10 places to experience Dutch history in Japan

Windmills, canals, tulips – Netherlands-inspired theme park Huis Ten Bosch meticulously recreates the scenery of the Low Countries on the outskirts of Sasebo, Nagasaki. Sprawling across some 150 hectares, the park is a small town in its own right, encompassing five hotels and several residential buildings as well as endless fields of flowers and plenty of fun rides. Getting around is an activity in itself, with canal boats, gondolas and quadricycles crisscrossing the grounds. In winter, one of the largest illumination shows in the world lits up the park in stunning fashion.

Hakone’s Pola Museum sits amidst the greenery of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and boasts a superb collection encompassing Impressionist and 20th-century as well as contemporary art, including three paintings by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh. From May 31 to November 30 2025, the museum will be hosting its first-ever special exhibition themed on the life and work of the creator of masterpieces such as Starry Night and Sunflowers, exploring the impact of Van Gogh’s artistry across different eras.

Arita in Saga prefecture has been internationally renowned as one of Japan’s premier pottery regions since the late 1600s, when Dutch traders began exporting Arita ware from their base on Dejima. The nobles of Europe soon took a liking to these colourful and decorative ceramics, which came to be known as Imari ware in Europe after the port from where they were shipped to Dejiima, and Arita-made pottery had a significant influence on the development of Dutch Delftware. The best place to shop for Arita ware at the source is Arita Será, a cluster of 22 stores that sell everything from everyday tableware to high-end art ceramics. Don’t miss 2016/, a sleek shop and café showcasing work accomplished through a collaboration between 16 local kilns and 16 international designers, including many Dutch artists. For overnight stays, try the ceramics-focused hotel at Arita Será or book a room at the nearby Keramiek Arita guesthouse, which is run by a Dutch proprietress.

Prolific Dutch author and graphic designer Dick Bruna (1927–2017) published more than 120 children’s books during his lifetime. A great many of them feature the white rabbit girl Miffy, whose cute and colourful world you can immerse yourself in at Miffy Café Tokyo. Opened in Daikanyama in 2023, the adorable space combines Bruna’s iconic imagery with the sleek aesthetic of Kashiwa Sato, one of Japan’s leading graphic designers. Besides sitting down for coffee or tea served in an exclusive souvenir mug or glass, you can shop for Miffy merch including towels, pouches and stationery.

Illustrations Dick Bruna Ⓒ copyright Mercis bv,1953-2025
www.miffy.com

The history of the Dutch trading post on Dejima began in 1609, when the Tokugawa shogunate granted the Netherlands trade rights with Japan and Dutch merchants set up a bare-bones trading house in Hirado near Nagasaki. That establishment was steadily expanded until 1641, when the entire Dutch operation was moved to the artificial island of Dejima in Nagasaki. This relocation marked the beginning of a 218-year period during which the Netherlands was the only Western country allowed to trade with Japan. Dejima became Japan’s window on the world and a place of economic as well as cultural exchange, with the Dutch bringing in knowledge that greatly shaped their host country’s subsequent modernisation.

The sea around the island was filled in after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, connecting Dejima to the mainland, but in recent years the city of Nagasaki has worked to restore the original appearance of the former trading post. A bridge completed in 2017 leads to a cluster of structures that replicate the quarters of Dutch diplomats and traders and are open to the public. Meanwhile in Hirado, a reproduction of the Dutch trading house was unveiled some 370 years after the original’s closure.

Tucked away between towering glass-and-steel office buildings in Osaka’s Yodoyabashi–Kitahama area is an eye-catching structure built in the late 18th century. At the tail end of Japan’s period of samurai rule, which ended with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the building hosted the Tekijuku – a school founded by the Dutch studies scholar and physician Ogata Koan. Counting among its alumni the educator Fukuzawa Yukichi and the military theorist Omura Masujiro, the Tekijuku is open for visits. The most famous room in the building used to hold the school’s only Dutch–Japanese dictionary and is said to have been lit around the clock to accommodate even the most committed of students.

Taking functional and beautiful Dutch designer furniture into a new era, innovative interior brand Moooi was established in 2001 by Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers and has since collaborated with many of the leading lights of the design world. The label’s bold and distinctive collection is a go-to for many luxury hotels and high-end restaurants and includes work by several Japanese designers, most notably lighting specialist Arihiro Miyake.

Did you know that the bustling business district just east of Tokyo Station bears the name of a Dutchman? Yaesu was named after the navigator Jan Joosten van Lodensteyn, whose ship De Liefde drifted ashore in Japan in 1600. Together with some of his crewmates – including William Adams aka Miura Anjin, the inspiration for John Blackthorne in Shogun – he was taken to Edo (today’s Tokyo), where he was received by soon-to-be shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Van Lodensteyn was allowed to settle in Edo – right about where Yaesu is now – and served the shogun as a diplomatic advisor while engaging in foreign trade. You’ll find a statue of Jan Joosten inside the Yaechika underground shopping complex, which also uses the seafarer’s likeness in its marketing.

After Japan opened its ports to foreign trade in the late 1800s, the port city of Kobe welcomed foreign merchants in droves. They made themselves at home in the Kitano Ijinkan district, where stately Western-style houses still line the streets. One of these is the Dutch Museum and Fragrance House, a building from the Taisho era (1912–1926) that served as the residence of the Dutch consul general before accommodating a Russian émigré. Converted into a museum in 1987, it now displays antique Dutch furniture and art by the wife of a former Dutch ambassador to Japan. Visitors can make their own original perfumes and snap photos while wearing traditional Dutch garb.

Osaka Castle has been razed, burned to the ground and rebuilt several times throughout its long history. Some 17th-century structures and stone ramparts remain on the grounds, while the castle’s current keep – a reinforced-concrete reproduction built in 1931 after a donation drive – houses a historical museum showcasing artefacts and documents reflecting and detailing the castle’s troubled past. The exhibitions are changed regularly and provide a fascinating look into a period characterised by competition between rival warlords. You’ll also want to check out the view from the top floor, visit the ‘golden teahouse’ and snap a photo of yourself in samurai armour.