Yawatahama - Kawanoishi Seaplane Base

The facility was a military installation operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. It was closed down following the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II and the subsequent dissolution of the Japanese military.

The site of the former seaplane base has been completely redeveloped and repurposed. The area is now part of the modern Kawanoishi Port (川之石港) and is used for industrial and commercial maritime activities. The land where the barracks and support buildings once stood is now occupied by industrial facilities, most notably a large confectionery factory operated by Awashimado Co., Ltd. The original seaplane ramps and waterfront infrastructure have been replaced by modern docks and breakwaters. While no operational airport infrastructure remains, a stone monument commemorating the Kawanoishi Naval Air Group has been erected nearby by former members to honor its history.

The Yawatahama - Kawanoishi Seaplane Base was a significant late-war training facility for the Imperial Japanese Navy's Kawanoishi Naval Air Group (川之石海軍航空隊), established around 1943. Its primary mission was to train pilots and crews for reconnaissance seaplanes, such as the Mitsubishi F1M 'Pete' and the Aichi E13A 'Jake'. The base was strategically located in the sheltered waters of the Uwa Sea, an inlet of the Seto Inland Sea, making it ideal for seaplane operations. It was part of a broader strategy to decentralize naval air training facilities to protect them from increasingly intense Allied bombing raids during the final years of the war. The base was targeted by US air raids in 1945 and ceased all operations with the end of the war.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Yawatahama - Kawanoishi Seaplane Base. The original military purpose is obsolete, the site has been fully redeveloped for industrial and port use, and there is no identified modern civilian or military demand for a seaplane facility at this specific location.