History

History of Hikawa Maru

  • 1. Launch of Service on the Japan-Seattle Line
  • 1930-1937

  • 2. Hospital Ship
  • 1937-1945

  • 3. Transportation of Repatriated Citizens amd Repatriated
    Japanese Citizens、Merchant Ship
  • 1945-1951

  • 4. Resumption of Liner Service
  • 1951-1960

  • 5. A Symbol of Yokohama
  • 1960-

  • Principal Particulars

  • Chronological Table

Year Hikawa Maru
1930 Apr: Completed. May: Set out on her maiden voyage
1931 Oct: The third-class cabins were refurbished, and the passenger capacity was increased
1932 Jun: Charlie Chaplin was onboard(Yokohama to Seattle)
1937 Oct: Prince and Princess Chichibu were onboard(Victoria to Yokohama)
1938 Apr: Jigoro Kano was onboard(Vancouver to Yokohama)
1939 Jun: Members of Takarazuka Girls Revue Company were onboard(Seattle to Yokohama)
1941 Aug: The Japan-Seattle line was suspended. Oct: Requisitioned to serve as a repatriation ship
Nov: Requisitioned by the navy and remodeled to serve as an auxiliary hospital ship
Dec: Dispatched to Roi Channel as a hospital ship
1945 Sep: Started transporting demobilized soldiers
1946 Aug: Under the control of the CMMC, transported repatriated Japanese citizens
1947 Mar: Launched a regular service connecting Osaka and Yokohama with Muroran and Hakodate in Hokkaido
1949 Sep: Resumed the non-regular overseas voyages (transporting rice)
Dec: Obtained the Lloyd's Register of Shipping certification again
1950 Apr: Back to the control of NYK
Sep: Assigned to the North Pacific for the first time since 1945
1951 Mar: Underwent major renovations and returned to serve as a cargo-passenger ship
Aug: Assigned to the Japan-New York route
1952 Aug: Assigned to the European route
1953 Jun: Refurbished with an American-style design
Jul: Returned to the Japan-Seattle line
1959 Jul: Members of the Takarazuka Revue Company were onboard(Yokohama to Vancouver)
1960 Aug: Set out on her final voyage
1961 Transferred to Hikawamaru Tour Co. Ltd., refurbished, and then moored at Yamashita Park
Jul: Princess Chichibu boarded the ship
1962 Jul: Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko, and Prince and Princess Takamatsu, boarded the ship
1967 Sep: Ownership transferred to Yokohama Marine Tower
1973 The accommodation business was suspended
1980 Apr: 50th anniversary
1996 Jul: “Ship whistles for the New Year at Yokohama Port, including Hikawa Maru” was selected as one of the 100 selections of soundscape in Japan by the Environment Agency (currently the Ministry of the Environment)
1997 Achieved a total cumulative number of 20 million visitors
2003 Nov: Named as a Tangible Cultural Property of the city of Yokohama
2007 Purchased by NYK and refurbishing was started
Nov: Designated as a Heritage of Industrial Modernization by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
2008 Apr: Reopened as NYK Hikawa Maru
2015 Nov: The cumulative number of visitors has reached 2 million since the reopening
2016 Aug: Assigned as Important Cultural Property by the government of Japan
2018 May: Designated as one of the Ship Heritage sites
2019 Jun: The cumulative number of visitors has reached 3 million since the reopening