The Kyoto International Manga Museum (about ¥1,200), Toei Kyoto Studio Park (about ¥2,800), the Nidec Kyoto Tower deck (about ¥900) and one Subway & Bus 1-Day Pass (about ¥1,100). Add about ¥600 for the Museum of Kyoto, and the Keihan fares on day 2.
Best time to go
October 9 to December 20, 2026, when both Keihan anime collaborations run at Kyoto Tower at the same time. Autumn is Kyoto's busiest season, so book hotels early.
Closing days
The Manga Museum is closed on Wednesdays (the next weekday after a Wednesday holiday) and over New Year. Toei Kyoto Studio Park publishes its closing days on a calendar we could not read: check it before you fix the date.
Walking (our estimate)
Moderate: roughly 6–8 km on day 1 around the city, and 5–7 km around the film sets on day 2.
Kyoto is where a lot of anime is actually made, but very little of that is open to visitors. What is open is a city museum of manga run with Kyoto Seika University, a working film backlot with a licensed Evangelion attraction, two official character shops, and the collaborations Keihan Electric Railway stages at Kyoto Tower in autumn 2026. This route strings them together in two days and never sends you to a studio, a memorial or anyone's front door. It is a different trip from our Sound! Euphonium route through Uji, and the two fit together neatly.
Times, fares and opening hours are approximate. Check the official pages under Sources before you go (last checked September 20, 2026).
1
Day 1
Central Kyoto: manga museums and the tower
The Manga Museum in the morning, the Museum of Kyoto and the character shops after lunch, Kyoto Tower at dusk.
Morning
Kyoto International Manga Museum
Take the Kyoto Subway Karasuma Line from Kyoto Station toward Kokusai Kaikan and get off at the third stop, Karasuma-Oike (about 6 min); the museum is 2 min on foot. It is run with Kyoto Seika University in the former Tatsuike elementary school, and about 50,000 books on its Wall of Manga are open to anyone to read. Open 10:00–17:00, last admission 16:30; about ¥1,200 for adults, ¥400 for junior-high and high school students, ¥200 for elementary. Closed on Wednesdays.
Late morning
The Museum of Kyoto
The prefectural museum's general exhibition is about ¥600 for adults, free for high school students and under, and runs roughly 10:00–19:30 with last entry at 19:00. From November 28, 2026 to January 11, 2027 its third-floor gallery holds a Go Nagai retrospective (Mazinger Z, Devilman, Cutie Honey) staged as a Noto earthquake recovery show. Admission for the special exhibition is ¥1,600 for adults (¥1,400 in advance), ¥1,200 for university and high school students and ¥700 for elementary and junior-high students.
Midday
Lunch around Shijo
Walk south into the Shijo shopping streets.
1
Early afternoon
Pokémon Center Kyoto
On the 2nd floor of SUINA Muromachi at the Shijo-Muromachi crossing, open roughly 10:00–20:00 every day. New trading card sets are sometimes sold by lottery, announced on the shop's own page. Nintendo KYOTO, on the 7th floor of Kyoto Takashimaya S.C., is worth the detour if you also play the games, though it is a game store rather than an anime one.
During the Keihan Sound! Euphonium collaboration (to December 20, 2026), spending about ¥1,500 in one go at a participating shop gets you a limited sticker, with a different design from November 1. Starbucks, Matsumoto Kiyoshi and mobile orders are excluded.
2
Evening
Nidec Kyoto Tower observation deck
The deck is open 10:00–21:00 with last entry at 20:30, and costs ¥1,000 for adults, ¥800 for high school students and ¥700 for elementary and junior-high. Through autumn 2026 it carries Keihan's official Sound! Euphonium event (September 1 to December 20, 2026), and from October 9, 2026 to January 11, 2027 a second Kyoto Animation collaboration, The 20th Century Electric Catalogue, runs alongside it. Between October 9 and December 20 both are on at once.
Evangelion and tokusatsu at the Toei film backlot, then the collaboration stations on the way back.
