Kurokabe Glass House

Located in Kurokabe Square, the Kurokabe Glass Museum is a glass art gallery. The building is housed in the Nagahama branch of the National Bank of Japan 130th Bank, built in 1900 and characterized by its wooden storehouse structure. It was affectionately known as “Kurokabe Bank” because of its black walls.

In 1989, the building was rehabilitated as the “Kurokabe Glass Art Gallery,” and now houses a variety of glass products from Japan and abroad.

From tableware, glasses, and tableware to accessories and miniature glassware to decorate your dining table, there is a vivid interior for enjoying the four seasons.

Also available are highly functional wine glasses and beer glasses. Each artist’s glassware has a different personality, making it feel like you are shopping at a museum.

On the first floor, glass accessories and household goods are sold, and on the second floor, glassware imported from all over the world is displayed.

The building itself was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 1996, and from 2020 to 2021, seismic and other life-extension work will be carried out to restore the original black exterior walls.

The Kurokabe Glass Museum is located in the center of the quaint retro townscape and is a symbol of Kurokabe Square.

Kurokabe Square also has a store with a glass-blowing workshop. Here, visitors can find handmade glassware such as vessels, vases for single flowers, and delicately carved glassware, which are created by craftsmen who melt glass in a kiln at approximately 1,350 degrees Celsius and blow it into shape. Visitors can get a close-up look at Kurokabe glass making, which lives up to its name.

At the Kurokabe Experience Classroom, visitors can try their hand at a variety of glass-making techniques, including glass blowing and stained glass.

The area around Kurokabe Glass Museum is at the intersection of Kitakuni Kaido and Otemon Dori (Mino Tanikumi Kaido) and has been known as “Fuda no Tsuji” since the Edo period.

Following the opening of the Kurokabe Glass Museum, many glass stores, workshops, galleries, and museums have sprung up in the surrounding area. The area is bustling with approximately 2 million visitors annually.