Yamato Museum (Kure Maritime Museum)

Kure was Japan's primary naval base for much of the 20th century, and the Yamato Museum tells that story through the lens of the battleship Yamato, the largest warship ever built. A 1:10 scale model of the Yamato, measuring 26 meters in length, dominates the main hall and gives a real sense of the ship's extraordinary scale. Surrounding displays cover naval engineering, wartime history, and the fates of the Yamato's crew. The museum handles the subject with care rather than glorification. Across the road, a decommissioned submarine you can board is managed separately by the JMSDF museum.