Elswick on 6 January 1897 as a speculative venture. She was launched on 6 July 1898 and completed on 18 May 1899. The ship departed for Japan the next day and arrived in Yokosuka on 16 July. Captain Dewa Shigetō had been appointed on 5 April to supervise her construction and bring her to Japan. He was relieved of command after his arrival by Captain Nakayama Nagaaki. The following year, Tokiwa supported Japanese forces during the Boxer Rebellion in China. Russo-Japanese War Sublieutenant Kichisaburō Nomura, later Foreign Minister, was appointed to the ship in July 1903 until the ship's return after the Battle off Ulsan in August 1904. Captain Shigetarō Yoshimatsu assumed command of Tokiwa on 18 January 1904. At the start of the Russo-Japanese War a few weeks later, the ship was assigned to the 2nd Division of the 2nd Fleet. She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904, when Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the Combined Fleet in an attack on the Russian ships of the Pacific Squadron anchored just outside Port Arthur. Tōgō had expected the surprise night attack by his destroyers to be much more successful than it was, anticipating that the Russians would be badly disorganized and weakened, but they had recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack. The Japanese ships were spotted by the protected cruiser , which was patrolling offshore and alerted the Russians. Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defenses with his main armament and engage the ships with his secondary guns. Splitting his fire proved to be a poor decision as the Japanese eight- and six-inch guns inflicted little damage on the Russian ships, which concentrated all their fire on the Japanese ships with some effect. Although many ships on both sides were hit, Russian casualties numbered some 150, while the Japanese suffered roughly 90 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged. In early March, Tokiwa was detached from the 2nd Division and reassigned to Rear Admiral Dewa's 3rd Division. On 10 March, Tokiwa and the protected cruiser attempted to capture the disabled destroyer , but were driven off by heavy fire from the shore defenses, although they managed to rescue the wounded crewmen. Tōgō successfully lured out a portion of the Russian Pacific Squadron on 13 April, including Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov's flagship, the battleship . During this action, Tokiwa engaged the Russian