1 / 6Red Brick ParkPhoto: Asturio Cantabrio / CC BY-SA 4.0
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Checked against official sources · updated · Takumi Yamada
Twelve red-brick navy warehouses built 1901–1921, eight of them Important Cultural Properties — the arsenal that built this town, now cafes, museums and film sets. The identity of Maizuru in one block.
- Our number 2 for Maizuru, out of ten. It is the first thing we would spend the hours on.
- Short enough to be certain of: 1 hr door to door, so even a tender day works.
- Grounds free; Red Brick Museum ¥400 (a ¥600 joint ticket also covers the Repatriation Memorial Museum) to visit — students ¥150 (¥200 on the joint ticket). the harbour cruise is ¥1,800 for adults. the joint ticket's second museum is closed on wednesdays..
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Perfect" — add the 30-minute harbour cruise or the repatriation memorial museum on the joint ticket.
- Park 9:00–17:00; Red Brick Museum 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), closed 29 Dec–1 Jan — the municipal memorial hall (no.2 building) is also open 9:00–17:00 and free. from 7 jan to 12 mar 2027 it does not run on tuesdays or wednesdays unless a holiday, and is suspended 25–29 jan 2027..
Why Red Brick Park is famous
Twelve brick warehouses built between 1901 and 1921 for the Imperial Navy survive here, among the oldest brick structures in Japan; eight of them were made Important Cultural Properties in 2008. They were built with imported British techniques, which is why they look the way they do.
Maizuru was a naval base, and the red-brick warehouses are what is left of it: built between 1901 and 1921 to store supplies for the naval district, with eight of the twelve surviving buildings designated Important Cultural Properties. The park around them opened in 2012 and the district joined the Japan Heritage list in 2016 with Yokosuka, Kure and Sasebo.
The visit is easy and compact. Walk the brick road between the warehouses, go into the Red Brick Museum (one of the oldest steel-and-brick buildings in Maizuru, built in 1903 as a torpedo store) for the history of brick and a replica of the kiln, drop into the free Municipal Memorial Hall, and have a coffee in the cafe in No.5. The pier for the harbour cruise is here too.
The catch is that it is a pleasant hour rather than a headline sight, and that it sits a taxi ride from the Dai-2 pier. Its great merit is that it pairs with the Repatriation Memorial Museum (a joint ticket exists) and the harbour cruise. Skip the cruise on the closed days listed above.
Things worth knowing
- The harbour cruise pier is inside the park and tickets are sold from 9:00 at the Red Brick Museum; buy at least 20 minutes before departure.
- The cruise has three sailings on weekdays (11:00, 13:00, 14:00) and six on weekends and holidays (hourly 10:00–15:00).
- Buy the ¥600 joint ticket if you will also visit the Repatriation Memorial Museum, but remember that museum is closed on Wednesdays.
- Rental bicycles are ¥500 a day (electric sports bikes ¥2,000) from the No.2 building, but the park says it may decline rentals to elderly riders for safety.
Red Brick Park and your ship
Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.
Where the 1 hr goes
Counted from the moment you step off the gangway, about 30 minutes after the ship arrives. The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside.
about 15 minutes each way is the measured figure for free grounds · ¥400 museum, not the optimistic one. If your ship is late, cut the 35 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Questions people send us
Is there an entry fee for Red Brick Park?
The grounds are free. The Red Brick Museum costs ¥400, and a ¥600 joint ticket also covers the Repatriation Memorial Museum.
How do I get to Red Brick Park from the cruise pier?
By taxi, about 15 minutes from the Dai-2 pier, or on a ship shuttle where one is run. From the International Wharf (used by Spectrum of the Seas) nothing is within walking distance: take the ship's shuttle if one runs, or a taxi from the wharf's taxi pool (about 15 minutes, about ¥4,600).
Can I take a harbour cruise of the navy ships?
Yes, a 30-minute cruise leaves from the park (¥1,800). It has three sailings on weekdays and six on weekends and holidays until 27 December 2026; from 7 January to 12 March 2027 it runs three times a day except on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (unless a holiday), and not 25–29 January.
Routes that already include it
Each one is a finished day timed from the official timetables, with this stop in it. Read the route rather than assembling it yourself.
What to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
1 hr 15 min for bothKitasuiei quayside send-off
Maizuru sees ships off properly — the city’s cruise supporters gather at the berth with taiko and music from about 10 minutes before departure.
See the detail
1 hr 45 min for bothToretore seafood market
The Sea of Japan’s catch under one roof — giant tori-gai cockles in early summer, rock oysters after, grilled on the spot..
See the detail
2 hr 15 min for bothTanabe Castle site
The gate and gardens of the Hosokawa clan’s castle — a composed 30 minutes beside the station while you wait for the Amanohashidate train..
See the detail