Places in Japan: Mikasa Historic Memorial Warship

Basic Information

• Name: Mikasa Historic Memorial Warship
• Where: Yokosuka, Japan
• Hours: 09:00AM – 05:30PM
• Cost: 600 yen (adult), 300 yen (child)
• More Information: Official website

Directions

Getting to the Battleship Mikasa Memorial is pretty easy since the city of Yokosuka is located near Tokyo.  The Keikyu (Keihin Kyuko) Line train runs to Yokosuka.  Get off at Chuo Station and walk 15 minutes to the memorial.  If you take the JR Yokosuka Line to Yokosuka Station then it is about a 25 minute walk to the memorial.  For those that drive to Yokosuka there are multiple ETC highways that access they city.  Once in Yokosuka the memorial is fairly easy to find since it is located right next to the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base.

Parking

Just outside of the memorial there is a large pay parking lot for visitors to use.

Narrative

For anyone that enjoys military history and lives or is touring the Tokyo area a visit to the Mikasa Historic Memorial Warship is a must.  The Mikasa was the Imperial Japanese Navy’s flagship during the Russo-Japanese War.  The war between Japan and Russia occurred on land and sea between 1904-1905.  The Mikasa led a strategic engagement during the Battle Tsushima that sunk the majority of Russia’s Baltic Fleet. This fleet had sailed all the way around the world from Europe to just be sunk in the waters off Japan.  This strategic naval defeat led ultimatley to Russia pursuing peace with Japan to end the war.

The commander of the Japanese fleet was Admiral Heihachiro Togo.  His training and tactics of the Japanese fleet was critical to the success of the battle.  He is remembered as one of the greatest military heroes in Japan and a large statue of his likeness can be seen in front of the memorial:

The Mikasa has been remodeled to resemble its former glory and is actually encased in concrete along the Yokosuka shoreline to protect it from the corrosive nearby saltwater:

The battleship is located adjacent to the appropriately named Mikasa Park in Yokosuka Japan:

Some other highlights from the park is this train engine which is actually an emergency water tank for the people in the surrounding Yokosuka neighborhood:

The park also has a number of fountains to see:

However, the Mikasa is clearly the main attraction of this park.  As I walked aroudn the outside of the ship I could see some of the bullet holes still remaining on its exterior from the Russo-Japanese War:

After paying the small entrance fee my kids and I proceeded to walk around the deck of the ship:

After exploring the deck we then descended inside of the ship where a large portion of it serves as a museum where much can be learned about the Russo-Japanese War:

There are also videos that can be watched that explains the naval tactics used during the war:

Here is a model of the Mikasa that was on display in the museum:

There was also many historical items on display as well such as the ship’s bell on the Mikasa that was hit by a Russian shell:

Fragments from shells that struck the Mikasa could be viewed as well:

Here is the Japanese flag that flew on the Mikasa during the war:

Here are examples of the Japanese naval uniforms used during the Russo-Japanese War:

The musuem also had an area where you could put on a virtual reality headset and experience being in the decisive Battle of Tsushima during the war:

Besides checking out the museum, we were able to walk around and tour other areas of the ship to include its side guns.  There were also displays describing the history of the Russo-Japanese War:

We were also able to walk through the officer’s mess.  This area can actually be rented out for events:

Here is an example of what an officer’s quarters aboard the ship looked like:

Here is what a restroom in the officer section of the ship looked like:

I found it interesting how in the middle of the officer area of the ship there are guns that can be manned:

Speaking of guns they are located throughout the ship and my son had fun pretending to fire them:

Conclusion

Overall for anyone living or visiting the Yokosuka area, a visit to the Mikasa is a must see location.  It is an opportunity to tour a historic Japanese naval ship as well as learn a lot about the Russo-Japanese War.  This is a war not many Americans know about, but is extremely important in Japanese history and had direct links to Imperial Japan’s decision to launch their suprise attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.  The Imperial Japanese thought that if their suprise naval attack was so successful against the Russian empire why couldn’t it work against the Americans as well?  This strategic gamble against the U.S. ultimately led to its massive failure in World War II, but Japan still takes pride in their successful naval operation against Russia that was led by the Mikasa.  I highly recommend checking it out.