Kure: Culture, Art, and Maritime History

When you choose Kure as a destination, culture, maritime history, and distinctive streetscapes can each shape your stay in different ways. The municipality offers everything from a former submarine you can walk through to an art collection, a historic park, and streets whose character changes with the seasons.

Maritime History and Technical Perspectives

The JMSDF Kure Museum displays the interior of the submarine “Akishio,” which was in service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force until 2004. Visitors can go aboard the submarine on display and get a sense of the conditions and life during a dive. The visit also includes an opportunity to talk with active and former members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The Kure Bay Ship Tour offers a different perspective: passengers can see large ships under construction, as well as ships and submarines of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, at close range. On the open-air second-floor deck, they can listen to a guide’s commentary. This gives visitors two distinct ways to explore: the museum focuses on the interior of a submarine and the experience of a dive, while the tour focuses on ships and a guide’s explanations of them.

Kure Bay also offers maritime views. Submarines and escort ships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, as well as an old torpedo loading crane, can be seen at close range. The ships present may vary. Those interested in local history will also find a distinctive connection between landscape and naval history in the name Alley Karasukojima: “Alley” is the English word for a narrow lane. Karasukojima was an islet 30 to 40 meters across in Kureura that was filled in during the Taishō era to create a torpedo firing practice range. Alley Karasukojima is now a walking path.

Parks, Museums, and Architecture

Irifuneyama Memorial Museum, located in Irifuneyama Park, presents Kure’s history as a former naval port city. The museum is arranged around the former residence of the commander of the Kure Naval Base. In 1998, the residence was designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. The museum’s historical context and the building’s status offer different points of interest: the history of the naval port and the history of a particular residence.

Also located in Irifuneyama Park, the Kure City Museum of Art is a solid brick building. Its hipped roof is covered with Japanese roof tiles, and its facade is clad in brick-red hexagonal tiles. The collection includes 919 works by Japanese and international artists. Examples include Bourdelle’s “Hercules the Archer” and Renoir’s “Girl in a Straw Hat.” The collection and the building’s design complement each other: visitors can appreciate both individual works and the museum’s exterior architecture.

The park is also home to a haiku monument to Masaoka Shiki. Museum Street in the Irifuneyama Park area is a tree-lined promenade paved with red brick and featuring 18 sculptures. Objects can also be found along the path; green pine trees and a natural forest backdrop shape the streetscape. The area is used for walking and relaxation. The park can be experienced not only through its museums and collections, but also through its outdoor art and the design of its paths.

Streetscapes and Landscape

The streetscape along Kuramoto Street changes throughout the year: azaleas bloom in spring, and the ginkgo trees turn color in autumn. Together with the brick-patterned sidewalk, the plants shape the character of the street. This seasonal sequence contrasts with the museum’s architectural details, which remain visible year-round, and offers a different way of seeing public spaces.

In the Ryōjō area, visitors can see an unusual hillside landscape of houses known as the “Staircase Houses (Ryōjō’s 100 Steps).” This name refers to the landscape as described; it should not be taken to mean that there are actually a hundred steps to climb. Those interested in streets and residential landscapes can compare this view with the designed paths in the park: here the houses’ location on the hillside shapes the scene, while there it is the promenade, sculptures, trees, and paving.

Historic Traces in the Surrounding Area

Near the destination, a memorial monument stands at the former site of the Kure Naval Arsenal’s technical training school. Remains of an air observation post and bunkers have also been preserved nearby. These traces add a specific historic site to the museum themes and contrast with the art and park experiences within the municipality.

Discover more destinations: Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Hatsukaichi, Fuchū, Higashihiroshima, Sera, Onomichi, Miyoshi

For the overview of the wider region: Hiroshima Prefecture.