Nishijin Textile Center
Kitano, Kyoto
1 Apr to 30 Sep
- Tue to Sun
- 10:00 to 17:00
- Mon
- Closed
Rest of the year
- Tue to Sun
- 10:00 to 16:00
- Mon
- Closed
When Monday is a public holiday it opens and closes on Tuesday instead. Closed 29 December to 3 January.
Source: nishijin.or.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
The Nishijin Textile Center is the weaving industry association's showroom on Horikawa-dori. Its third-floor archive keeps Japan's first home-built wooden Jacquard loom, a Kyoto City cultural property, and puts on three or four themed shows a year of obi, kimono and folding screens.
Insider tip
It's free to go in. You can weave a small table runner, about 20 by 30 cm, on a hand loom in about 40 minutes (¥2,750, from fifth grade up, booking needed). The kimono fashion shows it used to run aren't scheduled at the moment.
What's on at Nishijin Textile Center
Upcoming events at Nishijin Textile Center and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Heian court dress and maiko dress-up experience at Nishijin Textile Center
十二単・束帯・芸舞妓・花嫁の装い体験
Time 10:00 and 13:00 Station City bus stop Horikawa-Imadegawa, 1 to 2 min walk
Dress-up sessions in twelve-layer court robes, sokutai, maiko or bridal kimono at 10:00 and 13:00 from 1 November. Reservation form on the organiser page. Closed Mondays and 29 Dec to 3 Jan.
Lundariokn45, CC BY-SA 4.0 Nishijin-ori Haku 2026
西陣織博2026
Time Sat 10:00 to 17:00, Sun 10:00 to 17:00 (kitchen cars Sat 11:00 to 17:00, Sun 11:00 to 16:00) Station Horikawa-Imadegawa bus stop, 1 to 2 min walk
The Nishijin textile trade show with new obi, kimono and kinran on the 5th and 6th floors, demonstrations of weaving preparation crafts on the 1st floor, a paid hands-on workshop, short kimono mini-concerts and kitchen cars in the west car park. Parking is closed on both days.
Lundariokn45, CC BY-SA 4.0 Gozan Okuribi Rooftop Viewing at Nishijin Textile Center
五山の送り火特別観賞会（西陣織会館）
Time 18:00 to 20:40 Station Horikawa Imadegawa bus stop
Rooftop standing viewing of four of the five Gozan bonfires from Nishijin Textile Center on 16 August, with a talk on the museum collection first. In 2026 it needed a phone reservation, opened on 14 June and filled up, and the 2027 details are not out yet.
Lundariokn45, CC BY-SA 4.0 Seimei-sai at Seimei Shrine
晴明祭
Time Eve 19:00, procession 13:00 to 18:00 Station Ichijo Modoribashi Seimei-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 9, 12)
The festival of the shrine to the court diviner Abe no Seimei, on the autumn equinox and the night before. The eve has yudate kagura at 19:00 and a lantern procession of about 100 local children, and on the day the mikoshi leaves at 13:00 behind a boys' fife and drum band and goes round the parish until 18:00.
Fg2, Public domain Spring Grand Festival at Shiramine Shrine
白峯神宮春季例大祭
Station Horikawa-Imadegawa bus stop
Shiramine Shrine's spring festival is followed by a kemari football rite at the Jinushi shrine, and visitors can try kemari themselves. Held in rain.
Smaller local events nearby
Ohitaki-sai Fire Rite at Seimei Shrine Festival
Mon 23 Nov · Seimei Shrine, Imperial Palace
On 23 November priests burn a sacred fire in a rite that limited numbers of visitors may enter the shrine hall to join.
Map · Source: Seimei Shrine · 御火焚祭（晴明神社）
New Year Rite (Saitan-sai) at Seimei Shrine Festival
Fri 1 Jan · Seimei Shrine, Imperial Palace
At 8:00 on 1 January the shrine offers water drawn from the Seimei well at 6:00, and visitors queue to pray from just after midnight.
Map · Source: Seimei Shrine · 歳旦祭（晴明神社）
Nearby
Around Kitano
Tenjin's head shrine, Kyoto's oldest geisha district and Daitoku-ji
Start at Kitano Tenmangu, head shrine of about 12,000 Tenjin shrines, founded in 947 for Sugawara no Michizane, the scholar students still pray to before exams. Come on the 25th, when the Tenjin-san Market fills the approach and the lanterns are lit after dark. Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district, lines the shrine's east approach, and Daitoku-ji's Zen temples are about 1.7 km north-east.
Kitano has 25 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 10 shrines and temples, 3 cafes, 3 shops, 2 restaurants, 2 bathhouses, 1 viewpoint, 1 neighbourhood, 1 museum, 1 bar and 1 market. Read the Kitano guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Nishijin Textile Center?
- 414 Tatemonzen-cho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市上京区西堀川通元誓願寺上ル竪門前町414).
- What are the opening hours of Nishijin Textile Center?
- 1 Apr to 30 Sep: Tue to Sun 10:00 to 17:00; Closed Mon. Rest of the year: Tue to Sun 10:00 to 16:00; Closed Mon. When Monday is a public holiday it opens and closes on Tuesday instead. Closed 29 December to 3 January.
- How do I get to Nishijin Textile Center?
- The nearest station is Horikawa Imadegawa bus stop (City Bus 9, 12, 201). Nishijin Textile Center is in Kitano, Kyoto.
- How much does Nishijin Textile Center cost?
- Nothing. Nishijin Textile Center is free to visit.
- How long do you need at Nishijin Textile Center?
- Plan for 45 min.
- When is the best time to visit Nishijin Textile Center?
- A rainy afternoon.
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