Following an uneventful tour in the West Indies and another shipyard overhaul, Vincennes accompanied the ship-of-the-line Columbus when they, as a squadron under the command of Commodore James Biddle, made a historic first official visit to Edo (Tokyo), Japan. The Visit, on July 6, 1846, was unsuccessful as small fishing boats surrounded the larger sailing vessels, refusing Commodore Biddle permission to go ashore. Rebuffed, Columbus sailed for home while Vincennes remained on station in the South China Sea another year before returning to New York to face yet another decommissioning.

Recommissioned two years later, Vincennes once again headed west. Sailing into San Francisco in early 1850, Vincennes lost 36 crew members to the "49'er Fever" which was sweeping the area.

Turning south, Vincennes cruised off South America until late 1951 and arrived in Puget Sound in 1852 as a prelude to a return to New York and another decommissioning. Placed into service again in 1853, Vincennes became flagship to Commander Cadwalader Ringgold, a veteran of the Wilkes Antarctic Expedition. Three years later, after travels ranging from surveying the Ryukyu Islands in Japan to port calls in Petropavlovsk, Russia, Vincennes was decommissioned on July 17, 1856.

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