Ibaraki City Museum of Christian Relics

Tucked into the wooded hills of Senteiji in northern Ibaraki City, this modest municipal museum tells one of Japan's most poignant religious stories. The surrounding district was once part of the domain of Takayama Ukon, the Christian daimyo, and many villagers converted in the late 16th century. After the shogunate banned Christianity, they became "kakure kirishitan" (hidden Christians), disguising their faith and passing it down in secret for more than 250 years. The community's survival went unrecognised until 1919, when the local Buddhist priest and historian Fujinami Daicho identified a hidden-Christian grave marker on a nearby hillside. In the years that followed, families in Senteiji and neighbouring Shimo-Otowa brought out relics they had quietly preserved for generations. Opened in 1987, the museum displays those treasures alongside reproductions of famous items now held elsewhere, including the textbook "Portrait of Francis Xavier" (original at the Kobe City Museum) and the "Fifteen Mysteries of the Virgin Mary." Also on view are an ivory Christ figurine, crosses, medals, and grave markers. Admission is free, and the remote hillside setting makes for a quiet, reflective visit far from the city crowds.