Osaka Bay Cruise Santa Maria

This guide to the Osaka Bay Cruise Santa Maria follows an ordinary sightseeing galleon into an unlikely role: after the Great Hanshin earthquake tore through Kobe and Osaka in January 1995, this replica of Columbus's flagship, built at twice the original's scale, found itself pressed into emergency service. A boat designed for short sightseeing loops of the bay, carrying up to 790 passengers, came to serve commuters left stranded when the region's roads and railways failed. Look at the painted hull and rigging as you board, built for theater rather than disaster relief.