Stepping Back in Time at the Former Kyoto Prefectural Office Main Building

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Touring the Former Kyoto Prefectural Office Building

Next door is the Agency for Cultural Affairs, which relocated in 2023

After plenty of detours along the way, I finally arrived at the Agency for Cultural Affairs Kyoto Office and the Former Main Building of the Kyoto Prefectural Government. The Agency for Cultural Affairs moved to Kyoto in March 2023.

It originally served as the main building of the Kyoto Prefectural Police Headquarters, built in 1927 (Showa 2), and is now used after being renovated.

This area is lined with many government office buildings, and right next door stands the former main Kyoto Prefectural Office building. That was what I came to see!

The Kyoto Prefectural Office, where you can’t enter through the main entrance on holidays

As of March 2024, tours are limited to Tuesday through Friday and Saturdays in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weeks, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Be sure to check the latest information here. ↓

A Time-Travel Moment at the Former Kyoto Prefectural Office Main Building

I toured the Former Kyoto Prefectural Office Main Building, completed in 1904 (Meiji 37) and still used as office space today. Its exterior is a stately Renaissance-style design.

Inside, the space feels open and expansive, with high ceilings.

Beyond the main entrance is an open stair hall with a staircase leading to the second floor. It feels like a scene from a movie.

Photos of open stair halls are genuinely difficult

Corridors run all the way around the courtyard. Natural light pours in, making it bright and giving the whole place a wonderful atmosphere.

I went down into the courtyard to look back at the building. Planted in the center is a Gion weeping cherry tree. I bet it’s wonderful here when the blossoms are out… 🌸

Back inside. I really liked the staircase lined with red carpet. It had a different feel from the one I’d just seen.

Up on the second floor, the corridors are carpeted in red as well. The arch details are elegant.

This is the open stair hall by the main entrance, seen from the second floor. The window trim, pale blue walls, chandelier… even the smallest details are lovely.

Apparently the most formal room, called the Seicho, was here, but I got so distracted by the stair hall that I completely missed it…

Just a little farther down the corridor was the former governor’s office, open to visitors, so I went in. Inside was what seemed to be the office of an NPO called Kyoto Kanko Bunka wo Kangaeru Kai Miyakogusa.

Beyond the office was the former dining room. Various things were on display there, not necessarily related to dining. I was told that what was displayed above the fireplace was not a painting but yuzen dyeing—“WOOD Yuzen,” made by applying yuzen dyeing to cedar boards.

WOOD Yuzen—does it really not need a frame?

You can also see something called a “Governor/Department Head Attendance Indicator Light.”

I’m not sure whether it has always been here or was moved from somewhere else. This was before the age of the internet and mobile phones, so if the lamp was lit, that meant, “They’re in the office!”

Beyond the former dining room was the former governor’s office. There’s an impressive desk, though I was a little concerned by the wear on the wall covering…

This room also has a fireplace. Unlike the one I saw earlier, this one is made of marble.

There’s also a café inside the building, but it’s only open on weekdays, so it wasn’t operating that day. I only saw a few other visitors too. Such a shame!