Oita Made Crafts at Oita Bank Akarengakan

Hello everyone,

Let’s breathe a sigh of relief as the winter season beings to lift and signs of spring pop up throughout Oita and
the rest of Japan. The big spring cleaning often follows to clear out the old and make room for the new for 2022.

If you’re looking for a bit of spring shopping to welcome the new, a visit to historic Oita Bank Akarengakan and
the Oita Made boutique shop may be in order to check out its large selection of regional crafts and foodstuffs are all under one roof. While shopping may seem contradictory to spring cleaning, a purchase here is not about
cluttering up your homes. Instead, it’s about supporting a local community of craftspeople and artisans,
something that is at the core ethos of the Oita Made shop.

Each product has an accompanying place card that features the maker’s name, photograph, and where they are from, so you know exactly who you are supporting in your purchase. While the shop is constantly rotating with
fresh new items, some of their mainstay products are almost always at hand, from Ontayaki ceramics and geta
sandals from Hita city, bamboo crafts from Beppu, ceramic figurines from Kunisaki peninsula, and many more.

The building of Oita Bank Akarengakan is an attraction on its own. This bank was designed by none other than
the father of modern Japanese architecture, Tatsuno Kingo, who also worked on Tokyo Station. Completed
in 1918, the building served as one of the head national bank offices until air raids during the Second World War
left part of the brick wall and interior concrete columns standing. Later, it was renovated and remained the Oita Bank head office until 1965, before taking on its new form as a creative space and meet-up point of Oita Made.

There’s also an adjacent café next to the boutique shop and one of the stylish places where locals and visitors
like to spend an afternoon drinking coffee with friends or working on their laptops. Many of the chair seats and
tables have their own place in the building’s history, constructed using old window frames removed during its
renovation.

Oita Bank Akarengakan is only a 7-minute walk from Oita station. So if you’re looking for souvenirs or gift ideas
for friends and family, then Oita Bank Akarengakan is the perfect stop to make!

While travel remains on hold, we hope you’ll mark Oita Bank Akarengakan as one of your first shopping
destinations in Oita. As always, we look forward to the day we can welcome you to Oita!