Yesterday my friend, his five year old daughter and I went to see the
North Korean spy ship on display at the Nautical Science Museum
in Tokyo, not too far away from Tokyo Big Site. We took the
Yurikanome monorail line from JR Shinbashi. It can also be reached
by several other means, as it is within a short walk of Tokyoteleport
Station and several other subway and bus lines.

The nautical museum itself is a disappointment and not enough to
keep the interest of a five year old girl, or even of the numerous
young boys that had been brought there by their parents. Oddly
enough, this museum , which has a few models of Greek galleys
and also of the "Victory", ignores Japan's maritime history prior to
the Meiji era and takes it up from there. Most of their models and
displays lack imagination, or even quality workmanship. Although
the ship models are skillfully made--though one might find ones of
the same quality on display in any shipping line board room--this is
one of the least instructive (or interesting) museums I can recall
ever going to. All told, there is an air of slipshoddiness to this entire
museum, not least of all, the building itself. We were told that the
shape of the building is supposed to look like a ship, but it
resembles nothing more than a concrete block pinched off at both
ends with a low budget conning tower sticking up out of it.

Still, the museum was crowded. Everybody, young and old, had
come to see the North Korean spy ship. The spy ship was outside
on display beside the museum. At any time of the day, there were
no less than 150 people lined up under the outside tent waiting to
see it. Yesterday (August 14th) was a day of dark skies and
unseasonably heavy rain and cold. There were even a few people
wearing sweaters in the 26 degree temperatures and cold winds.
Everyone was soaked but waiting patiently. A half a dozen
members of the Kaijou Hoancho (Japanese Coast Guard) were on
hand to sheperd the masses of visitors through. One of them told
me that from the moment the museum opened, no less than 150
visitors were lined up to see the ship, and that he wouldn't be
surprised if over 5,000 people viewed the ship that day. He said it
was typical. even on working days, there was always a line to see
the ship, and he thought there there was never a day when less
than "several thousand" ("suu sen nin") viewed the ship, although as
far as he knew, no one was keeping count.

After about a five minute wait, we got ushered in to see the ship. It
had been emplaced stern first, up on blocks, so the bottom of the
ship was a meter above the ground. You entered on the right side of
the ship, on ground level and walked the length of the ship around
the bow, before mounting a viewing platform that allowed you to view
the deck, from which you descended, and walked back to the stern
and could look deep into the inside of the ship through the wide
open stern doors.

When you first entered, it struck you forcibly that the stern doors,
which were thrown wide open, extended across the entire stern, and
you could immediately see that this was no ordinary fishing boat. I
come from a fishing community, and it was like no fishing boat I've
ever seen. Looking under the hull, as I walked around it, I saw that
there were four large propellers. If there was anything I had learned
in the Maritime Science Museum, it was that the propellers of most
ships are small, and there were at most two of them.

Besides the ship was a rusted double barrel 41 millimeter anti-
aircraft gun that had supposedly been recovered from the ship.
Also, besides the ship was a 3 meter long Swedish made 300
Horsepower inboard engine fiberglass boat. The accompanying
explanation said that three of them had been recovered from the
internal well.

Walking on towards the bow and looking backwards, you could see
that the profile of the hull had been built for speed. From there one
mounted the viewing platform, and you could see that the
superstructure had been pretty much mashed flat. Presumably the
ship had flipped off when it sank, and come to rest hull up. Nowhere
on the hull could be seen any sign of an internal explosion that
might have sunk the ship. Also, although the hull was shot through
with bullet holes (that were marked as such by signs taped to the
hull) there was no evidence of bullet holes below the water line. The
hull showed no signs of damage below the waterline.

Descending to the stern, one could look at full length at the internal
well. This reached for over half of the ship's length, perhaps as
much as 2/3 the length. Three 3 meter boats could be easily stored
in this space, and it was also obvious that the engines had been
moved into the bow of the ship. Indeed, Japanese reports did not
mention the size of this large internal well, and although there was
much discussion about the ship's engines not being in the stern,
the general impression left by most printed accounts was that they
were in the middle of the ship. Instead, looking into the large
internal well, it was obvious that the engines were mounted in the
bow, and took up what ever space was left over from the internal
well.

No one viewing this could ever be left with the impression that this
vessel was for fishing. It's sole purpose was for launching and
retrieving its' boats.

Looking at the size of the internal well , I was left with the strong
impression that there was very little room below deck other than the
engine compartment. Given how small the cabin appeared to be,
this ship must have been very uncomfortable on any protracted
journey of more than a day or two, and seem designed for being at
sea only for short periods of time--a few days at most.

At the side of the open double doors that compromised the stern
were flowers and a message in English, Japanese and Korean
stating that they had been placed there by the "Nippon Foundation--
Ayako Sono" in memory of the North Korean crew who lost their
lives on this ship.

On leaving the ship, one went to a second display area aboard the
decommissioned ferry "Yotei Maru" which is docked beside the
Maritime Science Museum. There a complete display of weapons
(AK 47s, bazookas, portable land to air shoulder launched missiles )
clothing, food in North Korean packages, navigation equipment,
scuba diving gear and a underwater scooter, as well as photos of
Kim Il Jung and North Korean badges recovered from the ship.
There was also a large eight man rubber boat ("Achilles"--possibly
either English or American made) that had also been recovered from
the ship.

On the way out, both at the ship and at the second display area
were donation boxes, part full, asking for money to permanently
preserve the spy ship. Also, there were free color leaflets handed
out (I took two) telling the story of the North Korean spy ship and
how it came to be sunk.

All told, this was a very sobering and compelling exhibit. I believe it
gave everyone who saw it considerable food for thought, and if I had
been Japanese, I do not think I could have left there without very
mixed feelings about North Korea and its' current leadership.

You may wish to see the exhibit by yourself one of these days.