Last Tuesday was the Culture Day (文化の日/Bunka no Hi) in Japan, so I decided to take this opportunity to go to Yokosuka (横須賀) along with Marc. Yokosuka is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, just south-east of Yokohama, and is known for its U.S. Navy base.

It was quite a challenge to get there actually ^^; It was freezing the whole day with some cold wind blowing directly from the North. Also, we got confused a few times by all the different train lines and even ended up taking a super express which we should not have by mistake. So we left Shibuya around 10:40am and arrived at Shioiri Station around 1pm… But it was kind of fun in the end!

[ Yokosuka's Main Harbor ]

After crossing a bridge from Shioiri Station, we arrived at Yokosuka’s Main Harbor (横須賀本港). From there we were supposed to get on a boat to make a tour of the main harbor called YOKOSUKA Gunkou Meguri (YOKOSUKA軍港めぐり) to have a closer look at the Yokosuka US Navy 7th Fleet Base as well as the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Fleet Headquarters. But unfortunately with all the misfortune to get to Yokosuka, we did not make it in time >_<;;

The first impression I got about the harbor was definitely not the best one…

[ Verny Park ]

Just along one side of the harbor is Verny Park, a park dedicated to Léonce Verny, a French naval engineer who helped Japan build the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal around the end of the Edo period.

A bronze bust of Léonce Verny right at the center of the park. The explanation board reads:

Verny, a French naval engineer, came to Japan in 1865 to take charge of the Yokosuka Arsenal construction at the request of the Tokugawa Bakufu government whose aim was to strengthen the country’s naval forces. His duties as administrator and constructor extended beyond the Bakufu government into the Meiji Reformation with the construction of the Kannonzaki Lighthouse, the Hashirimizu waterway, and the development of brick production. He also established a technical school inside the arsenal where he worked at training Japanese technicians before returning to his home country in 1876.

Just next to the bronze bust of Léonce Verny is another bronze bust of a Japanese man called Tadamasa Oguri. The explanation board reads:

Holding successive official posts as Magistrate of Finance and Magistrate of Diplomacy in the closing days of the Tokugawa Bakufu government, Oguri served as part of Japan’s first delegation to the United States, and with the support of France promoted the construction of the Yokosuka Arsenal. He also contributed greatly to Japan’s modernization through the reformation of the military system, while also establishing a French language school. After the restoration of Imperial rule, Oguri was dismissed from his post for advocating armed resistance and was eventually beheaded by the imperial army in his territory at Gonda Village, now Kurabuchi Village, Gunma Prefecture.

A memorial stone for the Japanese battleship Yamashiro with the history of its construction and maintenance as well as the history of the battles the ship took part in.

Some more memorial stones.

Off to our next location: Dobuita Street.

[ Dobuita Street ]

The name Dobuita, and even the name Yokosuka actually, might ring a bell to people who played the SEGA video game Shenmue as it is one of the places that can be visited during the game :)

Dobuita Street (ドブ板通り/Dobuita Doori) is a shopping street approximately 300m long. Dobu means “gutter”, ita means “board” and doori means “street”. So the whole thing literally means something like “street where boards are placed over a gutter”. Well, that is how it used to be before World War II. Actually, according to the Japanese Wikipedia, there used to be a gutter in the middle of the street. But as it became kind of a hindrance for people and cars, people decided to cover the gutter with metal plates. Nowadays the whole street is paved.

This explanation plate says roughly that the association of storekeepers of Center Yokosuka, which includes Dobuita Street, decided to place handprints here and there on the street in an attempt to make it look more original. Those handprints are from celebrities who have strong bonds with Yokosuka. The plate also features a map showing the location of the handprints in the street. We did not focus that much on finding the handprints and trying to identify their owners though as we were getting pretty hungry by that time ^^;

SWAT bulletproof vest (fake?)

Rocky Balboa or Sylvester Stallone? :p

Some military apparel.

They sell those kinds of American-style jackets in almost every clothes shop of the street. Could anybody tell me if there is an exact name for those jackets by the way? ~_~;

A restaurant named after Commodor Perry who managed to force Japan to open to the outside world again, after almost 300 years of seclusion, for trading purpose.

