections include interior items from the Soan ``Shokado'' and Senbo Shoin, items related to Shokado Shojo and his disciples, and works of art and materials related to Yawata City. It has become. In addition to special exhibitions held in spring and fall, exhibitions centering on items from the museum's collection are held about three times a year.
The museum is attached to the Kyoto Kitcho Shokado store, where Shokado bento was invented, and from the store you can see the garden where you can feel the changing seasons.

Yawata City Shokado Garden and Art Museum

43-1 Yawata Joroka, Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture
075-981-0010
Business hours: 9:17 to 16:30 (Entry to the park is until XNUMX:XNUMX)
Closed: Mondays (the next weekday if Monday is a holiday) and December 12th to January 27th)

Admire Japanese paintings surrounded by the spectacular scenery of Kyoto
Fukuda Art Museum (Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City)

The Fukuda Art Museum, which opened in 2019 in Arashiyama, Saga, is centered around the collection of Kyoto-born businessman Yoshitaka Fukuda. The museum's concept is ``even those who are not familiar with art will be moved by it'', and the museum has approximately 1800 works, mainly Japanese paintings from the Edo period to modern times. Among them, there is a rich lineup that traces the flow from the Rimpa and Maruyama Shijo schools to the Kyoto art world, including works by Edo period painters such as Maruyama Okyo, Yosa Buson, and Ito Jakuchu, as well as works by Yokoyama Taikan, Uemura Shoen, and Takeuchi. It houses modern masterpieces such as Seiho, as well as one of Japan's leading Yumeji Takehisa collections.

The museum is built in the style of a Kyoto townhouse, and its modern Japanese exterior is eye-catching. The exhibition room is designed to resemble a storehouse, the hallway resembles a verandah, and there is a large water basin in the garden that reflects trees that change color with the seasons. In addition, the Oi River, Katsura River, and Arashiyama spread out in front of the building, and the pleasant scenery is a work of art created by nature.

Inside the building is a cafe called ``Bread to Espresso and Fukuda Art Museum,'' which is a sister store to Omotesando's bakery cafe ``Bread to Espresso.'' This cafe is only available to visitors, but the view of Togetsukyo Bridge from here is also spectacular.

Fukuda Art Museum
3-16 Aonobabacho, Saga Tenryuji Temple, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture
075-863-0606
Opening hours: 10:17-16:30 (last entry time XNUMX:XNUMX)
Closed: Exhibition change period, year-end and New Year holidays