It was 1893 when the substation of the BOJ was first opened in Otaru Hokkaido, and then it was promoted to a branch office. This branch office had played an important roll for growth of local economy before it was closed in 2002.
The construction work of the present building was started in July 1909, and completed in July 1912. The architect was Kingo Tatsuno, who also designed the main branch of the Bank of Japan and red-brick Tokyo train station. The building is in medieval style with curve of the dome and the noble exterior, boasting a remarkabley solemn appearance. It is very representative of historical buildings in Otaru.
It has been used as a financial museum since May 2003. You can look on variety of materials that are relevant to money and banking of Japan and Hokkaido there.
