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 cruisers that preceded the battleships before falling back on Tōgō's battleships. When Makarov spotted the five Japanese battleships, he turned back for Port Arthur and his flagship ran into the minefield just laid by the Japanese. The ship sank in less than two minutes after one of her magazines exploded, and Makarov was one of the 677 killed. In addition to this loss, the battleship was damaged by a mine.