NMI Museum of History and Culture
A small museum in a former Japanese hospital from the 1920s, telling the history of Chamorro and Carolinian culture, from Spanish rule through WWII.
The Northern Mariana Islands Museum of History and Culture occupies a former Japanese hospital building from the Japanese occupation period, and it is the only comprehensive museum on Saipan. The exhibits follow a timeline. They cover the latte stone culture of the ancient Chamorro people, the seafaring traditions of the Carolinians, Spanish and German colonial rule, the sugar industry under Japanese rule, and the Battle of Saipan in 1944 along with the postwar American trusteeship. The museum also displays artefacts recovered from the Spanish galleon Concepcion, which sank in 1638. The museum is small, and one hour is enough to see it all. Admission is about USD 5. It is often closed at weekends. It is located next to Sugar King Park and can be reached on foot from Garapan.
Opening hours
Mon–Fri 9:00 AM–4:00 PM (closed weekends and public holidays; check on site)
Nearby sights
- Sugar King Park
- Old Japanese Jail
- Garapan & Street Market
- Micro Beach
- American Memorial Park
- Japanese Lighthouse (Navy Hill)
- Mount Tapochau
- Managaha Island