Kitano-chō

北野町Chuo, Hyogo

Historic area

What makes this place special?

At a Glance

Kitano-chō is a residential district in Chuo Ward, Kobe, known for its preserved ijinkan, the Western-style houses of foreign residents. Thirty-three of these houses remained as of 2007, built from the late 1880s to the early 1910s. About 32 hectares are a townscape preservation zone, and 9.3 hectares are nationally designated as a preservation district for groups of traditional buildings, named Kitano-chō Yamamoto-dōri.

Foreign families began building here around 1869, and a boom in ijinkan construction followed. Surviving houses include the Weathercock House and the Uroko House, along with Italian, Chinese, English, Dutch and Danish houses. Kitano Tenman Shrine, a Jain temple and the Kansai Jewish synagogue also stand in the district.