The southern end of Okinawa Island, in the cities of Itoman and Nanjo, is where the Battle of Okinawa reached its terrible conclusion in June 1945. It is now a landscape of memorials and quiet coastal parks, and the most sobering part of any visit to the island. The Peace Memorial Park on the Mabuni cliffs lists the names of more than 240,000 people — Japanese, Okinawan, American, Korean, and Taiwanese — who died in the battle, carved into curving black granite walls facing the sea. Nearby, the Himeyuri Monument and its museum tell the story of the schoolgirl nursing corps drafted into the fighting.
The south is not only about the war. Beneath the coral plateau lie some of the island's most dramatic caves, including the vast limestone chambers of Gyokusendo inside the Okinawa World theme park, where you can also see Ryukyuan craft workshops and Eisa drumming. The whole area is an easy half-day or day trip from Naha by car or bus.