Hōheikan, Western-style heritage building in Nakajima Park, Japan

Hōheikan is a Western-style wooden structure in Nakajima Park that combines American building techniques with European-influenced columns. The white exterior walls are trimmed with deep blue accents, and a distinctive balcony extends across the front elevation.

Built by the Hokkaido Development Commission, the Hōheikan was begun in 1879 on the Odori site and finished in November 1880, with its opening ceremony on 3 December. Emperor Meiji stayed there for four days in 1881. In 1921 ownership passed to Sapporo city, and in 1958 the building was dismantled and moved to Nakajima Park.

The Hōheikan has served as a wedding venue since 1958 and had hosted ceremonies for over 20,000 couples by January 2004. Its restaurant serves Japanese and French dishes made with Hokkaido ingredients, and the building can be rented for events.

Plan your visit during the standard opening days when the building is accessible to guests. The interior can be explored on foot, allowing you to view the rooms and furnishings that reflect the original hotel use of the space.

The building's focal point is a Japanese-style gegyo carving by sculptor Ryūji Yanase of Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, set in the pediment above the semicircular balcony of an otherwise Western facade. The name plaque above the balcony reproduces a calligraphy panel by Sanjō Sanetomi, then Daijō-daijin, kept in the second-floor lobby.