Kosuge Slip Dock

Kosuge Slip Dock is a historic shipyard facility in Nagasaki with a Western-style slipway, railway tracks, and a steam-powered machine to pull vessels ashore. The infrastructure allowed ships to be lifted from water and repaired on dry land.

The facility was built in 1869 through collaboration between Japanese entrepreneurs and Scottish merchant Thomas Blake Glover and marked Japan's first joint venture in ship repair technology. This project showed how foreign experts and local workers built new industries together.

The site shows how Japanese workers learned Western ship techniques and adapted them to their own practices. It represents a turning point when the country began to understand and apply European maritime methods.

The facility is about 20 minutes by bus or taxi from Nagasaki's city center and has limited parking near the entrance. It is advisable to check opening hours in advance and wear comfortable shoes since the visit involves walking on uneven surfaces.

The brick engine house on the grounds is one of the country's oldest masonry structures, built with locally made material under Dutch guidance. This blend of Japanese and European building techniques remains in its original form.

Location: Nagasaki

Inception: January 1869

Founders: Komatsu Kiyokado, Godai Tomoatsu, Thomas Blake Glover

Part of: Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining

GPS coordinates: 32.72237,129.86695

Latest update: December 8, 2025 19:43