The largest island in the Okinawa archipelago stretches over 135km between the Amami Islands to the north and Taiwan to the south. Naha, a modern megalopolis reminiscent of a scaled-down Tokyo, is the economic capital. The scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War, the island lost most of its heritage. Retroceded by the Americans to Japan in 1972, it still has numerous American military bases. To the north, the Motobu Peninsula has unspoilt landscapes and a handful of good beaches.