Chinju-fu (naval base) in Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo and Maizuru:〜Cities where you can feel the dynamic modernization of Japan〜

There was urgent need for Japan in the Meiji period to strengthen its coastal defense forces to compete with West European Powers as a modern state. For this reason, four best natural harbors were selected to be naval ports as a national project. Personnel and cutting-edge technology were collected, and infrastructures such as water and railroad together with naval functions were immediately built in quiet farming and fishing villages. This is how four naval port cities, which promoted Japanese modernization, were born.
More than a hundred years have passed since then, and many facilities still exist in the four cities of former naval ports. The cities reserve dynamic aspect of that time, which is somewhat nostalgic and yet powerful, and attracts many visitors now.