04 Bus stop: Kyoto Kaikan Bijutsukan-mae

Raku Bus Kyoto Easy Sightseeing

The next stop we are getting off is Kyoto Kaikan Bijutsukan-mae. That is the convenient bus stop for Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Kyoto Kaikan Hall and Hein Jingu Shrine. The area is called Okazaki which is a popular district for cultural activities. When you get off the bus, the National Museum of Modern Art is right in front of you. The museum was established in 1963 and the current building designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Fumihiko Maki opened in 1986. They arrange seven or eight major annual exhibitions for masterpieces by Japanese and international artists. The museum also has an excellent permanent collection. Across the bus street, you will find a large western-style brick building, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. Built in 1928, the museum regularly holds special exhibits and has a collection of about 1,400 works of modern Japanese art. By the two museums, there is a huge red shrine gate or Ootorii of Heian Jingu Shrine. To the north, you will find the vast shrine field. The shrine constructed in 1895 in commemoration of Kyoto's 1,100 anniversary on a scale of 5/8 of the original Imperial Palace built when Kyoto founded in 794. The shrine garden is famous for seasonal flowers especially cherry blossoms in April and irises in June. The Jidai Matasuri Festival is held annually by this shrine on October 22. If you stay in this area, don't miss to visit Murinan Residential Garden. This quietly famous nineteenth century garden, originally a villa for the famous politician, Aritomo Yamagata, in the Meiji period features a combination of a traditional mossy landscape garden & modern garden with a lawn in English style. You can also have a Japanese green tea and sweet set while admiring the garden.