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The city of Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture developed as a “military capital” for the former Japanese army and navy until the end of World War II. After the war, part of the local land was converted into a U.S. naval base or sold to the private sector, yet the ruins of gun batteries and related buildings still exist here and there, serving as a symbol of the nation’s modernization heritage.
To use such heritage as a tourist resource, the local public and private sectors have been working together to present the city’s history and culture to the public, which has drawn in visitors.
Mikasa Park allows visitors to see the former battleship Mikasa on display. Mikasa was the flagship of the Japanese fleet during the Battle of the Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War. From the pier near the memorial ship, about a 10-minute ride on regular sea liner brings visitors to Saru-shima, an uninhabited island in Tokyo Bay and the main attraction.
On this island running about 200 meters from east to west and 450 meters from north to south, visitors can find the ruins of a stone and brick fortress, including gun emplacements, barracks, ammunition storage and tunnels, all spreading out in a deep forest of evergreen trees.
The "Saru-shima Koen Senmon Guide Kyokai" (An association of guides of Saru-shima Park), comprising 28 volunteer guides, provides a guided tour of the island.
The association was established in 2010 by former company workers and homemakers who finished a training course organized by the city.
“As a local resident, I want people to know more about the charms of Yokosuka,” said Minao Kogure, 73, who is a member of the association. “I always work to be informative and thoughtful to help tour participants understand a lot about the history and nature” of Saru-shima.
During the 90-minute tour, visitors can see inside the barracks and ammunition storages, which are normally closed to the public.
“If I hadn’t listened to the explanation [given by my guide], I might have just felt like this is nothing more than an Instagrammable island,” said Aya Furukawa, 33, a company worker from Kawasaki, after participating in a tour.
Saru-shima’s ownership was transferred to the city for free from the national government in 2007. Restrictions on the use of the island for tourism were lifted prompting the start of musical events and tours on the island planned mainly by Tryangle Inc., which operates the regular liner service. Visitors to the island last fiscal year more than tripled to about 230,000 from about 68,000 in the first year.
The company started to offer a Yokosuka Military Port Tour in 2008. The tour has been popular as it allows visitors to closely see, for example, the No. 6 dock, where Shinano, the largest aircraft carrier of the former Japanese military, was built; a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy, and an Aegis-equipped ship of the Maritime Self-Defense Force of Japan.
The company also began offering a tour of modernization heritage sites on Saru-shima in December. The company president Takahiro Suzuki, 50, said the tour can be a major attraction for Yokosuka.
In July, the Mikasa Terminal was opened at the pier in the Mikasa side. It serves as the starting and ending points for tours to Saru-shima and to an artificial island with a fortress, called No. 2 Kaiho, where tour participants are allowed to visit.
“There are other modernization heritage sites,” Suzuki said. “I believe providing boat trips to these places will create better synergy among the sites”
To help visitors to the ruins of gun batteries and the naval port better enjoy their stays, local restaurants are offering a Yokosuka navy curry based on curry of the former Japanese navy along with a navy burger cooked with a recipe provided by the local U.S. Navy base. These foods are being served at more and more dining facilities, attracting visitors to the downtown area and helping to economically benefit the entire city.
The ruins of the gun batteries on Saru-shima, along with the ruins of the Chiyogasaki gun batteries at the mouth of Uraga Bay, was designated as a national historical site in 2015. The city was designated as a Japan Heritage, along with three other cities as “four cities having former naval ports,” in 2016.
The city is planning to construct a guidance center for promoting the local tourism. It plans to use the center as the core facility of a “route museum-type” navy port museum project, which includes and links modernized heritage sites in the city to each other.
David Sato, 61, a researcher on Tokyo Bay fortresses familiar with Yokosuka’s modernization heritage, said the ruins of gun batteries and other modernization heritage sites are appealing because they are works by the grand craftsmanship of the Meiji era (1868-1912) and represent the beauty of ruins.
“I hope more people will come and learn about these sites,” he said.
https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0006831758
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With the Tatarahama shoreline spreading out in front of it, the Kannonzaki Nature Museum, located within Kannonzaki Park, offers an up-close experience of nature and ecology.
Here on the easternmost tip of the Miura Peninsula in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, the Kuroshio current delivers waters rich in sea creatures. The museum has such fish as red lionfish and threespot dascyllus swimming in aquariums. At the rocky Tatarahama shore, nutritious seawater flows from the depth of the sea, making the shore area an ideal location for various sea creatures to settle in.
Visitors are allowed to touch such marine animals as sea slugs, sea cucumbers and sea urchins at the pools in the yard of the museum. The pools are a popular family attraction on weekends.
In addition to living fish, specimens of sharks, sea turtles and other animals are displayed. Among them, the head of a giant manta caught in Sagami Bay in January is a powerful display. An octopus with 60 legs caught by a fisherman in 2014 is a unique sight. Records of successful fry farming of red sea breams at the museum in 1962 are also exhibited.
In addition to marine life, the museum places importance on the preservation and breeding of rare species. They include Tokyo bitterlings, designated as a national natural treasure and endangered due to environmental changes in woodlands and alien species such as red swamp crayfish and water lilies. Cybister limbatus, a type of diving beetle, is also the subject of efforts championed by the museum.
The museum’s exhibits further depict how living creatures were revived along rivers in the Miura Peninsula and Yokohama. The rivers became polluted during the high-growth period of the Showa era after World War II, but the water quality was improved through environmental preservation activities and the advancement of sewage treatment technologies.
The museum is also active in promoting public participation programs. With its children outreach team, consisting of 26 children from Kanagawa Prefecture and Tokyo, the museum has been carrying out preservation activities for Tokyo salamanders inhabiting the Miura Peninsula. Also, a report will be compiled on the hunting of stag beetles with local elementary school students.
“We keep in mind the importance of displays that will inspire visitors to catch them later, after seeing and touching creatures here,” said curator Shingo Sano, 33. “I hope visitors don’t hesitate to talk to the curators here so that they will increase their interest in nature and living creatures.”
Kannonzaki Nature Museum: 4-1120 Kamoi, Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture
https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0006827443
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