Yamate Seiyokan Residences ［山手西洋館］

Yamate Seiyokan Residences Yamate Seiyokan Residences

When the Yokohama Port was opened in 1859, a foreign residential area was made in Yamate where many western style houses were built. Seven of them are preserved even today, reminding us of the good old days.

The seven western residences are divided into three parts. In Minato-no-mieru Oka Park overlooking the port, you will find Yamate 111 Ban-Kan and British House Yokohama while, Yamate 234 Ban-Kan, Ehrismann Residence, and Berrick Hall stand in Motomachi Park adjacent to the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery. Bluff 18 Ban-Kan and the Home of a Diplomat stand in the Italian Garden where the Consulate General of Italy was located during the Meiji era.

All of these buildings depict the foreign cultures back in the time when Yokohama Port was opened and the Home of a Diplomat is designated as an important cultural asset. Some of them also have cafes where you can enjoy a cup of tea in an atmosphere that makes you feel as if you have traveled back in time.

Every December, an event called the World's Christmas is held where the inside of the respective residences are decorated with Christmas ornaments of different countries such as England, France, and the United States.

・Yamate 111 Ban-Kan
A building with red Spanish style roof tiles and while walls constructed in 1926.

・Berrick Hall
One of the biggest currently existing buildings among the Yamate Seiyokan Residences built in 1930 as a British merchant's house. It is constructed in a Spanish style with the eye-catching triple arch in the entrance area.

・The Home of a Diplomat
This house was originally built in Nanpeidai, Shibuya in 1910 as a residence of Sadatsuchi Uchida, a diplomat of the Meiji government which was later removed and reconstructed on this site. The wooden two-story western building that comes with a tower was made in the American Victorian style. It is designated as an important cultural asset.