13 Abandoned Places Of America Will Change Your Perception Of The Country

Saipan is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific. It’s characterized by sandy shores and mountainous landscapes, and has several championship golf courses. Its highest point is 1,555-ft. Mt. Tapochau, a limestone peak at the island's center. Close to the northern tip, Japanese memorials mark Banzai Cliff and Suicide Cliff, sites from the 1944 Battle of Saipan.

In the decades before World War II, the Northern Marianas were a Japanese colony. The USA invaded in June 1944 moving from the south of the island to the north, before taking the island on July 9. The Japanese military’s final stand was at this bunker built into a cliff near Marpi Point.