Day 3
December 30, 2012
Weathercock House (
Kazamidori-no-Yakata)
3-13-3 Kitano-cho, Chuoh-ku,
Kobe
08-2423223
Operating Hours: 9 am to 6 pm
Close: first Tuesday of February and June
Entrance Fee: JPY
500 450 (PhP 225)*
*Kobe Welcome Coupon - given at the Information Center in Shin-Kobe Station
Aside from Kobe Beef, one of the main tourist attractions of Shin-Kobe is its city district,
Kitano-cho. Visiting the area was a part of our itinerary, hmm, the only one that DH and I were able to do. We decided not to do the rest as planned due to the rainy weather ; (
Weathercock House was built in 1909
When we got off the station, we asked the girl at the Information
which among the numerous foreign or western style residences known as
Ijinkan is worth looking into. She suggested
Kazamidori-no-Yakata also
known as Weathercock House.
The Former Thomas Residence
Designated a National Important Cultural Asset on January 21, 1978
This residence, known as Kazamidori-no-Yakata (The Weathercock Mansion) was built in 1909 by Mr. Godfried Thomas, a German trader, as his personal residence.
The house's brick exterior makes it unique amongst the remaining Ijinkan residences in the Kitano-Yamate district. With its vivid brick color and the front porch's stone masonry, the house exudes a stately atmosphere.
The metal rooster does more than indicate the wind direction, it also ward off evil spirits, and promotes Christian doctrine with its advocacy of caution and respect of nature.
The interior design is an attractive fusion of the traditional German style and Art Nouveau of the late 19th to early 20th century.
For the rest of the
Ijinkan, she told us
that taking photos of the facade is allowed and that's what we did ; p Although there are packages
available---> visit 9 houses for JPY 3,500 (PhP1,750), we can't go
inside all the houses because it's time-consuming. Plus, I don't
want to bore you with too much architecture ; p
Curious what's inside the house? Then read after the break....
