Skirting the small track from the airport to the west of Kikai island, Sugira Beach forms a crescent of white sand in a small inlet sheltered from the swell. A large stele for peace, in memory of the fallen soldiers of the Second World War is set slightly behind, on a flowerbed carpeted with wild flowers. It was from this site that in April 1945 the Japanese navy launched its last kamikaze airstrikes against the American army, which had taken possession of the island of Okinawa.