Pearl Harbor Battleship Missouri Tour

When I visited Oahu last year, I went as far as the entrance, but I gave up on entering because the procedures were too complicated. Therefore, this time I decided to book my tickets in advance and prepare thoroughly for a second attempt. I used the convenient ANA tour site to arrange my tickets.

After purchasing your ticket, you will receive a confirmation email and a QR code for the ticket from the agency, VELTRA, in about a day. Be sure to print this out or save it on your smartphone. On the day of your visit, present this [Ticket with QR Code] at the Battleship Missouri entrance to have it scanned.

Since I was traveling from the Kapolei area on the day of my visit, I was able to arrive at the site smoothly without any traffic jams. The first place to head to is the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.

You cannot bring bags into the premises. Since you will have to leave everything except for valuables like your wallet in lockers at the entrance, leaving unnecessary luggage in your car will save you the trouble of checking it in.

The Battleship Missouri is anchored on the far side of an island called Ford Island, so you must take a shuttle bus to get there. The boarding area is to the right of the submarine museum. Ford Island is located within a military facility, and since complicated procedures such as prior application are required to enter by private car, I recommend using the shuttle bus.

It gets crowded in the afternoon, so it is best to visit between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. If you have the chance, I recommend taking a guided tour in Japanese when you first start your visit to the Battleship Missouri. The guide fee is included in the admission price.

The Battleship Missouri is a historically very important battleship. It was on the deck of this ship that the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, marking the end of the Pacific War.
Coincidentally, the location chosen for the ceremony was the same spot in Tokyo Bay where Commodore Perry had arrived in Japan and signed the Convention of Kanagawa. It is also said that the ceremony was held while displaying the old American flag from the time of Perry's arrival.
After that, it participated in the Korean War and the Gulf War before being decommissioned in 1992, and it has served as a museum since 1999.

Compared to the Battleship Yamato, which had a total length of about 263 meters, the Missouri was about 7 meters longer but narrower, with a design that prioritized maneuverability. The Yamato was heavily armored, with very thick armor concentrated on both the sides and the turrets, a heavy defense design aimed at being an "unsinkable ship."
Although the Missouri's side armor was thinner than the Yamato's, it adopted a comprehensive defense system that included a concentrated defense scheme, compartment structure, and evasive maneuvers utilizing its high speed.

The Missouri belonged to the same U.S. carrier task force that sank the Yamato, and it participated in operations off the coast of Bonomisaki, Kagoshima Prefecture, and in the Okinawa area.
On April 11, 1945, the Missouri was hit by a kamikaze attack from the Japanese military. The mark of that attack remains unrepaired to this day. Four days earlier, on April 7, the Yamato was sunk by attacks from the same fleet.

You can learn about the Battleship Yamato through materials at the Yamato Museum in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture. This museum is also an excellent facility for learning about the history of Japan's industrialization from the Meiji era to the post-war period.

It takes about an hour to walk through the museum at a leisurely pace. It is a great opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the time and the actual facilities.

In addition, there is an aviation museum on the island, which you can visit from the second stop of the shuttle bus if you have time.