"Navy Traditional Restaurant Komatsu" --- A Piece of History Lost...

This bleak picture shows all that is left of Yokosuka's historic Komatsu (小松) restaurant --- also known as "Kaigun Ryotei" (Navy's Traditional Restaurant -- 海軍料亭) ---- It was founded in 1885, and was frequented by senior officers of Japan's Imperial Navy, and remained in business after World War II and through May 2016, when it burned down.

I visited Komatsu several times over the years, and it was a truly magnificent example of traditional Japanese architecture, and it also hosted a collection of old photos, naval mementos (including from U.S. & other countries), and calligraphy scrolls written by famous Japanese Admirals, such as Heihachiro TOGO and Isoroku YAMAMOTO ---- unfortunately, all of that was lost in the fire... 

Link:  The history of Yokosuka's Ryotei Komatsu

Yokosuka Port --- and a Mysterious Visitor

The Port of Yokosuka offers 100 berths serving commercial, military, fishing, and ferry traffic.  With the Nissan Oppama plant nearby, the Port of Yokosuka is an important shipping point for automobiles.  The port’s fishing fleet lands tuna and other fish species.  Ferries operating from the Port of Yokosuka take travelers and cargo to Tokyo, Isu Oshima, and Ōita on Kyūshū, Japan’s southern and third largest island.

The Yokosuka City Hall Port and Harbor Department is the port authority managing the Port of Yokosuka.  Located in the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area, the Port of Yokosuka serves the national capital region with easy highway access to the capital city.

The Port of Yokosuka harbor area covers over 5.5 thousand hectares and contains 100 berths at depths of more than 4.5 meters.  In 2004, over 28 thousand ships visited the port carrying more almost 17 million tons of cargo, including 2.1 million tons of foreign cargo and 14.8 million tons of domestic goods.  This included about 8.8 million tons of exports and 8.1 million tons of imports.

Link:  More Information On Yokosuka Port

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All kinds of ships pull into Yokosuka, naval combatants, merchants, fishing vessels .... and, sometimes, a visitor from a different time & dimension...

A Piece of Battle in Suwa Park

Suwa Park is located on top of a small hill in Hon-Cho, which faces the main gate of the naval base currently used by the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force.

Right below the park is Suwa Dai Jinja shrine, where the head priest is the 23rd generation of the same family which has faithfully managed the gods' house for a few hundred years.

There are several monuments in Suwa Park, but one, in particular, is a stark and remarkable symbol of the cost of naval warfare, and Japan Imperial Navy's 19th-to-20th century history of sea battles...

 

Mysterious Object Along The Beach Boulevard

Several interesting objects are located on the pedestrian promenade which runs along Yokosuka City's unique Kaigan Dori.

This one, in particular, is sort of mysterious.

I looks like a portal to the underworld, or perhaps a different destination, a la "Beam me up, Mr. Scott"...