The Karato area, where many historical buildings remain, is a port town that prospered as an international port from the Meiji to Showa periods. Today, it is still a popular tourist area with retro Western-style buildings and a nostalgic atmosphere.
Shimonoseki Nabecho Post Office, a nationally registered tangible cultural property, is a new building that was moved in 1903 after the former Akamaseki Post and Telegraph Office merged with the telegraph office. It is the oldest post office building still in operation in Japan.
The Old British Consulate in Shimonoseki, which was built about 100 years ago and has continued to watch over the history of Shimonoseki City, is also the oldest consulate in existence and features a unique combination of Japanese and Western styles. It is also designated as an important cultural property of Japan.
You can also visit various other Western-style buildings, such as the Shimonoseki Tourist Information Center, the former telegraph and telephone department building of the Shimonoseki Telegraph Bureau of the Ministry of Posts, and Telecommunications, and the former Shimonoseki branch of the Mitsui Bank.