At the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War the sisters were assigned to the 2nd Division of the 2nd Fleet, although "Asama" was attached to the 4th Division of Rear Admiral Uryū Sotokichi for operations near Seoul, Korea. Just before the war began, the ship escorted Japanese troop convoys to Chemulpo, Seoul's port on the west coast, and helped to sink the two Russian warships stationed there on the first day of the war. "Tokiwa" participated in the Battle of Port Arthur that same day, 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 earlier 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.