SPOT
Former Shimo Yoichi Unjoya
Overview
This is the only existing Unjoya in Hokkaido. It is a building established as a base for the management of Ezochi by the Wajin, serving as a facility for trade with and the fostering of the Ainu people. It is a nationally designated cultural property.
Unjoya were buildings used as business bases by merchants who contracted with the Matsumae clan to trade with the Ainu people during the Edo period, and they were built in various locations in Ezochi. The Former Shimo Yoichi Unjoya is the only surviving Unjoya, built in the 6th year of the Kaei era (1853) by Takeya Rinchozaemon, a contractor of the Yoichi basho (trading post). Its long, gabled, stone-weighted roof, lattice windows, and paper shoji doors are of the same design lineage as the fishermen's houses of the Hokuriku region.
The interior space is large, and the pillars and beams seen from the wooden-floored room are thick, with many of the original materials still in use. It has a frontage of 40 meters, a depth of 16 meters, a building area of 534 square meters, and used 213 cubic meters of timber. In the zashiki rooms arranged on both sides of the hallway, mannequins depicting managers dispatched by the basho contractor, Matsumae clan samurai, and others are on display.
Business Hours
April 11 (Sat) - December 13 (Sun), 2026, 9:00 - 16:30
*From May to November, volunteer guides are available to explain the facility's overview. Advance reservation required.
regular closing day
Every Monday (open if Monday is a public holiday), and the day following a public holiday.
Fee
Adults: 300 JPY / Elementary, Junior High, and High School Students: 100 JPY
*On the second Saturday and second Sunday from April to December, admission is free for residents of Yoichi Town as part of the 'Project to Have Zero Townspeople Who Have Never Visited'.
Location
10 Irifune-cho, Yoichi-cho (余市町入舟町10 旧下ヨイチ運上家)
Access
A 10-minute walk from the 'Yoichi-cho Yakuba-mae' bus stop.
parking lot
Available
スポット運営者
旧下ヨイチ運上家管理事務所
