The grounds of Jippotei Ishinkan, including the traditional Japanese garden, the original Bandai family house, and the Sugi Private School area, are free to explore. However, to access the exhibition room with historical artifacts, documents, and interactive displays like projection mapping and augmented reality, you need to pay an admission fee of 200 yen for adults or 100 yen for junior and high school students.
Most visitors spend between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours exploring the museum. This allows enough time to walk through the exhibition room, view the historical artifacts and documents, stroll through the Japanese garden, and visit the preserved buildings on the grounds. If you're particularly interested in Meiji Restoration history or want to use the augmented reality application extensively, you may want to allocate additional time.
Photography policies vary within the museum. While photos of the exterior buildings and garden are generally permitted, photography inside the exhibition room is restricted to selected areas only. Look for signage indicating where photography is prohibited (marked with satsuei kinshi or a crossed-out camera symbol). When in doubt, ask staff members before taking photos, as is customary at Japanese historical sites.
You have two main options from JR Yamaguchi Station. You can take a 20-minute walk directly to the museum, which allows you to see other historical sites along the way as the area features a walking route marked by milestones of Meiji Restoration figures. Alternatively, you can take a local bus and get off at Saikyo-bashi bus stop, which is only about 5 minutes on foot from Jippotei Ishinkan. The walk from the bus stop is shorter and more convenient if you're carrying luggage or prefer minimal walking.
Traveler reviews
I visited this museum while in Yamaguchi City because I heard they were holding an Inoue Kaoru exhibition (special exhibition). It's quietly located just across the Ichinosaka River.
There wasn't much to see, but I thought the 200 yen admission was reasonable. It was also great to see the recreated buildings from the end of the Edo period through the Meiji period.
You can even go inside some of the buildings. While you can't go up to the second floor, the low ceilings and tatami mats give you a sense of what life was like back then from a modern perspective.
The exterior is stylish, and it doesn't take long to get around, so it might be worth a visit. Parking can be tricky to find, so be sure to check in advance.
Yamaguchi City opened the Meiji Restoration History Museum in September 2018, adding a new reinforced concrete main building to the group of historic buildings belonging to the Bandai family, a wealthy merchant family that ran a soy sauce shop in Yamaguchi City since the Edo period.
During the late Edo period, the Bandai family supported Choshu samurai, and it is said that Katsura Kogoro, Takasugi Shinsaku, Kusaka Genzui, Shufu Masanosuke, Inoue Kaoru, and Ito Hirobumi all used this building.
Chōshu samurai stayed in Jippotei, the oldest of the three remaining Bandai family historic buildings, a late Edo period structure. Next door, Sugijuku, is where Yoshida Shoin's brother, who ran the Shoka Sonjuku school, ran a private school in the early Meiji period, and its second floor was apparently used for various secret meetings between patriots. Between Jippotei and Sugijuku is a pot garden that appears to have originated from that time. Although the trees have grown overgrown, they still maintain their beauty, balancing well with the stone lanterns and water basins.
At the back of the Sugijuku is the Bandai family's main residence. This main residence was originally built as a teahouse for the Bandai family, and at the time, the garden is thought to have been a simple open-air garden. However, the building was later converted into the Bandai family's main residence. It's likely that a dry pond and snow-viewing lanterns were added at that time, and today it is a lively garden with many scenic features.
The garden is lined with stepping stones, making it ideal for strolling, but it is more of an ornamental garden. Walking along the veranda facing the garden is designed to be a great pleasure for the eyes. The garden also presents an elegant and beautiful view when viewed through the snow-viewing shoji screens of the guest room, which also doubles as a teahouse.
Across the building from this garden is a small garden dedicated to a local deity, with a beautiful stone basin there.
The Bandai family's main residence was restored when it opened as a museum, restoring its original charm as a teahouse and showcasing the ingenious charm of traditional sukiya architecture throughout. What's interesting about the structure is that the corridors resemble secret passageways, which may have been a way for the patriots of the late Edo period to escape from their pursuers. It's a fun building to imagine such things.
(August 14, 2019)
Our guide was very kind and showed us around the building where the patriots of the late Edo period shared their dreams, sharing behind-the-scenes stories only a local could tell. We are very grateful. You can enter the building without shoes, and it's free if you just want to look around. What a surprise! The museum costs 200 yen, but it has projection mapping, books by patriots of the late Edo period, and paintings by Hara Zaichu, making it a treasure trove handed down by the wealthy Bandai family of merchants. It's a little out of the tourist center, but it's a wonderful facility that's well worth a visit. Highly recommended!
Jippotei was renovated in September. The new Restoration Hall was built next door and houses a variety of exhibits.
It's worth remembering that this was one of the bases for Choshu patriots, who risked their lives to achieve their goals.
The building itself doesn't seem to have much value.
In the free area, you can tour the interior of the Bandai family home.
It's a really nice building, and I thought I'd love to live in a house like that.
The paid area costs 200 yen and includes many documents and a 6-minute video of historical materials projected onto a plain diorama of Yamaguchi.
The staff were all very kind and helpful.
