Kitano-cho, Kobe

Shibuya246 · 3 October 2010 · 23 photos

The red-brick Weathercock House, the best known of the old houses.

On the last day of my Shikoku trip I crossed over to Kobe and spent a rainy Sunday walking around Kitano-cho, the hillside district above Sannomiya where foreign merchants built their homes after the port opened in the 1800s.

Many of the old Western-style houses, known as ijinkan, are still standing and open to visitors, and the lanes in between are full of cafes and small shops.

A wet street lined with trees in the rain — A rainy start to the walk up the hill.

A white building with a small bell tower behind trees — Old and new buildings mix along the slopes.

A sloping street with old-style street lamps — Gas-style lamps along the street.

Two-storey wooden Western-style houses along a street — Wooden houses with shutters and verandas.

A tourist map of the Kitano ijinkan houses — The map shows how many of the old houses there are.

A cream Western-style house with a British flag — Many of the houses are themed on the countries their owners came from.

A covered entrance path leading into a garden — Through the gate to one of the houses.

A Sherlock Holmes sign beside a vending machine — Sherlock Holmes has a house here too.

A green retro-style tourist bus on a narrow street — The City Loop bus squeezing up the narrow streets.

A dark wooden house with a balcony behind a brick gate — More of the old houses up the hill.

A brown wooden house with bay windows among trees — Bay windows and painted wood.

A narrow lane with a person carrying a pink umbrella — Narrow lanes run between the houses.

An arched entrance to a small courtyard of shops — A small courtyard of shops.

A stone torii and the entrance to a small shrine — Kitano Tenmangu shrine, at the top of the hill.

Stone steps leading up between lanterns to the shrine — The steep steps up to the shrine.

A red-brick building behind a wooden fence with visitors under umbrellas — Back down past the red-brick houses.

A bronze statue of a man playing a saxophone on a plaza — A jazz player statue on the square.

A pale green wooden Western-style house among trees — The pale green Moegi House.

The red-brick Weathercock House seen from the square below — The Weathercock House from the square below.

A café in a white wooden Western-style house with green umbrellas — Even the coffee shop is in an old house.

A white Western-style house behind a garden — Another of the old houses, half hidden by trees.

A dark brick building with a tower — Dark brick and tall chimneys, heading back down the hill.

Even in the rain it was an easy place to wander for a few hours, and it is only a short walk up the hill from Shin-Kobe and Sannomiya.

I took these photos in October 2010 and only got round to posting them in 2026.

Visiting today · Hyogo, Kansai

Visiting Kitano Ijinkan (Kitano-cho), Kobe, Hyogo today

Checked October 2026 · next check January 2027

Added by Shibuya246, separate from the original post above. Facts are checked every quarter against the sources below. Check opening times and prices before you go.

What it is: A hillside district of Meiji- and Taisho-era foreign merchants' homes. The red-brick Weathercock House (Kazamidori no Yakata) and the pale-green Moegi House sit side by side, and Kitano Tenmangu shrine is at the top.
Getting there: About 15 minutes' walk uphill from JR Sannomiya Station, or about 15 minutes from Shin-Kobe Station. There is no parking at the houses, so use public transport.
Hours: Weathercock House 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:45) in 2026 reports. Closed the third Tuesday of the month, or the next day if that Tuesday is a holiday.
Admission: Weathercock House ¥500 for adults, free for high school students and younger. A combined ticket with Moegi House next door costs less than two single tickets. The street and Kitano Tenmangu are free.
Tip: The Weathercock House reopened in July 2025 after earthquake-proofing work. Go early to beat tour groups, then climb the steps to Kitano Tenmangu for a view over the port.

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Sources: Weathercock House (Kazamidori no Yakata) – Hyogo Tourism · Weathercock House – Feel Kobe (official Kobe tourism) · Kobe City press release on the Weathercock House reopening (Mar 2026) · Kazamidori no Yakata – Kiss PRESS (Apr 2026)

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