Review Scuba Diving in Japan

For those who do not know, Japan has more than 6852 islands, and the largest are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku whitch represent more than 95% of the area. Today most of the divers has no idea how beautifull is diving in Japan and prefer to spend their time in Maldives, Bali or Thailand. But the few braves trying this exotic diving destination will enjoy and explore one of the biggest and richest reef in the world. Big pelagics can be observed in japanese water, as manta rays, hammerhead sharks but also incredible wrecks from WWII. For Japanese
diving trip you will have the choice between different areas :

Best places to dive there?

Okinawa

Famous for the number of manta rays you might encounter, you will experienced what they call th “manta overdose”! No worries, there are plenty of other species to observe in Japan.

Yonaguni Island

Closer from Taiwan, this Island is famous for its mysterious underwater relief / relic. 75 meters long and 25 meters hight, this structure divided scientists. Was it build by men or by tectonic plate movement ? The mystery remains, but this place is for sure an exeptionnal dive site! If you have the chance to go in Japan from november to mars, you will see school of hammerheads sharks.

Shikoku Island

Here you have more chance to swim or dive with big marine mamals.

Izu peninsula

This national parc is 100 km away from Tokyo. There you will enjoy wrecks, caves and wonderfull marine life.

Best time to go?

Japan has all year long a pleasant subtropical climate. However, it is best to avoid the July-October period because of the risk of typhoons. Best time to scuba dive in Japan is from november to july.

Diving condition

Visibility is very good and could reach more than 50 meters.

Current vary depending on the area, check with your dive center to be sure.

Difficulty: You will find dive centers and dive sites for all level.

Water temperature fluctuate from 20° to 28°.

What to see while diving?

In the Japanese sea, cohabits an incredible number of species underwater, from the smallest to the largest. You might have the chance to dive with school of barracudas, fusiliers or trevallies. If this is not enought you will be happy to know that there is plenty of turtles, squid, tunas, seahorses, shrimps, nudibranchs, eagle rays and manta rays.
Sharks lovers would go there to swim with hundreds of hammerheads between november and march.
Still no happy ? You must know that around the Ishigaki and Shikoku Islands it is possible to get close from humpback whales, dolphins and sperm whales.
I am sure wreck adventurer and tech divers will enjoy at 43 meters deep one of the best wreck in the world the USS Emmons wreck, American destroyer sank buy japonese kamikaze in 1945.