Bluff No.111

Western-style mansions were built during the Meiji era (1868 – 1912) and the early Showa era (1926-1989) in the Yokohama Yamate area, which was a foreign settlement at the time of the opening of the Yokohama Port. One of the mansions, Yamate 111 Ban-Kan, opened to the public after restoration and renovation. It is a Spanish-style mansion designed originally in 1926 as a residence for an American businessman, Mr. Ruffin. After obtaining the land and with the building being donated in 1996, the City of Yokohama started construction to conserve and renovate the property, and it has been open to the public since 1999. This beautiful mansion with red roofing tiles and white exterior walls is a two-storied wooden building with a hipped roof and a concrete basement. It has a characteristic corridor with an open ceiling, and a large front yard with a lawn and a triple-arch gate stretches. Antique furniture is placed inside the building so that visitors can have an experience of a western-style mansion from the early Showa era. Visitors can also gaze upon the garden and harbor from its dining room. Hand-made cakes and aromatic rose tea are offered to the visitors at Cafe the Rose located on the first floor. Yamate 111 Ban-Kan is located within the Harbor View Park and is a seven-minute walk from the Minato Mirai Line Motomachi-Chinatown Station.