A navy town of embroidered jackets and burgers
Yokosuka is a port city south of Yokohama, about an hour by train from central Tokyo, and home to a US Navy base. Its signature dish is the Navy Burger, made to a recipe the base gave the city, and the street by the base gate sells sukajan, satin jackets embroidered with dragons, tigers and eagles, first made as souvenirs for American servicemen after the war. Browse the jacket shops, have a burger, then walk to the waterfront to watch the ships.
A burger shop on Dobuita-dori serving the Yokosuka Navy Burger, a big, simple burger made to the recipe passed on from the US Navy base. Navy curry, made to the old Japanese navy's recipe, and cherry cheesecake are on the menu too, so you can try all three of the town's signature foods in one stop.
A military surplus shop on Dobuita-dori, its racks packed with embroidered sukajan, flight jackets, boots and other gear. The stock is a jumble of old and new, so allow time to dig through it for an unusual find.
A shopping street of about 300 meters running in front of the US Navy base, lined with sukajan shops, military surplus stores and bars. Its name, dobuita, means "ditch boards," after the planks once laid over a drain down the middle of the street. Many signs are in English, so it feels like a street corner in the United States.
The battleship Mikasa, flagship of the Japanese fleet in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 to 1905, kept as a memorial ship on the shore. Walk its deck past the guns and the bridge, then go below to rooms that show how the crew lived and fought.
A waterfront park right next to JR Yokosuka Station, looking across the water at the navy ships moored at the base. Roses bloom here in spring and autumn, and benches along the promenade make it a good place to rest at the end of a walk.