Recently I've been researching unique places to go to around Tokyo and show them to you. One place I thought might be interesting to the reader is an old Japanese fishing boat that got caught up in one of America's largest nuclear bomb tests. The ship is called the Daigo Fukuryu Maru and the nuclear weapons test was the famous Castle Bravo test on Bikini Atoll.
The Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon #5) was a wooden, tuna fishing boat that was originally built for close to shore operations. However it eventually became used for longer, deep sea voyages, one which doomed it and some of it's crew in 1954.
1954 was the year the United States decided to test a new bomb, the Castle Bravo. Castle Bravo first used a small nuclear explosion to trigger a larger explosion. Unfortunately the scientists made an error in their assumptions that an isotope of lithium 7 wouldn't be volatile, instead it did something the scientists didn't expect and made the explosion 3x greater that anticipated. This contributed to the fisherman of the Daigo Fukuryū getting hit with nuclear fallout.
While making one of their fishing runs, the Daigo Fukuryū Maru with it's 23 crewmen, entered the fallout zone of the explosion on the day of the blast. Unaware of the danger they were in before it was too late, they continued to fish instead of sheltering below to avoid the radioactive dust. They scrambled for 6 hours to haul in their fish & gear while the ash snowed all around them. They inhaled and touched the ash as it fell from the sky with one fisherman even tasting some of it. Eventually all fo the crew fell ill with radiation sickness as they made their way back home. 1 crew member would die within 6 months, but all the others were released after treatment. Several would die at an early age with various sicknesses suspected to have been caused by radiation exposure.
The Exhibit
The museum is located in the Tokyo bay and It's free to visit. Several train lines can take you to the closest station, Shin Kiba station. From the Shin Kiba train station station it's about a 6min walk.
Housed in a large steel building the ship sits protected from the elements.
It's a pretty big ship made of wood. I couldn't imagine traveling, let alone working on one of these.
The steel tanks where the fish were held.
The steel pilots cabin.
As you walk around the ship there are exhibits explaining what happened. Here is a sample of the coral & sand ash snow that the fisherman dealt with.
The Captain's log.
There is quite a bit more, but I'll leave that for people to go and see for themselves when you are able to travel to Japan again.
Stepping outside of the museum the ships engine sits on display.
After the Castle Bravo incident the engine was put in another ship which later sank. The engine was raised almost 30 years later to be displayed here.
These look like deformed robots to me.
Finishing up, the area surrounding the museum has parks, sports parks, a picnic area and marina.
Both stories of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru and Castle Bravo are fascinating themselves. If you would like to read further you can find both on wikipedia, Castle Bravo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Bravo
and Daigo Fukuryu Maru https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daigo_Fukuryū_Maru
There is more to do and see in this area besides just the Daigo Fukuryū Maru museum. You can spend half a day down here if you want or you can take the train a few stops away to Odaiba, famous for it's malls & Fuji Television station. I'll take you there next time. Until then, here's a peek of what awaits in Odaiba.
