Kurokabe square

Kurokabe Square is a shopping district in the old town of Nagahama, Japan, centered on a former bank building with dark exterior walls. Craft shops, galleries, and low wooden houses line cobbled lanes around it.

The district emerged in the 1980s from a municipal renewal project that restored vacant warehouses and old merchant houses. The original street plan dates from the era when Hideyoshi expanded the site into a castle town and trading hub.

Visitors watch glass artists shape molten material behind open workshop windows, and some shops invite guests to try shaping simple pieces themselves. Many storefronts carry wooden carvings and calligraphy signs that recall Edo-period merchant quarters.

A walk through all the streets and shops takes about two hours, and most workshops open around ten in the morning. Paths are flat and paved, so moving around requires little effort.

A small cafe on the second floor of the black building offers a view over the entire pedestrian zone and sells local rice cakes topped with glass ornaments. The old station hall from 1882 stands a short walk away and displays original timber beams under the roof.