Morning
Kyoto Station → Toei Kyoto Studio Park
The park's own access page puts it about 20 min from Kyoto Station. Arrive by the Randen tram to Uzumasa Koryuji (about 5 min on foot to the main gate) or by JR to Uzumasa (about 5 min to the studio gate, which admits visitors until 17:00). A 1-day ticket is about ¥2,800 for anyone junior-high age and up and about ¥1,600 for children aged three to elementary.
3
Late morning
Evangelion Kyoto Base
A standing, officially licensed Evangelion attraction in the park's Attraction Plaza, included in the park ticket with no surcharge. Last entry is about 17:15.
On the 2nd floor of the Padios building, roughly 10:00–18:00. The park publishes its closing days on a calendar we could not read: check it before you fix the date.
Afternoon
Back east to the Keihan line
From October 9 to December 28, 2026, life-size panels from The 20th Century Electric Catalogue stand outside the ticket gates on the Osaka-bound side of Keihan Fushimi-Inari Station, and a collaboration nameplate is on platform 1 at Chushojima until January 11, 2027.
Late afternoon
The Keihan stamp points
The same campaign runs a digital stamp rally with six points: Otokoyama, Matsumoto Shuzo, Chourakukan, Surugaya Gion Shitazato, Mii-dera and Otsu Port. A free printed location booklet is handed out at major Keihan stations from October 9, 2026.
Evening
Back to Kyoto Station
Head back to Kyoto Station; check a route planner for your train.
Terminus
Where to stay
Hotel links go straight to the booking site. We get nothing from them.
Terminus · stay in
Kyoto
Night 1. Kyoto Station is on the Karasuma subway line, which day 1 uses.
Unlimited travel for one calendar day (not 24 hours) on both Kyoto city subway lines, city buses and several private bus companies, with small discounts at about fifty facilities. This is the pass that fits day 1.
The cheaper option if you stay on the Karasuma and Tozai lines, which is most of day 1. Sold at station windows and ticket machines, and it takes ¥100 off adult admission to Nijo Castle on the same day.
About ¥1,100 (1 day) or ¥1,300 (24 hours); the Kyoto-Osaka version about ¥1,650 / ¥1,850
For visitors to Japan. Covers the Keihan line through Kyoto, which is what day 2 uses for the collaboration stations at Fushimi-Inari and Chushojima, and connects on to Uji. A Kyoto-Osaka version costs more and reaches Osaka.
Some links here are partner links: we get a commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you.
Please note
Visiting with respect
The Manga Museum is full of people reading, including children on the floor and the lawn. Keep your voice down and ask staff before photographing anyone.
Toei Kyoto Studio Park is a working film studio. Filming may be under way on the open sets: follow staff instructions and don't photograph where signs say not to.
Fushimi-Inari and Chushojima are ordinary commuter stations. Stand behind the platform line, take your photo quickly and let people past.
Good to know
FAQ
Are the Kyoto Tower collaborations on when I go?
They are dated events, not permanent displays. The Sound! Euphonium collaboration runs September 1 to December 20, 2026 and the 20th Century Electric Catalogue one runs October 9, 2026 to January 11, 2027. The observation deck is open all year regardless.
Is Fushimi Inari Taisha an anime spot?
The one official anime installation in that area is the character panel display at Keihan Fushimi-Inari Station, and it is dated.
Is there a Jump Shop in Kyoto?
Not on Shueisha's official JUMP SHOP store list, which shows stores in cities including Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka but none in Kyoto.
What about the Nintendo Museum in Uji?
It is about video games rather than anime, and tickets are sold by lottery to Nintendo Account holders months ahead, so you cannot build a fixed itinerary around it. Treat it as a bonus if you win a slot.
Is there an anime convention in Kyoto?
Yes: KYOMAF, the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair, is organised with Kyoto City and is held in September at Miyako Messe and ROHM Theatre Kyoto, with the Manga Museum as a satellite venue. The 2027 dates had not been announced when we checked.
Transfer
Combine with nearby routes
Have more days? These routes start or end close to this one.
