Okazaki Park
Overview
About Okazaki Park
The area around Okazaki Park houses several major cultural centres of Kyoto, including museums, art galleries, and the famous Heian Jingu Shrine. The shrine’s 24m Torii gate towers over the precinct.
Highlights around Okazaki Park
Heian Jingu Shrine
Dedicated to the first and last emperors from Kyoto, it was built in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of Kyoto’s appointment as the capital of Japan.
Heian Shrine Gardens
Nestled behind the Heian Jingu Shrine, this beautiful Japanese garden is a popular place in cherry-blossom season.
Hosomi Museum
A museum showcasing the private collection of the Hosomi family, including over one thousand pieces from the Yayoi to Edo Periods (1603-1867). The collection spans a huge variety, including scrolls, paintings, lacquerware, tea ceremony utensils, Buddhist sculpture and others.
Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design
Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design - formerly the Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts (Fureaikan) - is an incredibly detailed free museum featuring beautiful examples and explanations of a range of different local crafts. Local artisans offer demonstrations of differing techniques, with different crafts on show each day of the week.
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
Established in 1963, MOMAK, as it’s known, is dedicated to showcasing and preserving twentieth century art from Japanese, European and American artists. It hosts a number of exhibitions each year, plus around 20 different exhibitions from the museum’s own extensive collection.
It places particular emphasis on artists from Kyoto and the Kansai area. The building itself was designed by notable Japanese architect, Fumihiko Maki.