Facing the railway yard

Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10 (Design Gallery), 上川倉庫十号倉庫 in Japanese, on Miyashita-dori in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido, is a single-storey brick warehouse with a timber frame, built in 1910; it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 20, 2001 (number 01-0043).

Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10 faces the yard of Asahikawa Station, which opened in 1898, and meets Warehouse No. 3 at a right angle across a passage. The Agency for Cultural Affairs presents it as the building that best records how the warehouse site took shape as the railway grew.

Stretcher bond and a double row of dentils

The walls of Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10 are laid in stretcher bond, every brick showing its long face and each course offset by half a brick, a smoother texture than the English bond of Warehouse No. 8 on Miyashita-dori.

The cornice under the eaves carries two tiers of dentils. Compare it with the cornice of No. 3 and you see how the detailing shifts from one warehouse to the next within the same block.

Registration and a second life

Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10 was registered on November 20, 2001, for its contribution to the historic landscape. Its building area is 231 m².

According to the Asahikawa Design Association, the warehouse opened as the Design Gallery in October 1997. The exhibition floor is about 221 m², and the gallery receives around 15,000 visitors a year. Bolts left in the inner walls by concrete strengthening work are now used to hang exhibits.

Visiting

The Design Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closes on Mondays and from December 30 to January 4; admission is generally free. Shows of furniture, craft, graphics and other design work change from one exhibition to the next, and the gallery may be shut between them, so check the design association's listings before you go.

Photography rules vary by exhibition; ask at the desk. The stretcher bond walls and dentilled cornice of Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10 can be seen from the passage inside the block.

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Q&A

QWhere is Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10?
AOn Miyashita-dori in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido, on the station side of the Kamikawa Warehouses, meeting Warehouse No. 3 at a right angle across a passage.
QWhen was Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10 built?
AIn 1910.
QWhat are the features of Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10?
AWalls in stretcher bond and a cornice with two tiers of dentils under the eaves.
QWhat are the opening hours and admission for the Design Gallery in Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10?
AIt is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Mondays and from December 30 to January 4. Admission is generally free.
QWhen did Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10 become a gallery?
AAccording to the Asahikawa Design Association, it opened as the Design Gallery in October 1997.

Basic Information

NameKamikawa Warehouse No. 10 (Design Gallery); 上川倉庫十号倉庫（デザインギャラリー）
Location1604-1 and 1604-2 Miyashita-dori 11-chome, Asahikawa City, Hokkaido
DesignationNational Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); registration number 01-0043
Year DesignatedRegistered 2001/11/20 (Heisei 13)
Quantity1 building
DimensionsBrick with timber frame, 1 storey, metal sheet roof; building area 231 m²
OwnerKamikawa Warehouse Co., Ltd.
Public AccessOpen as the Design Gallery, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Mondays and December 30 to January 4); generally free

References

Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10 (Design Gallery)
https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002496
Cultural Heritage Online — Kamikawa Warehouse No. 10 (Design Gallery)
https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/178716
Asahikawa Design Association — Design Gallery overview
https://ada-jp.org/design-gallery-gaiyo.html
Asahikawa Design Association — Design Gallery
https://ada-jp.org/design-gallery.html

Last verified: 2026.10.07