Naha Photo Gallery - Japan Navy Underground Headquarters

A short ride away from Naha's main bus terminal on route 9, these tunnels showcase the dramatic end of Admiral Ota's troupe. The Battle of Okinawa was very bloody with over 200,000 dead. Many Japanese troops and civilians decided to kill themselves rather than be captured by the Americans. Rear Admiral Ota became the commander of the navy in Okinawa in 1945, just 2 months before the American army invaded. He and his 6 staff officers committed suicide in these tunnels on June 13 that year. This tunnel complex was dug in 1944 for the navy headquarters in a hill overlooking the airport and the sea. It was 20m deep and stretched 450m in a semi-circular shape that could accommodate 4000 soldiers. Conditions were dire with little water and food, high humidity during the rainy season, and plenty of fleas and lice. The tourism board opened the site in 1970, which is now a museum about its history. You first enter a bright room with a video and some information displays with photos from the time. Then you descend downstairs to the admissions desk. After paying 600 yen, I entered the museum that displays various artifacts found in the underground bunkers from a volunteer-led survey from 2022 to 2024 that covered 150m of the site. Next to the museum is a small shrine with a door that leads you down the long staircase to the dug tunnels. The visiting route is sign-posted in a one-way loop.