A Garage with a Chauffeur's Room

The Roy Smith Hall Garage (Former Otani Family Residence Garage) (ロイ・スミス館車庫(旧大谷家住宅車庫)) is a garage with a chauffeur's room above of around 1935 in Shinohara Kitamachi, Nada Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 28, 2011 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a sheet-iron roof and a building area of 26 square metres, altered in the mid-Showa period; registration number 28-0528.

A Garage Below and a Chauffeur's Room Above

The garage of Roy Smith Hall faces south in the north-east corner of the site; it is a two-storey timber building with a gabled sheet-iron roof, mortar walls and a washed-aggregate base (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The ground floor is the garage and the upper floor a chauffeur's room with a six-mat room and more, an unusual type of garage whose colours match the main house and complete the composition of the estate (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Agency notes it as an unusual garage that matches the main house, and registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.

What to Look For

Look for the chauffeur's room above the garage and the colours matched to the main house (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is owned by the Kobe University Rokkodai Supporters Association Foundation (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Nada Ward lists it as not open to the public. The main building, garage and gate pillars and stone walls are introduced together on the Roy Smith Hall page.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
Find tours, activities & transport passes near Roy Smith Hall Garage (Former Otani Family Residence Garage)
Klook.com

Q&A

QWhen was it built?
AAround 1935 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
QWhat was the upper floor for?
AA chauffeur's room.
QWhat are the walls like?
AMortar, with a washed-aggregate base.
QWhere does it stand?
AIn the north-east corner of the site.
QWhen was the Roy Smith Hall Garage (Former Otani Family Residence Garage) registered?
AOn October 28, 2011 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Basic Information

NameRoy Smith Hall Garage (Former Otani Family Residence Garage) (ロイ・スミス館車庫(旧大谷家住宅車庫))
Location4-4-13 Shinohara Kitamachi, Nada Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, and other lots
DesignationRegistered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure)
Year DesignatedRegistered 2011/10/28 (Heisei 23)
Quantity1 building
DimensionsTwo-storey timber, sheet-iron roof, 26 m²
OwnerKobe University Rokkodai Supporters Association Foundation
Public AccessNot open to the public (Nada Ward, Kobe City)

References

Roy Smith Hall Garage (Former Otani Family Residence Garage) (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009051
One Hundred Sights of Nada: Buildings (Nada Ward, Kobe City, Japanese)
https://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/c63604/kuyakusho/nadaku/shokai/miryoku/hyakusen/hyakusennokaitatemono3.html

Last verified: 2026.10.23