Battle of Okinawa Sites: Peace Memorial Park, Himeyuri and the Navy Underground HQ

What happened here

The Japanese Army's 32nd Army, the force that defended Okinawa, was set up on March 22, 1944. On March 26, 1945, U.S. forces landed on the Kerama Islands, west of the main island. The prefecture uses that day as the start of the Battle of Okinawa.

The Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum describes about 90 days of fighting from late March. People in Okinawa call it the "Typhoon of Steel." The museum puts the dead at more than 200,000. More than 100,000 of them were local civilians, more than the military dead, the museum says.

The museum lists how civilians died: in the shelling, by suicide, from hunger and malaria, and at the hands of retreating Japanese troops. The fighting also destroyed much of the island's cultural heritage. The prefecture's records date the formal end in Okinawa to September 7, 1945, when the surrender document was signed.

Today, June 23 is Okinawa's Memorial Day, with a memorial service in Peace Memorial Park. The prefectural museum sets out to show the war through the experiences of the people of Okinawa, and that is the view you'll meet at these sites.

Okinawa Peace Memorial Park

The park lies on Mabuni in Itoman City, in the far south. Okinawa Prefecture owns it, and the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Foundation runs it. These are the main places inside:

• Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum
• The Cornerstone of Peace
• Okinawa Peace Memorial Hall, with a large statue
• The National Okinawa War Dead Cemetery
• The memorial towers that prefectures across Japan set up for their own dead

The Peace Memorial Museum

Okinawa Prefecture opened the museum in 1975. Its aim is to mourn the dead, pass on the lessons of the battle, and show the war through the experiences of the people of Okinawa.

The building itself is free to enter. You pay only for the permanent exhibition. The museum lends free audio guides in ten languages, English included, to use inside (about 20 sets).

The museum's pages don't say how you can pay for the exhibition (cash, cards or e-money), so that is unconfirmed. If it matters to you, ask the museum (098-997-3844).

The Cornerstone of Peace

The prefecture built the Cornerstone of Peace in 1995, for the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. It was completed on June 23, 1995, the park says. Its rule is simple: the names of all who died in the Battle of Okinawa, regardless of nationality, military or civilian.

The walls spread out in arcs from the round Peace Plaza toward the sea. At the center burns a flame that joins fire from Aka Island in Zamami Village, where U.S. forces first landed, with flames from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The main path lines up with the sunrise on June 23, the prefecture says.

The totals are not the same as the battle's death toll. For people from Okinawa, the prefecture also inscribes those who died in war from 1931 onward, at home or abroad. The list grows a little every year (figures dated June 23, 2026; all checked as of November 2026, Okinawa Prefecture).

American names on the Cornerstone. As of June 23, 2026, 14,012 names from the United States are on the walls, the prefecture says. The U.S. government supplied the list. Each name is carved in the person's own language, grouped by country, so American names are in English. The park says the zone for people from other countries is at the far end of the side path on the right.

Looking for a name. The prefecture runs an online search for the inscriptions; search for "Heiwa no Ishiji inscription search" on the Okinawa Prefecture website. To ask about a name, contact the park's foundation (098-997-2765) or the prefecture's Peace Promotion Division (098-894-2226). Families can also apply to add a name; the prefecture asks for papers to reach it by about the end of November, with a decision around March or April (all as of November 2026, official sites).

Peace Memorial Hall

The hall holds the Okinawa Peace Memorial Statue, 12 m (39 ft) tall and about 8 m (26 ft) wide. The sculptor, Yamada Shinzan, spent more than 18 years on its original model, the park says.

Himeyuri Peace Museum

The Himeyuri Peace Museum is in the Ihara district of Itoman, on the grounds of the Himeyuri Tower memorial. The Himeyuri Alumnae Association founded it, and it opened on June 23, 1989.

The Himeyuri Student Corps came from two schools: the Okinawa Female Normal School and the Okinawa Prefectural Girls' First High School. Soon after the battle began, the students were sent to the Okinawa Army Hospital to work, at the risk of their lives. The museum counts 240 students and teachers in the corps, and 136 of them died.

One room, called Requiem, remembers 227 students and teachers who died, with their photos and names. That figure is the 136 from the corps plus 91 other students and teachers, the museum's FAQ explains (as of November 2026, official site).

The six exhibits move from school life before the war to the battlefield, survivors' testimony on video, and the survivors' lives after the war. Panels are in Japanese and English, and the videos have English subtitles. Most visitors spend 30 minutes to an hour, the museum says, and some stay two or three hours.

You can visit the Himeyuri Tower itself even when the museum is closed.

Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters

Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

The Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters is inside Kaigungo Park, which spans part of Naha and Tomigusuku City. The prefecture's park page says the Japanese Navy had its headquarters here at the end of the Pacific War. Many officers and men died inside the tunnels.

Naha City describes the tunnels this way. A Japanese Navy construction unit dug them in 1944 to defend the Navy's Oroku airfield, today's Naha Airport. They are said to have run about 450 m (1,480 ft), and about 4,000 soldiers were housed inside. In March 1970, about 300 m (980 ft) around the commander's room was restored, and a small exhibit room shows items found in the tunnels and letters to families.

Hours and admission are unconfirmed. The prefecture's park page lists hours of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (last entry 4:30 pm) and admission of ¥600 for adults and ¥300 for children, but that page was last updated on January 11, 2024. We haven't found a newer official page, so call the park office (098-850-4055) before you go.

How to see them in one day

All three sites are in the south. A car gives you the most freedom. Driving here is on the left; read our guide to driving in Okinawa first. The Himeyuri Peace Museum says it is about 20 minutes by car from the Tomigusuku interchange of the airport expressway, and about 30–40 minutes from central Naha or Naha Airport. The park's access page doesn't give a driving time, and we found no official driving times between the three sites, so plan with a map app on the day.

