Hashitate District 橋立船主集落（重要伝統的建造物保存地区）

Stately, historic former homes of wealthy shipowners

The Hashitate district of present-day Kaga City was the hometown of many owners of kitamaebune—merchant ships that sailed between northern Japan and Osaka from the Edo period (1603–1867) to the turn of the twentieth century. This lucrative trade enabled the ships' owners to build stately houses. Many of these wooden houses, with distinctive red-tiled roofs, still stand in the area today.

One of the houses has been converted into the Kitamaebune Ship Museum. The museum retains the atmosphere of the large, historic home and displays kitamaebune artifacts such as ship cabinets and navigation tools.