Nago hosted Expo '75 in a park which utilized a monorail train to move tourists to each exhibit.

If the city was threatened with a typhoon, it would move close to shore, fill the pontoons with sea water and sit on the ocean floor for more stability.

Nago is the site of Camp Schwab, a United States Marine Corps base established in 1956.

It has gained national attention in Japan due to the controversy surrounding the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, as there have been proposals at various times to relocate the base to a new site adjacent to or within Camp Schwab, most recently in April 2013.

The many beaches draw Okinawans, mainland Japanese, Americans and other tourists to the northern part of the island.

There is a lifeguard on duty and a net in the water to prevent harmful sea creatures from entering the swimming area.

The corals and seagrass beds of the east coast of Nago are home to the last remaining population of dugong in Japan.

Nago also hosts the international bicycle race known as the Tour de Okinawa, which is usually held in November.

Nago City hosts sixty-three designated or registered cultural properties and monuments, at the national, prefectural or municipal level.