Japan-U.S. Friendship Memorial Museum

The Japan-U.S. Friendship Memorial Museum presents artifacts, models, and photographs documenting the first contact between American and Japanese maritime vessels in 1791.

The museum marks the location where American merchant ships Lady Washington and Grace landed at Oshima Island, 62 years before Commodore Perry arrived in Japan.

Through exhibitions of historical documents and ship models, the museum explains the initial exchanges between American sailors and Japanese residents of Kushimoto.

Located at 1033 Kashino, the museum operates daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with adult admission at 250 yen and student tickets at 120 yen.

The facility contains detailed dioramas reconstructing the exact moment when the first American trading vessels approached Japanese waters near Kishu Island.

Location: Kushimoto

Inception: 1975

Website: https://town.kushimoto.wakayama.jp/kanko/oshima/nitibei.html

GPS coordinates: 33.46181,135.85228

Latest update: March 8, 2025 06:59