Chiran Peace Museum
知覧特攻平和会館31°22′ N 130°26′ EMemorialChiran was an army airfield for the…
The Chiran Peace Museum suits anyone who wants to understand the army's special attack missions flown from this airfield in 1945, and it is a museum of letters and portraits to be read slowly and in silence.
Photo Naokijp · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Visiting with care · Open to visitors
Storytellers give talks at set times through the day. The museum changed the times on 1 April 2026, so check the schedule on its site before you go.
- No photographs, video or sound recording of the exhibits, the films or the talks
- Photographs without flash are allowed in the lobby and the Zero fighter room
- Read the letters and portraits in silence, since many visitors come to remember a relative
- Keep cameras away in the exhibition rooms
Chiran was an army airfield at the end of the Second World War, and in the Battle of Okinawa young pilots flew from here on missions to crash their bomb-laden planes into enemy ships. The museum keeps their belongings and records with the help of the families. Its own statement says such an attack, which ignored the worth of a life, must never be used again.
The main room shows the portraits of the 1,036 army pilots who died in the Okinawa special attack operations, hung in the order of the day each one died. Cases beside them hold the letters, poems and last notes they wrote to family and friends. A Hayabusa fighter, a model of the airfield as it was and filmed accounts from people who lived through those months, Tome Torihama among them, fill the rest of the hall.
Since 1990 the city has held a speech contest every 15 August, the anniversary of the end of the war, that asks students from across Japan to send a message of peace from Chiran. It began after a high school student wrote to the museum about what her visit had changed in her.
Worth knowing
- Buses for Chiran leave from stop East 16 outside Kagoshima-Chuo Station; get off at Tokko Kannon Iriguchi and walk about five minutes. A taxi from the station covers the 32 km in about 45 minutes, and the museum puts the fare at around ¥9,500.
Quick answers about Chiran Peace Museumよくある質問
What does the Chiran Peace Museum show?
It shows the belongings, letters and portraits of the army pilots who flew special attack missions in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, including portraits of the 1,036 pilots who died, displayed in the order of the date each one died.
Can you take photos in the Chiran Peace Museum?
No photographs, video or recording are allowed of the exhibits, films or talks. You may take photographs without flash in the lobby and the Zero fighter room.
Can you visit Chiran Peace Museum?
Open to visitors. No photographs, video or sound recording of the exhibits, the films or the talks. Photographs without flash are allowed in the lobby and the Zero fighter room.
How much does Chiran Peace Museum cost?
Prices at Chiran Peace Museum start at ¥500 per adult (2026), about CAD 4.50 or USD 3.20 (October 2026 rates).
What are the opening hours of Chiran Peace Museum?
Chiran Peace Museum keeps these hours: Mon–Sun 09:00–17:00.
How should you behave at Chiran Peace Museum?
At Chiran Peace Museum: Read the letters and portraits in silence, since many visitors come to remember a relative. Keep cameras away in the exhibition rooms.