The First Japanese Diplomatic Delegation to the United States (1860)

On April 24, 1860, the first ambassadors from Japan to the United States of America arrived in Panama from San Francisco. Since the transcontinental railroad in the United States had not yet been built, the group decided to cross from coast to coast via the recently completed Panama Railroad. They arrived aboard the USS Powhatan in the Bay of Panama. By 1860, Panama had no ports for large vessels, so the ship likely anchored at Taboga Island or in the Bay of Panama, with its passengers transported in small boats to the existing dock, the English Wharf.

This wharf, located in practically the same spot as today's fiscal pier, was the connection between the bay and the Panama Railroad, as its freight yards and the first passenger station were adjacent to the dock. The delegation departed for Colón, arriving at what was then Manzanillo Island at the Atlantic station, also near the city's docks. There the delegation boarded the USS Roanoke bound for Washington D.C.