The Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History opened in March 1995, evolving from the humanities section of the comprehensive Kanagawa Prefectural Museum established in 1967. Located in Yokohama's historic Naka district along Bashamichi Street, the museum occupies the former Yokohama Specie Bank headquarters, a remarkable neo-baroque building constructed between 1899 and 1904 using steel, stone, and brick. The building survived the devastating Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 due to its solid construction, though its dome was lost to fire. Today, both the structure and its site are designated as an Important Cultural Property and a National Historic Site.
The museum serves as Kanagawa's only comprehensive repository of regional culture and history, chronicling the area from prehistoric times through modern day. Its permanent exhibitions are organized into five thematic periods: ancient Sagami inhabitants, medieval urban Kamakura, early modern highways and popular culture, Yokohama's port opening and modernization, and contemporary Kanagawa with traditional culture.
Visitors explore exhibits across multiple floors featuring stone implements, earthenware, woodblock prints of foreign residents in early Yokohama, old photographs, newspapers, and reconstructed site models. Notable displays include materials on the civil rights movement, industrial development, and the transformation of everyday life from traditional to modern forms. The museum regularly hosts special exhibitions based on curatorial research and holds occasional workshops and events. Audio guides are available in four languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean), while exhibit descriptions appear in five languages.
Collections include archaeological artifacts from paleolithic through Heian periods, ukiyo-e prints depicting Yokohama scenes, historical documents and maps illustrating the Tokaido highway's importance, materials documenting Commodore Perry's arrival and Japan's opening to foreign trade, and exhibits exploring how the Great Kanto Earthquake, wartime upheavals, and postwar reconstruction shaped local lifestyles.
Access is convenient via Bashamichi Station on the Minatomirai Line (one-minute walk), Kannai Station on the JR Keihin-Tohoku Negishi Line and Yokohama Municipal Subway, or Sakuragicho Station. By car, it's approximately five minutes from the Minato-Mirai exit of the Metropolitan Expressway Yokohane Line. Admission to the permanent exhibition costs ¥300 for adults aged 20 and over, ¥200 for visitors under 20 and students, and ¥100 for high school students and seniors aged 65 and above. Junior high school students and younger enter free. Note that the museum is closed for renovations until September 2026.
