Hakodate Museum of Northern Peoples

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

In the former Bank of Japan building of 1926, built in reinforced concrete after the 1924 fire.

The building that houses the museum was the Hakodate branch of the Bank of Japan, built in 1926 (Taishō 15) in reinforced concrete, a lesson learned from the great fire of 1924, which had razed part of the city to the ground. It remained a bank until 1988, then reopened as a museum in 1989. Inside are clothing and everyday objects of the Ainu and of the other peoples of the North (among them the Uilta).

Designed by the Bank of Japan engineer Hiramatsu Asaichi, the building has a three-storey structure (the third storey was added in the thirties of the Shōwa era). It served as a bank branch until 1988: since November 1989 it has been the city museum devoted to the peoples of the North (the Ainu, but also the Uilta and the Nivkh), with clothing, utensils and everyday objects.

ℹ️ April–October 9:00–19:00, November–March 9:00–17:00. Tickets: adults 300 yen, students 150 yen, senior residents (65+) 150 yen, free for schoolchildren and younger children from the city. Combined tickets with other city museums are available. Closed for maintenance about once a month and from 31 December to 3 January. Tel. 0138-22-4128.

🚉 Hakodate · 30 min walk

Sources: city.hakodate.hokkaido.jp

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