Experience the beautiful night view of the Motomachi church group in Hakodate!

At the foot of Mt. Hakodate, in the Motomachi Area is the place where foreign consulates concentrate. This place also has several historical churches. Combining the scenic slope and beautiful churches, everywhere you look it is a “landscape that would make a beautiful picture.” These churches are sacred places where many believers still come to worship, but many tourists come as well to see these famous sightseeing spots! Depending on time and day of the week, there are churches where you can admire the interior, and see the beautiful altars and stained glass.

See these beautiful churches while walking on the slope

There are three famous churches built facing the steep slope of “Daisan zaka” and the “Cha-cha Nobori” slope. Although they are all Christian churchs, the denominations are different, and the design of the building is also very different. It is fun to compare their features. The Gothic style “Catholic Motomachi church” with a large bell tower with a height of 99 feet meters; the blue-green roof and white walls of the, Russian Bisanthin “Hakodate Christian Orthodox Church;” and the large cross is impressive atop the “Hakodate John Church.”

The churches look beautiful lit up at night!

Go down ” Daisan zaka,” northwest on “Benten Suehiro dori”, and you will see there the “Christian Christianity Hakodate Church”. The gentle cream colored wall, the green window frame and the arched door all call attention to this building. All the churches are beautifully lit up from sunset to around 10 pm, and create a dramatic landscape. When you see the church group that emerges in the night sky with the light of the city of Hakodate, you will feel like you got lost in a distant land.

On the weekend the bell rings at the Christian Orthodox Church!

“Hakodate Hallast Orthodox Church” which is a symbol of Hakodate and an important cultural property of the country was the first Russian Orthodox Church in Japan. It was built in 1859, the same year as the opening of the port. It was destroyed by the great fire, and the current shrine was built in 1916. Citizens that are familiar with it call it by the nickname “Gangan Temple”, the name was derived from the bell in the church. Every Saturday evening and Sunday morning at worship time, beautiful bell sounds reverberate at the foot of Mt. Hakodate.