Navy Curry, Battleship Mikasa, and Dobuita Street in Yokosuka

Navy Curry, Battleship Mikasa, and Dobuita Street in Yokosuka

Take the Keikyu Limited Express from Shinagawa Station. 48 minutes and ¥610 one way later you step off at Yokosuka-Chuo Station (KK59) into a town that feels less like Japan and more like a naval base that grew a city around it. This is the only place in the country where you can eat navy curry from a JMSDF ship's own recipe, walk a full-scale pre-dreadnought battleship, and then drink a beer on a street of American bar signs in the same afternoon. The trains run from roughly 05:00 until 23:30, so you have a full day window. Budget ¥1,220 for round-trip transport if you stay in Yokosuka alone, or buy the Keikyu Misakimaguro Day Trip Pass for ¥3,570 if you also plan to push south to Misaki Port for tuna.

The Mikasa: a 1900 Battleship You Can Walk Through

Boarding the Memorial Ship Mikasa

Walk 10 minutes south from Yokosuka-Chuo Station to Mikasa Park. The ship at berth is the Memorial Ship Mikasa, a pre-dreadnought battleship launched in 1900 and Admiral Togo's flagship at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. It is the only surviving example of its class in the world. Boarding costs ¥600. Opening hours shift with daylight: 09:00-17:30 April to September, 09:00-17:00 in March and October, and 09:00-16:30 November through February. Closed December 28-31. Allow 60 to 90 minutes onboard to see the restored bridge, the 12-inch guns, and the small museum below decks.

If You Have More Than Two Hours

From the same pier, Mikasa Pier, Tryangle runs two additional outings. A 45-minute harbour cruise costs ¥1,800 and sails roughly every 60 to 90 minutes between 11:00 and 15:00, with extra sailings in summer. You will see JMSDF submarines and destroyers at their berths, plus US Seventh Fleet vessels like the USS Ronald Reagan when it is in port. No landings are permitted anywhere on the base. The alternative is a 10-minute ferry to Sarushima island, a former fortification with walking trails, a swimming beach open July and August, and BBQ areas that require advance reservation. Round-trip ferry fares run ¥1,500, with departures every hour from 09:30 until the last return around 17:00 depending on season. The island has toilets but no shops beyond vending machines. Bring water.

Dobuita Street and the Curry That Defines the Town

Dobuita Street

Head 200 to 400 metres east of Yokosuka-Chuo Station to Dobuita Street. This is a high-density strip of bars, shops, and eateries covered in American-themed signage and stocked with souvenir sukajan jackets. It is the closest thing Japan has to a 1950s US main street transplanted by the Navy. The food reason to be here is navy curry.

Eating Navy Curry

Each JMSDF ship has its own recipe, and every Friday the fleet serves curry to crew. The version you eat in town costs ¥1,200 to ¥1,800 per plate. Two clusters handle the demand: the Coaska Bayside Stores complex right next to the station, and a ring of specialist shops around Dobuita Street itself. Porters, a standing institution near the station, serves a thick roux loaded with beef and vegetables. Tomoego doubles down on heat. If you want the version from a specific ship, look for the menu boards that name the vessel, often JMSDF Sawayuki or Hamagiri in their surrounding restaurants.

Who This Day Trip Works for and Who Should Skip it

This trip suits you if:

• You are a military history enthusiast who wants to board a battleship that fired its guns in a real fleet action.
• You plan meals around a single dish and want to compare multiple JMSDF ship curry recipes in one afternoon.
• You are fascinated by the cultural footprint of a foreign military base on Japanese soil.
• You are a repeat Tokyo visitor who has done Kamakura and Yokohama and wants something stranger.

Skip it if:

• You expect a port town with waterfront dining and cobblestones. Yokosuka is functional, not pretty.
• You are travelling with young children who will not enjoy a 90-minute battleship walkthrough followed by curry.
• You have only one day outside Tokyo and want a classic image of Japan. Go to Kamakura.

The single thing that goes wrong here: visitors assume they can walk onto the naval base and are disappointed. You cannot. The whole point of this trip is that you stay outside the fence and see the base from a harbour cruise and a park bench. If that limitation frustrates you, choose a different day trip altogether.