or is a historical district in

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, which contains a number of foreign residences from the late Meiji and early Taishō eras of Japanese history. While the term can refer to any foreign residence of this period in Japan, it usually refers to those of Kitano given the number and high concentration of those that remain. ''Ijinkan'' districts exist in other locales (notably

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

and

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

), but due to

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

and natural disasters, these districts are not as well preserved. While some of the houses still serve as residences, many are open to tourists, making Kitano-chō one of the principal

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

s in Kobe.Fodor's
- "Kobe Sights & Activities: Kitano", retrieved February 15, 2007

References

External links

City of Kobe: photo a la Carte
- a collection of photos and stories of the Kitano Ijinkan area
Ijinkan Net
- Tourist site with maps and information on the Kitano Ijinkan area Geography of Kobe Buildings of the Meiji era Tourist attractions in Kobe {{Hyogo-geo-stub

See also

References

External links