and departed for Japan on 28 March with a Japanese crew under the command of Captain Itō Sukeyuki, the first warship purchased overseas to be brought to Japan with an entirely Japanese crew. Naniwa arrived at Shinagawa, Tokyo, on 26 June and was assigned to the Standing Fleet in July as a second-class warship. The ship and her sister Takachiho hosted Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken, on 26 November as the ships conducted torpedo-firing exercises. Naniwa transported Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi, the Army Minister, Major General Ōyama Iwao, the Navy Minister, Lieutenant General Saigō Jūdō, and the Justice Minister from Yokohama to Kobe on 1 December and then to Pusan, Kingdom of Korea, before returning to Yokohama on 13 December. In early 1887 the sisters transported the Emperor and Empress from Yokohama to Kyoto and back again and then participated in the fleet maneuvers from 22 August to 5 September. Two months later they circumnavigated the Home Islands together with four other ships. On 17 June 1888 Naniwa became the flagship of the Standing Fleet and the sisters cruised to Okinawa, Taiwan, Wonsan, Korea, and Chifu, China later that year. The cruiser hosted the Emperor as he observed the launching of the protected cruiser in the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 15 October. By 1889, Naniwa was assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District. Together with her sister, she visited ports in the Russian Far East, Korea and China while also participating in fleet maneuvers in the last half of the year. After taking part in the April 1890 Great Maneuvers with the Imperial Japanese Army, the cruiser was reviewed by the Emperor and then cruised off the eastern coast of Korea and visited Vladivostok in the Russian Far East during June and July. On 23 August Naniwa and Takachiho were reclassified as first-class warships. Naniwa spent the following year patrolling in home waters. On 2 February 1892, the sisters departed Shinagawa to cruise to Hong Kong before participating in the annual Great Maneuvers later that year. Naniwa steamed to Honolulu, Hawaii, in early 1893 to protect Japanese citizens and interests during the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by American marines and colonists and returned home in May. The cruiser arrived back in Honolulu in December. Marines from Naniwa and the Royal Navy's cruiser were asked to land to defend their respective citizens during the "Black Week" hysteria of December