Uraga filled with spectators, some of whom boarded small boats to get closer to the ships, while others even tried to climb aboard and make contact with the sailors, but once the Shogunate had issued an order to the samurai and merchant classes that expressed the need for caution, eventually a sense of fear spread, with the rumors of live artillery.
浦賀は見物人でいっぱいになり、勝手に小船で近くまで繰り出し、上船して接触を試みるものもあったが、幕府から武士や町人に対して、十分に警戒するようにとのお触れが出ると、実弾砲撃の噂と共に、次第に不安が広がるようになった。