¹⁄350

Hasegawa is pleased to announce a totally different type of ship to add to its line of 1/350 offerings, the Hikawa Maru.

Hikawa Maru (氷川丸?) is a Japanese ocean liner that was built for the Nippon Yusen KK line by the Yokohama Dock Company. She was launched on 30 September 1929, and made her maiden voyage from Kobe to Seattle on 13 May 1930. She is one of three sister ships. The sister ships were named after important Shinto shrines, Hikawa Shrine being located in Saitama. The other two, both lost in the war, were Heian Maru and Hie Maru.

Her service provided was famous. She was known for combining splendid food and beautiful art deco interiors. Her nickname was the Queen of the Pacific. Charlie Chaplin and Kano Jigoro (founder of Judo) are listed as the ship's more notable former passengers.

After Japan's entry to the war Hikawa Maru became a hospital ship, and as a result, she ultimately survived the Allied campaign against the Japanese merchant fleet. After the end of the war she was used by the U.S. for troop repatriation until 1947. Afterwards the Hikawa Maru was returned to Japan and carried cargo between Japan and the US.

Above is from Wikipedia

Images from Hasegawa.