Bank of Japan Head Office

The central bank's headquarters in the Nihonbashi district is a stately Belgian-influenced neo-baroque building completed in 1896, the work of the first Japanese architect to study in the West. Built of stone and brick around a courtyard, it was among the earliest large Western-style structures designed by a native architect and is a designated cultural property. Guided tours reveal the historic vaults, banking hall, and old counters, and a nearby currency museum run by the bank traces the history of money in Japan.