At first I was a bit hesitant to write this article. I spent most of my time in Kansai while I was studying in Japan and hence could not visit the well known manga and anime museums around Tokyo. Nevertheless, I want to talk about some of the amazing manga museums I have discovered in Japan so far.
I often chose the off-beat routes and less popular tourist spots to discover interesting places on the way to my destinations. For example, when I was travelling from Tottori to Shimane I learnt that Sakaiminato was on the way and I immediately made plans to stop by this place. Sakaiminato is a port town and it is popular for Mizuki Shigeru Road which I had once seen on a television show.
So without wasting much time, let me share some of the coolest manga museums I have visited in Japan till now.
Kyoto International Manga Museum
If you love reading manga this place is a must visit. The Kyoto International Manga Museum was inaugurated on November 2006 with an aim to promote manga culture. It is a huge library of three floors with a collection of approximately 50,000 comic books all arranged chronologically on the ‘Wall of Manga’. On the first floor ‘Wall of Manga’ you will find shojo manga 少女漫画 (girl’s comics), shonen manga 少年漫画 (boy’s comics) on the second floor and seinen manga 青年漫画 (young adult’s comics) on the third floor.
The collection of manga books and materials available here is unparalleled. There are research reference rooms where you can get access to over 2,50,000 manga materials inclusive of international publications. There are also exhibition corners, sections featuring popular artworks and workshop areas.
Photography is prohibited inside the building, so I could only take limited pictures.
There is a small souvenir-cum-book shop from where I bought Mononoke Hime – The Storyboard Book. Yes, it contains original drawings by Hayao Miyazaki. Cool right?
There are many areas to explore in this enormous museum building which was once an elementary school. There are two cafes inside the facility and a spacious outdoor lawn where people can hangout.
You need to pay an admission fee to enter. It is 800 yen for adults, 300 yen for High and Junior High School Students and 100 yen for elementary school students. Group discount is also available for 20 people or more.
Adults 800yen
High and Junior High School Students 300yen
Elementary school students 100yen
Open – Everyday except Wednesday : 10:00 – 18:00 (admission is allowed until 17:30)
Closed – Every Wednesday (if a national holiday falls on Wednesday then the following Thursday)
Visit the Kyoto International Manga Museum for more details.
Access : Its a 2 minutes walk from Karasuma Oike station in Kyoto.
Mizuki Shigeru Road
Ever heard of the cult manga series GeGeGe no Kitaro ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 (Spooky Kitaro)? It has been adapted into anime series seven times since 1968. There were also two live action films made by the franchise.
This epic series was penned by Mizuki Shigeru a brilliant manga artist who was born in Osaka and raised in Sakaiminato town in Tottori. Muzuki Shigeru was a specialist in writing ghost stories and designing yokai manga characters. He also published books on Japanese history and his experiences in World War II.
In the honor of this great manga artist Sakaiminato town has dedicated a street and named it Mizuki Shigeru road. It starts from Sakaiminato station and spans approximately 800 meters.
We took a local train on JR Sakai line from Yonago station directly to Sakaiminato station. This station is nicknamed Nezumi Otoko Eki. Nezumi Otoka is a character in GeGeGe no Kitaro. In fact, Yonago station platform 0, which is for Sakaiminato station (aka Kitaro station) is designed and themed after the very own manga itself. The fourteen other stops that fall between Yonago and Sakaiminato stations are also nicknamed after characters from GeGeGe no Kitaro.
The trains which ply between Yonago and Sakaiminato station are also Spooky Kitaro themed.
The whole stretch of road is filled with manga and anime goodies stores. Pavements on both sides of this road are lined with bronze statues of characters from Spooky Kitaro.
A cute yokai shrine situated midway sets a perfect eerie ambiance to this place.
The Mizuki Shigeru Museum at the end of the street exhibits popular as well as rare artworks produced by the artist. Apart from being a famous manga artist, Mizuki Shigeru was also an adventurer. His collection of masks and artifacts is showcased inside the museum.
Museum admission fees for foreigners
Adults 300yen
High and Junior High School Students 200yen
Elementary school students 100yen
Museum Hours and Holidays
Open – Everyday : 09:30 – 18:00 (admission until 17:30)
Closed – No holiday
Visit the Mizuki Shigeru Museum official website for more details.
Access : Sakaiminato Station can be reached in 48 minutes from Yonago Station (in Tottori) via JR Sakai Line.
The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum
Osamu Tezuka is considered the “Father of Japanese Manga”. His sensational manga series Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy) received worldwide recognition. Osamu Tezuka is an inspiration to many and most of his works are considered masterpieces. He played a big role in shaping the art of manga storytelling.
Osamu Tezuka was born in Osaka but later moved to Takarazuka in Hyogo. The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum is situated in Takarazuka, very near to the Takarazuka Revue theater . This museum mostly exhibits artworks, character figurines, manga books and articles that once belonged to the artist.
There is a gift shop, purikura プリクラ (photo booth) and a cafe on the second floor. Manga hobbyists can visit animation workshop on the ground floor where you can create your own animation character.
Museum admission fees
Adults 700yen (560yen for group of 10 or more people)
High and Junior High School Students 300yen (240yen for group of 10 or more people)
Elementary school students 100yen (80yen for group of 10 or more people)
Museum Hours and Holidays
Open – Everyday except Wednesday : 09:30 – 17:00 (admission until 16:30)
Closed – Everyday Wednesday (open on national, spring and summer holidays)
Visit the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum official website for more details.
