As the trip began to wind down, I found myself with some free time to go and explore the area around me. Deciding to make the most of it, I ventured out to see what I could see. This turned out to be a very full day full of exploring, riding trains, walking, photography, and more! Because of this, I’m going to be breaking this day into two posts (at least)!
My first destination on this day was the Japanese battleship Mikasa. This ship was a pre-dreadnaught battleship that was built for the Japanese Navy in the late 1890s. It turns out, she also was the only ship of her class built as well. The ship was named after Mount Mikasa and would be Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō’s flagship during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. She had a very interesting life and at one point had her magazine explode, causing the ship to sink! It took two years but the ship was repaired and once again floated. She remained in service until 1922 when she was decommissioned and turned into a museum ship at Yokosuka. She was refurbished after neglect in the 1950s and now is again being restored. The Mikasa is the last pre-dreadnaught battleship in existence globally and also the last example of a British-built battleship as well.
I arrived at the ship fairly early in the day and quickly found the vending machine that sold tickets to tour the ship. However, figuring out what ticket I needed was another trick. It also turned out that nobody around me spoke English. Thankfully, Japanese people are very kind and a guy in the adjoining store helped walk me through what I needed to do. I thanked him and after a few pictures from the outside, I found my way climbing up the gangway and onto the ship….which I discovered wasn’t floating. It was basically sitting on the ground and surrounded by fairly large rocks to make a breakwater on the seaside of the ship.
As I climbed on the main deck, I was greeted by two elderly gentlemen who were very gracious. They also seemed very excited to see me. As I looked around, I realized I was the only person that wasn’t of senior citizen age on board the ship it. They told me some things in Japanese and pointed in different directions. I was completely confused but didn’t mind because it really was amazing being on this ship! It definitely looked and felt old and that was awesome.
I started to climb around the ship and soon found myself up in what I thought was the Admiral’s cabin high above the stern of the Mikasa. I marveled to myself that safety standards in Japan are very different than in the United States. I also was very glad that my niece and nephews weren’t with me. While they are very well-behaved, I would definitely have been worried! After taking some pictures from the upper levels on the stern of the ship, I decided to make my way forward.
I descended down to the main deck and wandered around for a few minutes. It was interesting to note how the design of the ship definitely had some similarities with old sailing warships. This was particularly true with where the canons were situated on the different decks pointing toward the sides of the ship. As I made my way forward, a massive set of guns could be found on the bow as well. An old gentleman was taking pictures of it with his Canon camera. He noticed I was shooting with a Canon as well and I got a big smile and enthusiastic nod. It was a moment of connection and friendship on a day that was actually quite isolating.
My next stop was the bridge of the Mikasa. The design of this surprised me. It really was quite small compared to other warships I’ve been on that are more modern. There was also another room with a wheel and compass in the center of it. I believe this was the battle bridge. As I climbed higher, I became aware of how dramatic it would have been to be up on these decks while steaming in seas of any size. With just wind, I was very aware of how easy it would be to go over. I can only imagine what it was like for the sailors who crewed this ship back in the day, especially during a storm!
After taking way too many photos (if that is such a thing), I made my way back down to the lower decks. No surprise, I kept taking pictures. This time, I went below decks, however. Down there, I found more stories being told. There was an exhibit about the history of the ship in a central room that ran through most of the center of the ship. In some of the side rooms, there were examples of what it was like to live and work on the ship. This included crew quarters, how the guns were used, and even a room dedicated to the ship’s band! There was also a galley that looked surprisingly nice for its age.
Toward the stern of the ship, the officers’ quarters could be found. These really were quite impressive and almost had a royal feel to them. I was really impressed with how ornate some of the details were. I also found myself noticing how I probably must have been tall when this ship was still in operation. The beds, in particular, felt very small. I found myself being reminded of the lower deck of the Sailing Ship Columbia at Disneyland as I wandered through the cabins and halls. There was a fun little walk around the deck in the very back of the cabin that allowed for walking around the stern. I’m sure that was also impressive during stormy weather.
Having seen the entire ship, I found myself wandering around just absorbing and imagining the stories that happened on this ship. It really was a sobering thing to think about. Finally, I made my way back up to the upper deck at the stern and said goodbye to the two elderly gentlemen who had greeted me when I first arrived on the ship. I was very thankful to have toured the Mikasa. It was very different than most ship tours I’ve been on and I loved how real everything was. I also loved that I could basically go anywhere aboard the ship. I’m glad this ship is there and that I had the opportunity to check it out.
Walking away from the Mikasa, I took a couple more photos and one last glance before heading toward the train station and my next destination. At this point, I didn’t know exactly where I was going to go. I did know that the train was going to be how I got there, though!
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