NYK Hikawa Maru — Attraction in Yokohama

🛳️ NYK Hikawa Maru – A Timeless Voyage Across the Pacific

📍 Location: Yamashita Park, Yokohama ⭐ Recommended for: History buffs, maritime enthusiasts, peaceful explorers

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✨ Overview

NYK Hikawa Maru is not just a ship — it’s a beautifully preserved artifact of Japan’s maritime golden age. Moored along the scenic Yamashita Park waterfront, this luxury liner once sailed between Japan and the U.S., and now serves as a floating museum.

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🛠️ Highlights & Exhibits • First-Class Cabins: Step into the refined world of 1930s travel, with elegant furniture and polished woodwork. • Dining Saloon & Lounge: Experience the ambiance where dignitaries and travelers once dined in style. • Engine Room & Navigation Deck: Get a glimpse of the ship’s mechanical heart and panoramic views from the captain’s post. • War History Corner: Learn about the ship’s survival during WWII and its repurposing for repatriation missions.

All displays are accompanied by bilingual signs (Japanese and English), making it accessible and informative for international visitors.

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📸 Atmosphere & Experience

Surrounded by Yokohama Bay’s calm waters, the ship offers a tranquil and immersive walk-through. The art-deco details, vintage fittings, and historical artifacts are remarkably well-preserved, making it easy to imagine life aboard during its active years.

The top deck provides stunning views of the harbor and nearby Minato Mirai skyline — perfect for photography or quiet reflection.

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🎟️ Final Thoughts

NYK Hikawa Maru is a must-visit for anyone looking to connect with history in a tangible, elegant setting. It’s less crowded than major attractions, yet rich in cultural value — a hidden gem in Yokohama’s waterfront landscape.

⏳ Plan 45–60 minutes for a full visit. Highly recommended before or after a walk through...

Started as a luxury passenger cruise liner in 1930, it later served as a hospital and repatriating ship during WW II and eventually retired in 1961 and turned into a museum in Yokohama.

¥300 entrance fee, paid onboard at the Lobby. I like how the route is properly structured with clear signs and barricades so it's a straightforward 1-way walk thru from the Lobby (first floor) through to the top deck, and leading thru to the exit on Deck B1.

Lobby - Children's Room - Dining Hall - Reading Room - Social Hall - Exhibition Room: Voyage to Seattle - Smoking Room - First Class Cabin (am impressed by how they have connecting rooms even in the cabins and the idea of folding blankets into shapes, is this the earliest form of towel art?) - Deluxe Cabin (for royalty, wowed by the bathtub within the cabin) - Wheelhouse and Captain's Office (the control room, including the Telegraph office. Captain's Office and bedroom is one, and just below the Wheelhouse and that trumpet looking thing that's a voice tube that allows whoever is on duty upstairs to keep in touch with the Captain.) - Engine Room - Galley (kitchen) - Third Class cabin (better than I imagined) - Exhibition (journey of Hikawa Maru).

Easy walk and enjoyable visit, I appreciate that all captions/descriptions came in English, very tourist friendly, though a number of flights to maneuver towards the top deck and later to the engine room. I also like that it isn't crowded which gives me ample time to take all the videos and photos I want and read every caption at my own pace without feeling rushed.

Toilets on 3rd deck are really small and tight, if you can wait, best to go to the one at the Lobby (which you will get to only towards the end as you make the way down towards the Exit). Took me just over an hour from boarding...

⚓ NYK Hikawa Maru – Yokohama’s Hidden Floating Treasure

Tucked along the peaceful waterfront of Yamashita Park, the NYK Hikawa Maru is more than just a ship — it’s a time capsule floating on the sea.

Originally launched in 1929, this former ocean liner once carried passengers between Japan and America in luxury and style. Today, it’s been transformed into a beautifully preserved museum ship, offering visitors a rare chance to step aboard a real piece of maritime history.

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🛳 Step into Another Era

The ship is impeccably maintained, with vintage cabins, elegant dining rooms, and detailed engine rooms still intact. Walking through the decks, you can almost imagine the world-class travelers and crew who once sailed across the Pacific on her. Each room tells a story — from first-class lounges to medical rooms used during wartime.

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📸 Perfect Photo Spots

One of the best things about visiting Hikawa Maru is the unmatched photo opportunities. Whether you’re standing on the open-air upper deck overlooking Yokohama Bay, or inside the grand staircase with its polished wood and old-world charm — the ship is full of Instagram-worthy backdrops.

There are also designated photo sections with views of the harbor, the city skyline, and even Mount Fuji on a clear day. If you’re into travel photography or just want a cool profile picture, this is the place.

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🎟 Entry & Access • Tickets are affordable and available right at the entrance. • Located just a short walk from Motomachi-Chūkagai Station and directly beside...