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Chiran Peace Museum, Minamikyushu

4.5

#1 of 93 in Museums in Kagoshima Prefecture

Military Museum History Museum Must See

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At Chiran Peace Museum, see how an airbase for World War II kamikazes became a monument to peace. During the final stages of the war, the Japanese Imperial Army used the two runways to send 1,036 able men to their tactically deliberate deaths. As you enter the museum, inspect the four warplanes--a Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa, a 1943 Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien, a 1944 Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate, and a Mitsubishi Zero recovered from the seabed in 1980. Examine the exhibited personal poems, testaments, letters, and other artifacts, including the photographs of each pilot arranged in the order in which they died. Don't miss the moving display of a grand piano on which two of the pilots played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata the night before their final mission. Put Chiran Peace Museum on your schedule, and learn what else deserves a visit by using our Minamikyushu trip planner.

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Chiran Peace Museum Reviews

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TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

692 reviews

Google

4.4

• By Hsakamotojapanvisit

  My sons and I went to Japan to visit my home country and home town Kagoshima. While there we decided to take a trip to Chiran to visit the Samurai town and the Peace museum at the same time. I was...  more »

• By BetsyHK

  We very much appreciated the English audio tour to help us understand the role the former air base had in training and sending off more than a thousand young kamikaze pilots. The displays of...  more »

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Google

• By Tieu Ky Luu

  It is a very heart moving museum. Private good-bye letters are posted by the Tokko pilots (known as Kamikaze in western countries) before they went on their mission. After reading those letters you will see that those pilots indeed died for the country...

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• By Samantha Seyfert

  Nicely done for residents of Japan. This museum gives you an insight and strong sense of valor into the Kamikaze pilots during 1941 of which 469 of them were from Chiran. There are no English translations on the items but there is an introductory video available in English upon your entrance.

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