2 Best Sights in Okinawa, Japan

Rows of black granite blocks inscribed with the names of the thousands who lost their lives in World War II cover the rolling, green hills around this excellent museum. Exhibits, some designed specifically for children, provide a rare opportunity to contemplate global issues. Focusing on the brutal Battle of Okinawa, interesting exhibits highlight each side's tactical perspective and the progress of the fighting. More personal displays reveal what life was like on the ground during the chaos and include testimonies of survivors (unfortunately, only a few of these are translated). A diorama portrays life in American-occupied postwar Okinawa. The museum is 80 minutes from Naha via bus; change from Bus 89 to 82 at Itoman Terminal. The total cost is ¥1,070.

This moving museum tells the story of 240 girls from a high school near Naha. Mobilized as field nurses in the war's final months, their hellish experiences tending to wounded Japanese soldiers in hidden caves near the city are retold in an intensely poignant series of dioramas, textual explanations, and displays. Photographs and journals show the girls' innocence and hope before the war, providing a moving counterpoint to the ghastly conditions they endured during the fighting. Photographs of each girl drive home the war's tragic effects. The museum is an hour from Naha via Bus 34 or 89 (¥590), with a change in Itoman to Bus 82, 107 or 108 (¥330). Buses depart hourly and continue on to the Peace Memorial.