Future Expansion of Yokosuka Port

Yokosuka City is planning to develop a new pier in the easily accessible Shin-ko port district, involving the reclamation of approximately 17.2 hectares. 

To strengthen logistics functions and address the strain on ferry routes, the city will construct new wharves with depths of 12m and 9m, aiming to revitalize the local economy and secure a base for transporting emergency supplies in the event of a disaster.

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https://www.city.yokosuka.kanagawa.jp/5810/documents/newpier.pdf

Yokosuka Port, an important port located on the eastern side of the Miura Peninsula at the mouth of Tokyo Bay, has a ferry base connecting the Shin-ko Port area and Kitakyushu Port. 

However, in recent years, with the increase in cargo volume, the existing mooring facilities and land have become insufficient to cope with the demand. 

Therefore, in order to support the vitality of the region and to reorganize and strengthen the port's logistics functions as a port that plays a part in the port functions of the Tokyo metropolitan area, a new pier will be constructed by reclaiming public waters.

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横須賀港新ふ頭整備 計画検討へ環境調査 | 横須賀・三浦 | タウンニュース

(February 14, 2025)

In connection with the development project for the new port area being pursued by Yokosuka City to reorganize and strengthen the logistics functions of Yokosuka Port.  The plan involves reclaiming 17.2 hectares of sea area east of the new port pier in Yokosuka Port, with a 290-meter-long, 12-meter-deep quay, and developing new mooring facilities and logistics functions.

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https://www.city.yokosuka.kanagawa.jp/5830/documents/aramashi_1.pdf

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The Yokosuka Port Shin-Ko District's "New Pier Development Plan" is a large-scale port function enhancement project that involves reclaiming land east of the current Shin-Ko Pier to create a vast development site of approximately 17 to 20 hectares.  With the launch of ferry service to Shin-Ko Pier in 2021 (Tokyo-Kyushu Ferry), the cargo handling space for existing car carriers and frozen tuna carriers has become strained.  The plan is being advanced to alleviate this congestion and accommodate new logistics and ferry routes. The latest plan outline and progress are as follows.

-- Plan and Facility Overview Reclamation and Development Area: Approximately 17.2 to 20 hectares 

-- Main Facilities: 

  = Foreign Cargo Terminal: 12m deep, 290m long quay (accommodating car carriers and large refrigerated cargo ships) 

  = Mooring facilities for domestic ships, ferries, and RORO vessels 

  = Vast logistics functions and port cargo handling business land

-- Current Progress and Development Policy (as of 2026) 

  = Transition to Phased Development: At the Yokosuka City Council meeting in March 2026, it was revealed that the construction area would be divided into three sections, and the policy would be to develop and open up facilities in stages, starting with the highest priority facilities.

  = Impact on Surrounding Area: In addition to reclamation work and dredging to secure shipping lanes, the project also includes partial alteration of the adjacent "Umikaze Park," so environmental impact assessments and utilization surveys are underway.

A Foreign Vessel Visit to Uraga -- Way Before the Blackships

A Writer’s Travel Guide: Encounters with Japan and the Kingdom of Ryukyu | Regency Explorer

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Captain Peter Gordon

Background information

Little is known of the personal background of the adventurous Scottish Captain Peter Gordon (fl. 1809 -1841). It is most likely that his father went to the sea as well. Peter became a sailor, and being second mate in the barque Joseph in 1809, was taken prisoner by the French on a voyage from Oporto to England. He escaped in 1810 and went to sea again. He began to trade from Calcutta, and travelled in South East Asia, India, Siberia and the Persian Gulf. He was described as a lively character, and as “inclined to be critical of the system” (other said he was a militant reformer).

Adventure in Japan

In July 1818, Peter entered the Uraga bay in front of the Japanese capital Edo in his brig “Brothers”, with 6 men on board and goods from the British market. His plan was to start trading, and to go ashore to see the shogun’s palace. He also hoped to be allowed to stay in Japan long enough to learn the language. To enter the harbour, he joined the “Brothers” with some junks that were returning home, and thus managed to remain undetected as a foreign vessel until the sun set. At night, the ship drifted near a rock and had to anchor. In the morning, officials had spotted the foreign ship and rowed out to inspect it.

Peter made a formal request to enter the harbour, and also asked to be allowed to return with a cargo, for the purpose of trading. While waiting for the official reply, he was visited by inspectors asking many questions. They were interested in scientific instruments, and so Peter showed them the ones he had on board. The Japanese knew the instruments’ names and uses well; and they observed that instruments were made much better in London than elsewhere. References were made to politics, such as to the return of Napoleon, and to the battle of Waterloo. “Our visitors were much interested in the account of that engagement, and an enumeration of the different states who were there combined against France”, Peter noted.

On the fourth day of his stay in the bay, Peter received a visit from two interpreters. Each of them could speak a little English, and they were able to understand English books by the aid of a Dutch and English dictionary. Nevertheless, all communication was in Dutch.

Influencing scientific progress

Science was a topic of interest. Peter had with him samples of a vaccine against the small pox (vaccinations against small pox had become widespread in South East Asia due to an initiative of Sir Stamford Raffles from Java). Peter offered the interpreters to make the method of vaccination a gift to them. With a heavy heart they had to decline, as receiving gifts was strictly forbidden However, it was the turning point that later let one of the interpreters, 31-year-old Baba Sajuro, to translate a Russian book on small pox vaccination and thus take a first step towards smallpox vaccination in Japan. The concept of immunization was started in Japan in 1849.

While staying in the bay of Uraga, Peter was treated with the greatest kindness and good will. Provisions and anything he might be in need of were offered to him. However, he was given to understand that only two nations, the Dutch and the Chinese, are permitted to trade with Japan, and only at Nagasaki. Thousands of people watch him leave, some made sketches of his ship. Once at sea, many Japanese boats followed the Brothers.

Peter observed: “In the course of that and the following day, there were not less than two thousand persons on board, all of whom were eager to barter for trifles. I had the pleasure of obtaining, amongst other things, some little books and other specimens of the language; and distributed two copies of the Chinese New Testament, together with some Chinese tracts. If inclined to set any value on ideas which can be formed concerning the hearts of men, especially of men accustomed to disguise their feelings as we are informed the Japanese are, I would definitively say that our dismissal was regretted by all.”