Bon Voyage

As we were wrapping up our time in Chinatown, I wasn't ready to head home.  So, I suggested we find a park to explore.  My husband suggested we walk over to the waterfront, which was only a few blocks away.  As we walked toward the water, I saw a huge ship anchored next to the dock.  Upon closer inspection, the ship turned out to be the Hikawa Maru, a cargo-passenger liner built in 1930.  The ship mainly travelled between Japan and Seattle, with the exception during World War II when it was a navy hospital ship.

We immediately noticed there were people aboard and decided we would join them.  Entrance was a bargain at only ¥300 per adult ($2.79).  I really didn't expect to get much out of the self-guided tour, as most English descriptions in museums are not consistent and sometimes don't make any sense.  When we entered the lobby, there was a video playing about the history of the ship.  Since it had English subtitles, we sat and watched the whole video.  It was really interesting!  I found it fascinating to learn that since they built the ship after the Titanic, they modified the design of the ship to avoid a similar fate. 

As we wandered the ship along the specified route, we found rooms set up and decorated as it was in it's hay day.  There were signs along the way with facts about the ship, voyages, passengers, design, and more.  My husband would translate many of the signs for me.  That was until I pointed out that the signs were also in English.  He is so used to translating things like that for me, it didn't even register that he didn't need to!  We still talked about almost every sign, because the facts shared were so interesting.  For example, in the first-class lounge, the staff rolled up the carpet each night and removed the furniture to reveal a dance floor! 

During the war, the ship brought injured Japanese soldiers back to Japan from various ports throughout the Pacific.  The ship was hit 3 times with underwater mines.  It never sunk, in part due to the design modifications attributed to the Titanic.

The engine room was over 4 "floors."

The always fascinating nautical flags,

used to communicate with other ships.

The small Shinto shrine in the wheelhouse.

During it's 30 years of service, Hikawa Maru made 254 voyages across the Pacific, mainly to Seattle.  In one of the exhibition rooms, there were stories and photos of trips to Seattle.  One photo in particular showed Seattle as the ship approached port.  We squealed with delight when we saw the Smith Tower in the photo.

I was so impressed with this ship.  It was a fun extra activity that we weren't planning on doing and we learned so much while on board.  I walked away feeling like I had discovered a little (or huge) gem.