[Photo from welcome.city.sapporo.jp]

Located next to the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, the Governor’s Official Residence is a Western style residence surrounded by greenery and a great place to take a walk.

Built in 1936 as a vacation home for Mitsui Partnership Company, this residence became Hokkaido’s property in 1953. It has since been used or various meetings and other functions. On the premises is a over 1,000-years-old remains of a pit dwelling and the residence’s green garden is open to the public year round. Both the striking red and white exterior of the building and the spacious interior with high ceilings are memorable.

The residence was included in the 1998 Furusato bunka hyakusen [100 selected local cultural sites] and in 1999, it became a registered tangible cultural property. In recent years, it has also been used as a location for various television programs.