Access : The museum 1 km (approximately 12 minutes walk) from Takarazuka Station.
Niigata Manga Animation Museum
Yes this one was on my list. If you had no idea, then let me tell you that I am a huge fan of the anime series called Inuyasha. I bet you have heard of it if you grew up in the 2000’s. I guess the anime received more global acclamation than the manga. Nevertheless, what makes Inuyasha special are its intriguing story, strong characters and the bond they share with each other. Hats off to Rumiko Takahashi, the woman behind this legendary manga/anime series.
Rumiko Takahashi was born in Niigata. She has created quite a few successful manga which were later adapted into anime series. Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 and Kyokai no Rinne are some of my favorites.
Niigata Manga Animation Museum introduces works of famous manga artists who were either born in Niigata or somehow associated with the city. There are activity corners where you can play with popular virtual characters or experience how its like to be a voice actor.
Exhibitions are held all year round. When I visited this museum there was an ongoing exhibition of swords and weapons used in Evangelion. Character figurines from this anime were on the display too.
Museum admission fees
Adults 200yen (200yen for group)
High and Junior High School Students 100yen (80yen for group)
Elementary school students 50yen (40yen for group)
Museum Hours and Holidays
Open – Weekdays 11:00 am to 7:00 pm (last admission is at 6:30 pm)
Saturday, Sunday and National Holidays from 10:00 am
Closed – 1st January and when exhibitions are being changed
Visit the Niigata Manga Animation Museum official website for more details.
Access : The museum is 950 mt (approximately 12 minutes walk) from Niigata Station.
Fujiko.F.Fujio Hometown Art Gallery
Doraemon fans might want to visit Fujiko.F.Fujio Museum in Kawasaki, Kanagawa prefecture. Its easily accessible from both Tokyo and Yokohama. Although I have made short trips to Tokyo and nearby areas many times, I am yet to visit this museum. Hope I can make plans to go there some day.
If you did not know already Fujiko.F.Fujio is not one person, its a pseudonym representing collaboration of two artists – Fujimoto Hiroshi and Abiko Motoo. Both of them were born in Toyama and have published numerous successful manga series.
However, I want to introduce Fujimoto Hiroshi’s hometown Takaoka city in Toyama. This place happens to be a stopover if you are travelling to Gokayama area from Toyama. In Takaoka station itself you can find Doraemon goodies in the souvenir shops.
There is a pretty big Doraemon post box placed in the information center. I also saw a Doraemon themed tram at the station.
Due to limited time I could not visit the Fujiko.F.Fujio Hometown Art Gallery. It is 1.8 kms from the station and quite near to Takaoka castle park. You can take a direct bus or a train from Takaoka station or simply walk if you have enough time.
Museum admission fees
Adults 500yen (400yen for group of 20 people or more)
High and Junior High School Students 300yen (240yen for group of 20 people or more)
Elementary school students 200yen (160yen for group of 20 people or more)
Admission is free for children of 3 years or below.
Museum Hours and Holidays
Open – Everyday except Monday : 09:30 – 17:00 (admission until 16:30)
Closed – Mondays (Gallery will be open if a national or public holiday falls on Monday. In such cases the gallery will be open on the following working day.)
Visit the Fujiko.F.Fujio Hometown Art Gallery official website for more details.
Access : If you are not fond of the idea of walking for 1.8 km from Takaoka Station, you can take the JR Himi line and get down at Etchu-Nakagawa Station. The gallery is a 5 minutes walk away.
Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory
Finally I made it here when I visited Japan in 2019. I know many manga addicts love the shonen manga – Detective Conan (Case Closed). I used to watch the anime series on our local TV channel after getting back from school.
I wanted to visit this Museum when I first visited Tottori in 2016, but that didn’t happen due to time constraint. It is also not very simple to reach this place given the fact that you might not get a high speed train on the Sanin line to reach here.
I usually keep more than one travel destination per day in my travel itinerary. This time I was staying in Izumoshi, Shimane. Since I had plans to travel to Kawahar castle (in Tottori), on my way back I made stop at the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory.
Yura station is where you need to get down to reach this museum. It was a 1 hour 35 minutes ride on a local Yonago from Tottori station to Yura station. I will take similar time from Yonago to Yura on a local train.
Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory is a 1.3 km straight walk from Yura station. This road has been named Conan Street. You can spot some bronze statues of characters from Detective Conan.
You will first come across Conan’s House Beika Shopping Street just after crossing the Great Conan Bridge over Yura river. I had to reach the museum before closing time so I skipped the shopping street and headed straight towards my destination.
Aoyama was born in Hokuei-cho in Tottori. He is best know for creating Detective Conan manga series. The two storied museum displays famous works of Aoyama, mostly about the characters from Detective Conan.
The gift shop on the ground offers a varied range of toys, figurines and other merchandises of characters from Detective Conan.
Museum Hours and Holidays
Open – Everyday : 09:30 – 17:30 (admission open until 30 minutes before closing)
Closed – No holiday
Visit the official website of Gosho Aoyama Manga Museum for more details.
Access : Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory is a 1.3 km straight walk from Yura station.