Empress of Japan

The mast-head of the luxury ship the Empress of Japan is a left over reminder of the origin of Vancouver (pronounced “Vancoover”) as a gateway to the Pacific.

This luxury ship carried passengers and cargo across the Pacific Ocean to Asia, India and many other ports in the far east.

She was commissioned in 1889 by the Canadian Pacific Railway for their North Pacific route.

This ship had both a steam engine and masts and rigging.

And... she also had a reputation as being the fastest and largest luxury cruise liner on the North Pacific route. (I guess the Alaska Cruise ships have that reputation now).

Passengers arriving from Britain to Eastern Canada would travel across the country by rail to the Port of Vancouver where they would board the Empress of Japan and head to the Orient.

First class passengers had a dining room and lounge above the upper deck and enjoyed the same luxury accommodations you could find in a CP hotel during that era.

The Empress of Japan was able to cross the Pacific from Vancouver to Hong Kong in 10 days and this helped the fledgling Port of Vancouver to become established as a destination for East/West travel.

After more than a decade as a luxury liner the Empress of Japan was given a new job she was called in to serve as a merchant ship during World War I.

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