By bus to Peace Memorial Park. It takes two buses, with a change in Itoman:

¥1,210fare

1transfer

1. StartNaha Bus Terminal

   stop 3 at Naha Bus Terminal (the route's first stop)

2. Bus 89Okinawa Bus / Ryukyu Bus Kotsu (joint)about 60 min¥670
   More about this ride

   Ride to the end of the line. Route 89 has a few variants with different stops on the way (one detours through Nishizaki), but all of them end at Itoman Bus Terminal. The ride takes about an hour, and longer in rush-hour traffic (as of October 2026, official timetable).

3. Bus 82Ryukyu Bus Kotsutime unconfirmed¥540
   More about this ride

   Route 82 runs about once an hour, so check the next departure before you leave Naha. The fare is the one the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum lists (as of January 2026, official site; this may have changed since, so check the official site before you book or go). The bus company's own fare table and timetable could not be checked.

4. Get offHeiwa Kinendo Iriguchi (Peace Memorial Hall entrance)
5. 
   Change hereHeiwa Kinendo Iriguchi bus stop
6. Walkabout 5 min
   More about this ride

   About a 5-minute walk, according to the Peace Memorial Museum.

7. Get offOkinawa Peace Memorial Park

For reference only. Travel times depend on traffic, and routes and fares change. Check the operator's official site before you go (as of October 2026, official sites).

By bus to Himeyuri. This also takes two buses, changing at Itoman Bus Terminal. Route 82 for the last leg doesn't run often, so check the next departure before you leave Naha:

¥990fare

1transfer

1. StartAsahibashi / Naha Bus Terminal stop

   The roadside stop across the street from Naha Bus Terminal, in front of the Rokin building (the museum's advice). Route 89 also starts inside the terminal at stop 3, but from there it first loops through Kainan and comes back to this stop, which adds about 15–20 minutes.

2. Bus 89Okinawa Bus / Ryukyu Bus Kotsu (joint)about 40 min¥670
   More about this ride

   Ride to the end of the line. About 40 minutes in the middle of the day, and closer to an hour at rush hour (as of November 2026, official timetable and fare table).

3. Bus 82Ryukyu Bus Kotsutime unconfirmed¥320
   More about this ride

   This is the stop the museum's own access page tells you to use. The museum says this leg takes about 15–25 minutes; we could not find the bus company's timetable. Route 82 does not run often, so check the next departure before you leave Naha. Route 107 also goes to this stop, but it takes a long loop through the countryside. Going back: take Route 82 or 108 from the stop to Itoman Bus Terminal, then Route 89 to Naha (as of November 2026, official fare table and the museum's site).

4. Get offHimeyuri no To Mae (Himeyuri Tower)

For reference only. Travel times depend on traffic, and routes and fares change. Check the operator's official site before you go (as of November 2026, official sites).

Taxi or a tour. The park puts a taxi from Naha Bus Terminal to Peace Memorial Park at about 18 km (11 miles) and about ¥3,500 (about $22) one way (as of November 2026, official site). For more on taxis and other ways to reach the south without a car, see Okinawa without a car. If you'd rather have a guide, our guide to choosing a tour explains what to check, such as whether admission and an English guide are included.

A simple plan. Go to Peace Memorial Park in the morning, since the museum's permanent exhibition stops admitting people at 4:30 pm. Then visit Himeyuri in the afternoon; it takes its last visitors at 5:00 pm (both as of November 2026, official sites). Leave extra time if you'd like to walk along the Cornerstone of Peace or find a name.

Visiting respectfully

These are places of mourning, and families still come here to pray. A few things the sites ask, plus common sense:

• Keep your voice down, and don't take phone calls in the exhibition rooms.
• Follow the photo rules. The Himeyuri museum bans photos in its exhibition rooms.
• No food or drink in the exhibition rooms at Himeyuri.
• Leave people who are praying alone. Don't photograph them.
• Watch for closed paths. In October 2026 the park posted that the path down from the Reimei Tower to the Kenji Tower on Mabuni Hill is closed.

When to go

June 23, Memorial Day. Okinawa Prefecture holds its memorial service for all the war dead in Peace Memorial Park. In 2026 it ran from 11:50 am to 12:50 pm, hosted by the prefecture and the prefectural assembly. Ordinary cars could not enter the park that day; the prefecture ran a free shuttle bus from its office in Naha and asked people to use public transport. Bags were checked at the entrance, and the prefecture asked everyone to keep a minute of silence at noon (all as of the 2026 service, Okinawa Prefecture). If you go that day, expect crowds and security.

The rest of the year. Summer is hot: Naha's average high is 31.9°C (89°F) in July, and you'll be walking outdoors in the park. The rainy season usually runs from around May 10 to around June 21. Typhoons come most often in August and September, and both the museums and the park can close when one approaches. From November to April average highs are 19.8–25.0°C (68–77°F) (Japan Meteorological Agency normals for 1991–2020). Remember that the Peace Memorial Museum closes from December 29 to January 3.

Dollar figures use ¥156.87 per $1 (as of October 23, 2026, Federal Reserve). Treat them as rough.

Combine with the south

The south has more than war memorials. Sefa-utaki, the most sacred site of the old Ryukyu Kingdom, is in neighboring Nanjo City; see our Sefa-utaki guide. For where the south fits in a longer trip, see the 5-day itinerary from SFO. Visiting family on base? Our guide for military families covers the basics.

Official info

• Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum (English)
• Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, latest news (Japanese)
• Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park (Japanese)
• Himeyuri Peace Museum (English)
• Okinawa Prefecture website: Cornerstone of Peace pages and the online name search (Japanese)