大山巌
"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.