Japanese cruiser Soya

Soya (宗谷) was a protected cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy, acquired as a prize of war during the Russo-Japanese War from the Imperial Russian Navy, where it was originally known as the RUSSIAN CRUISER Varyag.

Background
The Varyag was built by William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States for the Imperial Russian Navy. It was stationed in Korea in 1904, and involved in the opening Battle of Chemulpo Bay of the Russo-Japanese War. After suffering heavy damage from the unequal battle with nine Japanese cruisers, the Varyag was scuttled by its crew on 9 February 1904.

After the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese raised the badly damaged wreck from Chemulpo harbor, repaired it, and commissioned it into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the 2nd class cruiser Soya on 9 July 1907. Its new name was taken from the northernmost cape of Hokkaidō, Soya Misaki.

Service life
After being placed into Japanese service as a 3rd class cruiser, the Soya was used primarily for training duties. From 14 March 1909 to 7 August 1909, it made a long distance navigational and officer cadet training cruise to Hawaii and North America. It repeated this training cruise every year until 1913.

During World War I Russia and Japan became allies and the Soya (along with several other vessels) was transferred back to Russia at Vladivostok on 5 April 1916, and its original name of Varyag restored.