Sapporo Shiryokan (Former Sapporo Court of Appeal)

This guide to the Sapporo Shiryokan, the former Sapporo Court of Appeal, in Sapporo starts with masons quarrying soft volcanic stone by hand at Ishiyama, rock that built half the city's warehouses before it went into this 1926 courthouse. It follows the Renaissance-style facade and the courtroom inside, where judges in black robes once decided the fates of Hokkaido's early settlers. You'll hear how the building avoided demolition when the high court moved out in 1973. Look up at the staircase spiraling beneath its stained glass on your way in.