Mikasa Park

Mikasa Park is a symbolic urban park in Yokosuka and has been selected as one of the “100 Best Urban Parks in Japan” and “100 Best Historical Parks in Japan”.

The park faces the sea and has four plazas. Among them, the memorial ship “Mikasa” is displayed in the central plaza, and visitors can also view materials related to maritime affairs.

The theme of the park is “Water, Light, and Sound,” and the park features a “music fountain” where visitors can watch a fountain show with water dancing to music, a “wall fountain” that floats with water flowing down from the wall, the “Sazanami Staircase” with water cascading down, and an outdoor stage.

These contraptions are lit up in the evening, creating a fantastic atmosphere different from that of the daytime and delighting visitors.

The park also has a lawn, an 18-meter-high monument, and a bronze statue of Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Heihachiro Togo.

In addition, a shell of the Yamato class battleship is on display, and a monument in memory of the Imperial Japanese Navy has been erected.

There is also a fountain pond, a music fountain, and a rustling staircase, as well as the Yokosuka Industrial Festival held in early November.

There is also a drinking water tank built to resemble a Japan National Railways D51 steam locomotive. This tank was installed in 1980 in preparation for disasters. Since it was not possible to install the tank underground near the coast, the inorganic tank was designed to be inconspicuous within the park.

The tank holds 100 tons of water at any given time and can supply 3 liters of water per day for 3 days to 10,000 citizens. Some parts were acquired from actual steam locomotives.

Commemorative Ship Mikasa

The oldest existing steel battleship in the world, preserved and displayed in Mikasa Park in Yokosuka Harbor, was built in 1902 at the Vickers Shipyard in England.

The battleship has been in service since 1904, and was the historical setting for the “Battle of the Sea of Japan” during the Russo-Japanese War, in which Commander-in-Chief Heihachiro Togo commanded the ship to victory against the Russian Baltic Fleet.

This battle attracted worldwide attention as the first instance of an Asian nation winning a victory over a Western nation.

Inside the battleship, there are dioramas, memorabilia, artifacts, memoirs, medals, and many other valuable historical materials on display, making this a place that makes you think about history and war.