Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2010

Since Yukio Hatoyama was elected prime minister last August, his ancestral home in Bunkyo-ku has become a tourist magnet. Once a little-known diversion, Hatoyama Hall now attracts an average of 20,000 visitors a month. Locals have christened the three-story British-style mansion Otowa Palace, after the area in which it is located. Hatoyama’s grandfather Ichiro (1883-1959), who was prime minister from 1954 to 1956, originally built it in 1924 as his private residence, and Hatoyama lived there as a boy. The hall was renovated and opened to the public in 1996, and is currently owned by Hatoyama’s mother Yasuko, who is a daughter of the founder of Bridgestone Corp. Since Hatoyama’s election, travel agencies have been organizing bus tours to the mansion, some coming from as far afield as Osaka. A Hankyu Travel Agency official says that to most Japanese, it is like visiting “a residence from another world.” Admission is ¥500 for adults, ¥300 for high school and college students, and ¥200 for primary and junior high students.
1-7-1 Otowa, Bunkyo-ku. Tel: 03-5976-2800. Open Tue-Sun 10am-4pm, closed Mon. Nearest stn: Edogawabashi (Yurakucho line). www.hatoyamakaikan.com