William Adams (Miura Anjin) in Ito: where Japan's first Western-style ship was built — 12 minutes on foot from Ito Station (as of 2026-09-18)
William Adams — known in Japan as Miura Anjin — built Japan's first Western-style sailing ship at the mouth of the Matsukawa River in Ito, Shizuoka. The site is now Anjin Memorial Park (near 6-16 Nagisa-cho, Ito), a 12-minute walk from JR Ito Station. It is an outdoor park with no stated admission fee or opening hours and no car park of its own (Ito City Development Foundation, official, checked 2026-09-18). Adams's grave is not in Ito: it is in Yokosuka, Kanagawa (Ito City official).
This page gathers only what actually remains in Ito and how to reach it, from the official pages of Ito City, the Ito Tourism Association, the Ito City Development Foundation and Izukyu Corporation, each with the date we checked it.
Why Ito, in the city's own words
Ito City's official page describes the city as "the place where Anjin built Japan's first Western-style sailing ship on the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu." Ito is one of four Miura Anjin partner cities (Ito City official, checked 2026-09-18):
| City | Connection, as the city states it |
|---|---|
| Usuki, Oita | Where the Liefde, the ship Adams arrived on, drifted ashore in 1600 |
| Ito, Shizuoka | Where Japan's first Western-style sailing ship was built |
| Yokosuka, Kanagawa | Where his grave is |
| Hirado, Nagasaki | Where he worked with the Dutch and English trading posts, and where he died |
This is the point English-language sources most often get wrong. Ito is the shipbuilding site, not the burial site. If the grave (Anjin-zuka) is what you want, your destination is Yokosuka.
The ships built here
According to the Ito Tourism Association's Anjin feature, two ships were built at the mouth of the Matsukawa using the beach itself as a dock:
- First ship (1604) — about 80 tons, used for surveying the seas around the Kanto region.
- Second ship (1607) — the 120-ton San Buenaventura. In 1610 she carried the shipwrecked Spanish official Don Rodrigo de Vivero and his party to Mexico.
Ito City's own page instead gives the build year as 1605 and spells the ship San Buena Ventura. The year and the spelling differ between official sources, so this page attributes each version to the source that states it (checked 2026-09-18).
Anjin Memorial Park
- Address: near 6-16 Nagisa-cho, Ito, Shizuoka 414-0023
- What it is: officially described as the site where Japan's first Western-style sailing ship was built
- Access: 12 minutes on foot from JR Ito Station
- Parking: none on site; the municipal Nagisa sightseeing car park is nearby
- It is an outdoor park; the official facility listing states no admission fee and no opening hours
- It is also used as an event venue (applications go through Ito City's tourism division)
The adjacent Matsukawa Fuji Plaza (1 Nagisa-cho) is a roughly 3,000 m² space with 16 wisteria trees, 10 minutes on foot from JR Ito Station, also with no car park of its own (Ito City Development Foundation official, checked 2026-09-18).
Other Anjin sites in the city
The Ito Tourism Association's Anjin feature also lists:
- Tokaikan — displays and publications relating to Adams
- Anjin-dori — a shopping street named after him
- Ito City Hall, first-floor lobby — a model of the San Buenaventura
Opening hours and fees differ by facility, so check each one's official page before you go (checked 2026-09-18).
Getting there from Tokyo
Izukyu's official fare table (revised 14 March 2026) gives Tokyo Station to Ito Station as 2,420 yen. Anjin Memorial Park is 12 minutes on foot from Ito Station, so all three Anjin sites — the park, Anjin-dori and the city hall lobby model — are walkable from the station (checked 2026-09-18).
What we could not verify
- The name of the sculptor of the bust and ship sculpture at Anjin Memorial Park (sources spell it differently, so we have left it out).
- Whether the Tokaikan and city hall displays are currently on view — check each facility's official page.
FAQ
- Is William Adams's grave in Ito?
- No. Ito City's official description of the Miura Anjin partner cities states that the grave is in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. Ito's connection is as the place where Japan's first Western-style sailing ship was built (checked 2026-09-18).
- How do I get to Anjin Memorial Park?
- It is a 12-minute walk from JR Ito Station, near 6-16 Nagisa-cho, Ito, Shizuoka. There is no car park on site; the municipal Nagisa sightseeing car park is nearby (Ito City Development Foundation official, checked 2026-09-18).
- What ships did William Adams build in Ito?
- The Ito Tourism Association states that a first ship of about 80 tons was built in 1604 and a 120-ton ship, the San Buenaventura, in 1607, both at the mouth of the Matsukawa River. Ito City's own page gives the year as 1605 and spells the name San Buena Ventura, so the official sources differ (checked 2026-09-18).
- Is there an admission fee at Anjin Memorial Park?
- It is an outdoor park and the official facility listing states no admission fee and no opening hours. Using it as an event venue requires an application to Ito City's tourism division (checked 2026-09-18).