[6] Her guns were shipped from Japan and installed at the Yarrow yard and the Japanese negotiated the purchase of ammunition for them from the British firm Armstrong Whitworth, but she was completed without her torpedo tubes.

[13] With World War I raging and Japan an active belligerent on the Allied side, she maintained a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) to reduce the danger of attack by Imperial German Navy submarines.

[15] Urakaze′s fuel consumption was lower than expected, and even after she had left the German submarine threat behind her she maintained 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) — with occasional exceptions — throughout her voyage to Japan as an experiment in the range and endurance of oil-fired ships, refueling as necessary along the way.

[19] She departed Suez Port on 29 September and proceeded southward through the Red Sea, calling at Aden on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula from 1 to 4 October 1915.

[20] On 7 October she had to drift for about an hour because of a clogged oil filter, but she soon got back underway and arrived at Bombay, India, later that day.

[25] She arrived at Hong Kong later that day and made emergency repairs to her mast[25] before departing on 23 October for the last leg of her voyage.

[28] At Yokosuka, Urakaze′s torpedo tubes were installed and additional work was carried out, temporarily interrupted by a naval review on 4 November 1915.

[31] On 26 September 1916, the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was ordered to equip Urakaze with cruise turbines,[32] although this work did not take place until 1918.

[33] Meanwhile, the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal carried out other work on Urakaze between 5 December 1916 and 5 June 1917, installing a new engine room ventilation system and other equipment.