A Brick Church on the Slope Above Hakodate Harbour
The Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection (函館ハリストス正教会復活聖堂, also written Hakodate Harisutosu Seikyōkai Fukkatsu Seidō) is a brick Orthodox church in Motomachi, Hakodate, Hokkaido, completed in Taishō 5 (1916) and designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan on 2 June 1983. Locals call it Gangan-dera, an affectionate nickname taken from the clang of its bells.
The site has held a church since 1860. Iosif Goshkevich, the first Russian consul to Japan, secured the ground in 1859, and a chapel attached to the consulate went up the following year. In 1861 a young priest named Nikolai arrived and used that chapel as his base, beginning the first Orthodox mission in Japan. The 1907 Hakodate fire took the building. What stands today is the second church, finished nine years later.
It is not a large building. The registered floor area is 150.9 square metres, and the structure is single-storey brick with an octagonal tower rising over the entrance and a copper-sheet roof. Walk up from the harbour and the proportions read as compact rather than imposing, which is part of why the roofline works: six cupolas and a bell tower crowd into a small footprint, and the silhouette changes with every few steps you take along the slope.
Why the Building Was Designated
The Agency for Cultural Affairs cites three things in its assessment. The church occupies the ground where Orthodoxy in Japan began. It is one of very few substantial brick buildings in the country to follow the standard plan of an Orthodox church rather than adapting a Western template loosely. And its exterior, built on Russian and Byzantine models, carries a variety of form that the Agency rates highly as design.
The designer was Ikuzo Kawamura (河村伊蔵), a deacon of the Orthodox Church who worked on church buildings in several parts of Japan. Having a practising deacon rather than a secular architect draw the plans matters here: liturgical requirements shaped the interior arrangement directly, and the Agency treats the building as a representative example of Orthodox church architecture in Japan for that reason.
Two additional elements fall inside the designation as attached items (tsuketari). One is the iconostasis, the screen of icons that separates the sanctuary from the nave, counted as a single unit. The other is the main gate, counted as one structure. Visitors often photograph the gate without realising it carries the same legal protection as the church behind it.
What to Look For on a Visit
Start with the roof. Six cupolas sit on the upper structure, each topped with a Russian cross, which differs from the crosses most Western visitors expect: two horizontal bars plus one slanted bar. Above the entrance the octagonal bell tower holds the bells. The set currently hanging is the fifth generation, and in 1996 the Environment Agency listed their sound among the 100 Soundscapes of Japan.
The bells are not rung as a time signal. They mark the beginning and end of prayer, which in practice means Saturday evening around five o'clock for the vigil and Sunday morning for the Divine Liturgy. Each ringing runs three to five minutes and carries across the lower slopes of Mount Hakodate.
The colour contrast is the other thing people come for. Brick walls finished in white plaster sit under a roof of verdigris copper. Both surfaces were renewed in the restoration campaign that ran from early 2021 to the end of 2022, when the plaster was repaired across the whole exterior and the roof was re-sheeted in copper. The green is brighter now than it was before the work and will settle over time. An earlier round of repairs took place between 1986 and 1989.
Interior viewing resumed in spring 2023. The nave is open on weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00, though in November, December and March the closing time moves to 16:00. Saturday hours are 10:00 to 16:00, and Sunday viewing runs from 13:00 to 16:00. A donation of 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for junior high school students supports maintenance of the building; primary school children and younger enter free. Anyone may attend the services themselves, whatever their faith, provided they come and go quietly.
Two practical points catch visitors out. General viewing pauses over the deep winter, and photography inside the church is not permitted without permission from the parish, which also applies to filming anywhere on the grounds. Photographing the exterior from the public street is the usual approach.
Getting there takes about ten minutes on foot from the Jūjigai tram stop, uphill most of the way. There is no parking at the church. Once you are up on the slope, the Catholic Motomachi Church and the Hakodate St John's Church are both within a short walk, and the steep lane known as Chacha-nobori gives the view back down over the roofline that appears on most postcards of the city.
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Q&A
- Can visitors go inside the Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection, and what does it cost?
- Yes. Viewing hours are 10:00 to 17:00 Monday through Friday, shortening to 16:00 during November, December and March; 10:00 to 16:00 on Saturday; and 13:00 to 16:00 on Sunday. A maintenance donation of 200 yen is asked of adults and 100 yen of junior high school students, with primary school age and younger admitted free.
- Is the Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection closed at any time of year?
- General viewing stops over the deep winter. The parish website gives the pause as 25 December through the end of February, and some tourism listings show a later reopening date, so confirming directly with the church before a winter trip is sensible. Viewing may also be suspended without notice for parish events or funerals.
- Can I take photographs at the Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection?
- Photographing the interior is not permitted without the parish's consent, and the same restriction covers filming and press work anywhere on the grounds. Media requests go to the church by email with a written outline of the project. Photographing the exterior from the surrounding streets is the normal practice for visitors.
- How do I reach the Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection?
- Take the Hakodate city tram to the Jūjigai stop and walk about ten minutes uphill into the Motomachi district. The church has no visitor parking, so drivers use paid lots in the area and continue on foot.
- May non-Orthodox visitors attend a service at the Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection?
- Yes. The vigil begins Saturday at 17:00 and the Divine Liturgy Sunday at 10:00, and anyone may be present at either. Enter and leave quietly, since the building is in use for prayer rather than open as a museum during those hours.
- What else is covered by the designation of the Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection?
- Alongside the church building itself, the iconostasis inside and the main gate on the street are listed as attached items within the same Important Cultural Property designation, counted as one screen and one structure respectively.
Basic Information
| Name | Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection (函館ハリストス正教会復活聖堂) |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-13 Motomachi, Hakodate, Hokkaido |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Modern era / Religious architecture) |
| Year Designated | 2 June 1983 (Shōwa 58) |
| Quantity | 1 building; attached items: iconostasis (1 screen), main gate (1 structure) |
| Dimensions | Brick construction, floor area 150.9 m², single storey, octagonal tower over the front, copper-sheet roof; built 1916 |
| Owner | Hakodate Orthodox Church |
| Public Access | Interior open for viewing outside the winter pause; Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00 (to 16:00 in Nov, Dec and Mar), Sat 10:00-16:00, Sun 13:00-16:00; donation 200 yen adults, 100 yen junior high school students |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/21
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hakodate Orthodox Church of the Resurrection
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/145221
- Hakodate Orthodox Church, official site: services and visiting information
- https://www.orthodox-hakodate.jp/services
- Hakobura, Hakodate City official tourism site: Hakodate Orthodox Church
- https://www.hakobura.jp/spots/524
Last verified: 2026.08.27