Miyazu Catholic Church: open days, rules and the walk there

Last checked: October 2026

Cream-coloured church with arched windows and a cross, pine tree and statue at right

Miyazu Catholic Church

Type: Catholic church
Address: 500 Miyamoto, Miyazu, Kyoto 626-0024
Area: Miyazu town centre
Google rating: 4.4 (82 reviews) on Google Maps, checked October 2026
On the map: Open in Google Maps

Opening hours on Google Maps, checked October 2026
Day	Hours
Monday	13:30–16:30
Tuesday	Closed
Wednesday	13:30–16:30
Thursday	Closed
Friday	13:30–16:30
Saturday	Closed
Sunday	12:00–17:00

The story in brief

A wooden church with a tatami floor

This is one of Japan’s oldest churches still in use. It’s considered the oldest existing church in Japan that holds weekly Mass, predated only by Oura Church in Nagasaki⁴.

Built in 1896¹

A French priest built it with a French-style exterior and a tatami-floored interior ringed with stained glass from Paris. Miyazu City calls it Catholic Miyazu Church, St. John’s Cathedral, and the national listing names it Miyazu Senja Sei-Yohane Tenshudo.

Year	What happened
1896¹	Built by a French priest
1927⁵	Front facade altered after damage in the North Tango earthquake
19 January 2024⁵	Designated a national Important Cultural Property

The Agency for Cultural Affairs counts it among the oldest surviving wooden Catholic churches outside Nagasaki.

Open days

When can you visit the church?

The church opens on weekday afternoons, 13:30–16:30³ (checked October 2026), according to its own site, plus sessions on some Saturdays and Sundays.

Weekdays 13:30–16:30³

Source	Weekdays	Saturdays	Sundays
miyazu-catholic-jp.net (operator)	13:30–16:30³	2nd and 4th Saturdays: 9:30–12:00 and 13:30–16:30³	2nd and 4th Sundays: 13:30–16:30³
Amanohashidate Tourism Association (amanohashidate.jp) (official)	Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only, 13:30–16:30⁶
Google Maps (via DataForSEO)	Mon, Wed, Fri 13:30–16:30; Tue and Thu closed⁷	Closed⁷	12:00–17:00⁷

The sources don’t agree on which weekdays the doors open, and Google Maps lists other Sunday hours too. The church’s own site is the one to follow.

Before you go in

House rules inside

No photos inside⁶

Mass is still held here, so a few rules apply once you’re through the door:

No photos: photography is not allowed inside⁶.
No food or drink: eating and drinking are not allowed inside⁶.
Services come first: you may be asked not to tour the church during services or Mass⁶.

Getting there

How do you get to the church from Miyazu Station?

Walk: the church is 5¹ to 8 minutes² on foot from Miyazu Station on the Kyoto Tango Railway, heading in the direction of Amanohashidate.

5-minute walk from Miyazu Station¹

Highway bus: on Tankai’s Kyoto-line or Osaka-line buses, get off at Miyazu Station³ and walk from there.
Car: the church is 7 minutes⁶ from Miyazu Amanohashidate IC. Kyoto Prefecture’s guide lists 15¹ free parking spaces, and they’re on the church grounds³.
Address: 500 Miyamoto, Miyazu City⁶, Kyoto Prefecture.

Kitakinki tango railway miyadu station tracks

For train links into town, places to eat and the rest of the area, see Miyazu in full.

Round out the visit

Sights near the church

The Amanohashidate Tourism Association lists several sights close by, and the nearest two are an easy walk from the church door.

Former Mikami House 0.46 km away⁶

Place	Distance from the church
Former Mikami House	0.46 km⁶
Chigenji Temple	0.47 km⁶
Kanabiki Falls	1.25 km⁶
Amanohashidate View Land	2.26 km⁶
Kaisenkyo swing bridge	2.66 km⁶
Amanohashidate Onsen Chie no Yu	2.68 km⁶

The Former Mikami House is an old merchant house that was once a sake brewery. It opens 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.⁸, with reception until 4:30 p.m.⁸, and is closed from 29 December to 3 January⁸.

Front of the Old Mikami House, a merchant house with a tiled roof and white plaster walls

Where to go next:

Amanohashidate View Land: an observatory on top of Mt. Monju, with more on Viewland on its own page.
The sandbar side: the Monju guide covers the area around Amanohashidate Station.
Lunch or a market stop: getting to the sea roadside station is easy, about a 12-minute⁹ walk from Miyazu Station.
Everything else: the full list of things to do around the bay.

Snowy View Land hilltop looking out over Miyazu Bay and the pine-covered Amanohashidate sandbar.

Catholics in Japan

Questions people ask

Is it legal to be Catholic in Japan?

Yes. Article 20 of Japan's Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all.

What percentage of Japan is Catholic?

About 0.34% of the population in 2021, around 431,100 people. The 2025 church statistics count 409,070 members.

Where in Japan do most Catholics live?

By diocese, the Archdiocese of Tokyo has the most, followed by Nagasaki, Yokohama and Osaka-Takamatsu (2025 statistics).

Photos: Wikimedia Commons. Authors and licences: image credits

Checked against 12 sources · last checked October 2026

kyoto-kankou.or.jp (official) · checked October 2026
JNTO (japan.travel) (official) · checked October 2026
miyazu-catholic-jp.net (operator) · checked October 2026
mlit.go.jp (official) · checked October 2026
Cultural Heritage Online (online.bunka.go.jp) (official) · checked October 2026
Amanohashidate Tourism Association (amanohashidate.jp) (official) · checked October 2026
Google Maps listings via DataForSEO · checked October 2026
Another Kyoto Official Travel Guide (kyototourism.org) (official) · checked October 2026
michinoeki-miyazu.jp (operator) · checked October 2026
House of Representatives, Japan (shugiin.go.jp) (official) · checked October 2026
Wikipedia · checked October 2026
cj-news.org (news) · checked October 2026

Page history · last changed 26 October 2026

26 October 2026 First written