Kyoto International Manga Museum

Housed in a former primary school, the Kyoto International Manga Museum is one of the city's most distinctive cultural institutions. Its walls of shelved volumes (spanning decades of Japanese comics history) invite visitors to browse, read freely, and linger at their own pace. With over 6,400 Google reviews and a strong 4.2-star rating, it draws both devoted manga readers and the simply curious in equal measure.

When to go

The museum opens daily at 10:00 AM and closes at 5:00 PM, and is shut on Wednesdays: worth noting before you plan your visit. Arriving close to opening time on a weekday tends to offer the most relaxed experience, giving you room to settle into a favourite corner undisturbed.

“Was awesome to see the history of not only Manga in other cultures. But the history of the school in which the museum now resides. The store was on the pricey side but otherwise awesome experience.”— sal ponce, Google review