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Located in Yokosuka City is a famous and historic battleship from Japan's old Imperial Navy, which is named: MIKASA (三笠). MIKASA has been preserved as a "Memorial Battleship" (KINEN-KAN 記念艦); and it also is a museum, where visitors can go aboard and walk-around to see various displays about the ship itself, as well as Japan's naval history. In the late-19th century, Japan was still modernizing, and did not yet have shipyards which could build big naval cruisers and battleships. So, Japan paid for a number of warships to be made in England, and from 1899~1902, MIKASA was built at Vickers Shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. After arriving in Japan, MIKASA immediately went into service as the Flagship of the Navy's Combined Fleet, and, in 1905, played a leading role in winning the Battle of Tsushima Strait during Russo-Japanese War. After being retired from active naval service, in 1926, MIKASA was installed at its current location in a park in Yokosuka harbor, facing Tokyo Bay. The spacious park surrounding MIKASA is located only a several-minutes' walk from the U.S. Navy Base, and has a small amphitheater, water fountains, a gift shop, and many areas to walk, sit, relax, and have a picnic, etc. There also is a small parking lot located adjacent to the park's main entrance, but, like many downtown parking areas, it gets filled-up quickly during the busy hours. We hope you will get a chance to visit Yokosuka's famous battleship MIKASA!

Written by Goodfield