From December to April every year, the whale watching tour offers people the opportunity to see humpback whales that have returned to the waters around Zamami Island.

Students observe inoh (coastal shallows enclosed by coral reefs) where a variety of rare creatures live to learn about the ecosystem of the beautiful sea and environmental issues.

At the only underwater observatory on the Okinawa main island, you don’t have to get wet to see tropical fish in action. Another popular activity is a promenade over the sea in a whale-shaped glass bottom boat.

The command bunker, which a Japanese Navy advance team built during World War II at the time of the Battle of Okinawa, has been opened to the public, including the commander’s office. There is also a free museum on the grounds, displaying personal effects and letters which have been retrieved.

Organized around the theme of “considering the postwar history and culture of Okinawa City,” the Okinawa City Street Corner Data Hall displays objects and scenes showing Okinawa spanning an interval from ranging from the middle of the war through the postwar period.

The Observatory Park has a sweeping view of Futenma base. It was also the site of fierce fighting during the Battle of Okinawa, vestiges of which still remain today.

The Tsushima-maru Memorial Museum provides an overview of the sinking of the Tsushima-maru, which was used to evacuate schoolchildren. The museum works to communicate the value of peace through this tragedy in which 1,482 people, including many children, lost their lives.

The Himeyuri students or “Lily Corps” were mobilized to serve as nurses during the Battle of Okinawa. Visitors to the museum learn about war and peace through the experiences of these girls who were in their teens at the time of the fighting.

The Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum commemorates victims of the war and works to communicate to future generations historical lessons painfully learned from the Battle of Okinawa. The museum has displays showing testimony given by people who experienced the fighting as well as numerous actual items and documents.

At the Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory, visitors can enjoy 4D2U (four-dimensional digital universe), which makes use of the Murikabushi telescope, the largest in Kyushu and Okinawa, to view heavenly bodies and space in three dimensions.