TRAPPISTINE CONVENT (OUR LADY OF ANGELS), HAKODATE – the first convent for nuns in Japan, built in 1898.

In a country where Shintoism is the natural and still predominanat spirituality of its people and less than one percent of the popoulation are Christians, churches and convents are hard to come across in Japan. During the late 1800s, Biship Berlioz of France headed the diocese of Hakodate and was active in evangelizing Hokkaido's population. He felt that his work could be helped by the establishment of monasteries on the island. So he worked tirelessly to recruit monks and nuns from
monasteries across France. His dreams came to fruition when monks established a monastery west of Hakodate in Mitsuishi in 1896. Our Lady of Angels began two years later with the arrival of nuns from France. Several other convents have since branched-off and set up in Hyogo Prefecture and Fukuoka Prefecture.

Approximately 60-75 nuns make the Trappistine Convent their home. Tall trees surround the convent and help to make it a quiet place. Although the convent is not open to tourists, visitors can learn about the convent from a small information center. The grotto and a small chapel are also accessible. It gives visitors a brief glimpse into the lives of devout Catholics who live inside the convent.