History and art mingle together.
Otaru prospered as the gateway to the sea and built the foundation of the Hokkaido's economy as the center of the economy. Otaru Art Base, which consists of three facilities utilizing the four buildings that are former Arata Trading Co., former Takahashi Warehouses, former Mitsui Bank Otaru Branch, and former Hokkaido Takushoku Bank Otaru Branch, built during the early 20th Century, when Otaru prospered greatly, is where you can appreciate domestic and foreign arts and crafts that have colored each era, and experience their cultures. “Nitori Museum of Art” begins with stained glass works of Louis C. Tiffany spreading in front of you, and you can appreciate a wide range of art works closely such as Japanese paintings by Taikan Yokoyama, Japanese and overseas Western paintings by Ryusei Kishida and Renoir, wood carvings by Koun Takamura and his disciples, and Art Nouveau and Art Déco glass works. At “The Former Mitsui Bank Otaru Branch”, you can see the inside of the heavy bank building built in 1927. At “Stained Glass Museum”, you can enjoy the beautiful and majestic space of light crafted by the use of stained glass of churches in England.