5 Best Sights in Kyoto, Japan

Many famous artists have signed the walls at this bilingual museum that claims to have the world's largest collection of manga materials. Most international visitors likely associate manga with Tokyo, but Kyoto is a significant hub for the stylized comic books thanks to its rich traditions and universities specializing in the visual arts. The main permanent installation answers the question "What is manga?" and temporary exhibitions probe topics such as depictions of war in the comics. The museum's approximately 300,000 artifacts include items from outside Japan and early examples of the genre. The shelves of the Wall of Manga hold 50,000 publications you can peruse on site.

The phenomenal architecture and impressive collection of Japanese tea-ceremony artifacts and antiquities from the West, China, and the Middle East make a visit to this museum in Shiga Prefecture well worth the hour-long journey from Kyoto. Three-quarters of the museum, which opened in 1997, is underground, with skylights illuminating the displays. The grounds are extensively and beautifully landscaped and well incorporated into architect I. M. Pei's design. The Japanese collection is housed in a wing separate from the antiquities.

Architect Fumihiko Maki, whose recent commissions include the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto (2014) and 4 World Trade Center in New York City (2013), designed Museum of Modern Art's 1986 steel, glass, and reinforced concrete structure. The museum is known for its collection of modern Japanese paintings, with an emphasis on the artistic movements in the Kansai region. The museum's other important holdings include ceramic treasures by Kanjiro Kawai, Rosanjin Kitaoji, Shoji Hamada, and others.