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カテキン (Catechin), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Former Imperial Japanese Naval Academy (Etajima)
旧海軍兵学校Hiroshima · Chugoku
This is the site of the Imperial Japanese Navy's officer training academy, moved here from Tsukiji in Tokyo in 1888 and grouped in its day with Britain's Dartmouth and the United States' Annapolis as one of the world's three great naval academies. The red-brick Akarenga building (1893) and the Grand Auditorium (1917) still stand from that period, and the site is now the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's First Service School and Officer Candidate School — training continues here today, which is why entry is by guided tour rather than open grounds. The Kyoikusankokan (Education Reference Hall, 1936) holds roughly 1,000 items from the Imperial Navy's history, including letters and personal effects from kamikaze pilots, and is described by visitors as the part of the tour that lands hardest.
- Best season
- Year-round
- Crowd level
- Moderate
- Opening hours
- Seasonal — see below
- Admission
- Free — the guided tour requires no ticket, but visiting hours are fixed tour slots only (see below) and advance contact is recommended.
Usual hours — confirm with the official site for holidays + seasonal closures.
Today
FreeClosures
- Closed weekends/holidays to visitors and subject to change for military scheduling — confirm by phone before visiting.
Note
- Guided tours only, roughly 90 minutes, three times on weekdays: 11:15, 13:30, 15:15 (reception opens 30 min before each).
How to get there
On Etajima, in the Inner Seto Inland Sea south of Hiroshima and west of Kure; reached by ferry from Hiroshima or Kure to Etajima, then by car or local bus. Visits run as a fixed guided tour rather than free entry — confirm the day's tour times with the school's General Affairs section (0823-42-1211, extensions 2015/2016) before travelling.
Tags
historymuseum
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