Financial Museum of the Former Otaru Branch of the Bank of Japan

photo by Komatta · Public domain

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

Built under the direction of Tatsuno Kingo, architect of Tokyo Station, it has been a free museum since 2003.

The 1912 building was constructed under the direction of Tatsuno Kingo, the same architect who designed Tokyo Station, for the Otaru branch of the Bank of Japan. In 2003 the bank reopened it as a free museum, with the original safes and banking equipment of the period still in place.

Built in 1912 to a design directed by Tatsuno Kingo, who was also responsible for Tokyo Station, and detailed by his pupils Nagano Uhei and Okada Shin'ichirō, the building housed the Otaru branch of the Bank of Japan in the decades when the city was the financial centre of Hokkaido. Designated a Tangible Cultural Property of the City of Otaru on 17 September 2002, since 2003 it has been a free-admission museum run by the Bank of Japan itself.

ℹ️ Admission is free. Check the official website for opening hours and closing days before your visit.

🚉 Otaru · 9 min walk

Sources: city.otaru.lg.jp

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