Banzai Cliff
A sea cliff at the northern tip of Saipan. In the final stage of the 1944 Battle of Saipan, many Japanese civilians and soldiers leapt from here. It is now a World War II memorial site.
Banzai Cliff stands at Marpi Point, the northernmost tip of Saipan. The cliff is several dozen meters high, with turbulent deep blue water below. In July 1944, toward the end of the Battle of Saipan, US forces had taken the island. Influenced by wartime Japanese military propaganda urging people to die rather than surrender, large numbers of Japanese civilians and soldiers shouted 'Banzai' and jumped from this cliff. Many were women and children. US forces used loudspeakers to urge them to surrender but could not stop them, and the scene was extremely tragic. After the war, bereaved families and groups from Japan, South Korea and Okinawa erected several memorial monuments and a Peace Kannon statue at the cliff edge. Today it is a quiet memorial site, and you can sometimes see whales and dolphins on the sea below. Admission is free. Please be respectful and do not climb past the railings. Getting there: about 30 minutes' drive from Garapan. Along the way, you can also visit the Last Command Post, the site of the final Japanese headquarters, where tank and artillery wrecks remain, and Suicide Cliff.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Suicide Cliff
- Last Command Post Park
- The Grotto
- Bird Island
- Wing Beach
- Kalabera Cave
- Pau Pau Beach
- Managaha Island