Getting close to our lunch break location…

Getting closer and closer…

Ok, there we are! Yokosuka Kaigun Kareekan (よこすか海軍カレー館)! It means “Temple of Yokosuka Navy Curry”. Speaking of which, Japanese curry rice as we know it today was first introduced to the Japanese Navy during Japan’s modernization (Meiji Period). So the Yokosuka Navy Curry can be considered as the roots of the Japanese curry rice. Just one more reason to enjoy it! ^^

Different Navy Curry places are competing among each other. But we just decided to choose the one that was the closest to our route. Next time will be an opportunity to try another place!

The inside of the restaurant kind of reminded me of the Moby Dick’s Cafe in Xenosaga Episode II. Especially since the special dish of the Moby Dick’s Cafe is supposed to be… curry :D

Yummy pictures on the menus…

… but the real thing looks even better! Just seeing the picture makes me hungry for curry again ~_~; This is what I ordered: the Yokosuka Navy Curry (Sailor version). 950 yens plus 100 yens for some extra rice. They also have the Captain version that comes with a lobster for 1600 yens!

The Original Yokosuka Navy Curry ordered by Marc. As the name suggests, it is supposed to be the original Yokosuka Navy Curry that uses an English Navy recipe from 1908 (according to the menu). It comes with a salad and a glass of milk.

The curry was really nice and my stomach was in heaven. Eating curry was also pretty useful for warming up the body considering how cold it was outside that day ^^

Next stop: Mikasa Park!

The yellow and red poster is an advertisement for Tōgō Shōchū, a kind of Shōchū native from Yokosuka and named after Admiral Heihachirō Tōgō.

[ Mikasa Park ]

Mikasa Park is a park named after the Japanese battleship Mikasa, which was Admiral Heihachirō Tōgō’s flagship during the Battle of Tsushima. Both a statue of the admiral and the Mikasa, now a memorial ship, can be seen right at the entrance of the park.

The inscription on this locomotive reads “Yokosuka City Emergency Drinking Water Tank (100m³)”. I wonder why people would use a locomotive to store emergency drinking water ^^; Maybe it is just a replica.

One can visit the Mikasa for 500 yens. Inside the ship, there are explanations about the situation in Japan and East Asia from the 19th century till the end of World War II. Rooms dedicated to the modernization of Japan, the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, biographies of notable Japanese Imperial Navy officers, reenactment of some battles using scale models, etc… There are also extra English or Japanese audio explanations.

Of course, it is also possible to take a look at the different cabins, toilets, kitchen, etc…

Military flags used by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Military flags used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Shoulder insignias of the Imperial Japanese Navy, used on their summer uniforms.

A couple of views taken from the front deck, with the two main front guns.

A view on Sarushima, a small island just next to Mikasa Park famous for BBQ, fishing and remains of military fortifications it seems. Unfortunately, by the time I was done visiting the Mikasa (and I really tried to speed up which is not really the thing to do when visiting places eh…) the last boat to the island would only have left us 30min to see everything, which was not really worth it. Especially considering the boat fee of 1200 yens…

The Z Flag with a description. Apparently, it has a strong bond with the battleship Mikasa as it seems that during the Battle of Tsushima, the Z Flag was hoisted on the Mikasa, and Admiral Heihachirō Tōgō then said to his whole fleet:

The fate of the Empire rests on this battle. To every member of the fleet, make every possible effort.

Following this call, Japan fought desperately against Russia and won.

One of the secondary guns.

A front view on the ship and its chrysanthemum crest, symbol of the Japanese Imperial Family.

Lara Croft must be close…

Views from the top of the park.

A creepy and huge spider spotted at the top of the park… >_<;;

Sunset on “Yokosuka Boulevard”! :p It is always confusing how the sun goes down really early in Japan. 7pm is about the limit during summer. And right now it is dark around 5:30pm already… But it was kind of warmer than during the day since the wind got a bit weaker.

Statue of Liberty spotted!!

Twin Water Dragons :)

On the way back, I decided to make a stop at my favorite ramen place so far: Kiyomasa (清正), located in Northern Yokohama. It is a Kyūshū-style ramen place featuring a Kumamoto VS. Hakata menu. Kyūshū-style ramen have a soup made from pork bones called tonkotsu (豚骨), and thin non-curly noodles. But the Kumamoto variant has a darker soup due to the use of fried garlic oil. I especially love it when they put half-boiled eggs ^^

In the end, it was a pretty nice day. A bit cold and windy, but the sky was clear and the curry was delicious. It is definitely a place to visit during hot days of summer as it has the wind from the ocean and parks with fountains. I will go back there for sure! And at least I will not get lost with the trains on my way there… I hope… ^^;;