A minesweeper docked in Hakodate Harbor was flying the rising sun flag high in the sky

I had assumed that the West Wharf of Hakodate Harbor was where marine products were unloaded and cargo was loaded, so I was a bit surprised to find a Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel moored there. It is not a situation where you can see them in the distance. Just by wandering around, you can get very close to the JMSDF vessels. I had thought that since the vessels were of the JMSDF, they were all docked at bases where civilians could not approach, but that was not necessarily the case.

As I walked up behind a ship flying the rising sun flag, I saw the name of the ship written on the stern. According to the name, this vessel was a minesweeper named "Izushima." A minesweeper is a warship whose mission is to sweep mines. With the port of Hakodate as its home port, it is in charge of guarding the Tsugaru Straits and Soya Straits. As I watched, I could see people on board, standing around busily. Even on weekends, there must be some business that needs to be done on the ship. It was long past lunchtime, but my lunch had arrived.

Comment via

日本語