The land skirmish of the Battle of Okinawa began on March 26, 1945 and lasted for about 87 days. The Americans first touched the shore of the Kerama Island, 24 kilometers west of Okinawa. Fierce fighting raged on Geruma, Aka, Zamami and Tokashiki Islands before the Kerama group was secured over the next five days. In these preliminary operations, the American 77th Infantry Division suffered 31 dead and 81 wounded, while Japanese dead and captured numbered over 650. Terrified and driven to desperation by the onslaught and the furious shelling, some islanders killed themselves, cutting off the heads of their children with sickles and hitting their wives with stones in the gruesome scenes of mass suicide.

These beautiful islands where once the terrible tragedy of mass suicide unfolded are now part of the Okinawa Seashore National Park. 22 large and small islands in the Kerama group make up the villages of Zamami and Tokashiki. Kerama Island is a group of subtropical islands and islets, located about 40 kilometers southwest from the main Island. The idyllic paradise of Kerama Islands remains largely undiscovered even though they are easily accessible by sea or air. Kerama Islands are known best for its excellent outdoor activities such as fishing, snorkeling, hiking, windsurfing and scuba diving given its wonderful lush green hills explorable by car, bicycle or bus where one can immerse in the magnificent ocean views, and extremely calm clear blue beaches suitable for any level of swimmer and constellation gazers. The islands have been retained in much the same way it did centuries ago and remained a peaceful eco-tourism destination due to environmentally protective locals who resisted commercial development. Keramas offers a handful of restaurants and bars to choose from, where one can feast on delicious food and drink, and spend the evenings mingle with the friendly locals accompanied by melodious folk songs.