Chiba is blessed with an attractive coastline that in the summer sees Tokyoites arriving in droves to enjoy the wide sandy beaches, high-quality surf and laid-back atmosphere on offer. July and August is when the beaches and surrounding towns really come alive. Bars, restaurants, shops and marine activities become widely available for the weekend urban crowds. The most popular beaches are Onjuku, Nakazato and Kujukuri-hama, though there’s plenty of room for exploration along Chiba’s 500-plus kilometer coastline a surfers paradise.
It is also a popular destination for Tokyo divers. One reason being that it has easy access from Tokyo and also Yokohama area using the Tokyo Bay Aqua tunnel running below the Tokyo Bay. The diving spots mainly are located at the tip of the Chiba peninsula, and located of the pacific side. Here, the warm Black current and the cold current for the south collide of the coast, giving this region a mix of tropical and cold water marine life.
Chiba Prefecture is where we have the Narita Airport. From Narita airport, the diving spots are much closer than Tokyo.
Japanese Hound Shark heaven
Ito Tateyama Chiba "Shark Scramble" is one of the hottest topics for the Japan region diving scene for some time.
It is the work of Mr. Kan Shiota, the Diving Shop owner of "Bommie" (Which is the only resort Diving shop for this Diving spot) who received a request for the local fisherman to solve the shark issue which the fisherman was facing at the time.
The local fisherman didn't want the sharks to be caught in the nets as they were damaging the fishes they want to send to the market. Mr. Shiota says that the sharks that was caught was also being damaged as they were thrown back to the ocean. To solve this issue, Mr. Shiota set out to lure the sharks away from the fishing nets.
With the shark population stable, and presumably happy, we are very lucky to have this wonderful diving spot just a few hours away from Tokyo.
To dive at Ito, you can either use the only resort diving shop "Bommie" or searched for City diving shops near you and join their excursion trip out to Ito.
*Please note that there is another diving area called ITO in Shizuoka prefecture. (This ITO is in Chiba prefecture)
Diving Point
Eastern buoy site (Shark City)
・Maximum depth＝ 21m
・Marine life found at Eastern buoy: Large schools of stingray,
hundreds of banded houndsharks, large longtooth groupers measuring over 1m long,
and Asian sheepshead wrasses.
Western buoy site
・Maximum depth＝ 24m
・Marine life found at Western buoy: Various types of soft coral,
sea anemones, and other species of coelenterate.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=34.95533,139.772089
All year round:
-Variety of nudibranch
-Variety of Shrinps and Crabs
-Variety of Macro marine life
-Japanese Red stingray(Hemitrygon akajei)
-Asian sheepshead wrasse(Semicossyphus reticulatus)
-Longtooth grouper (Epinephelus bruneus)
-Japanese Banded houndshark(Triakis scyllium)
If your lucky:
-Japanese Butterfly Ray(Gymnura japonica)
-Japanese bullhead shark(Heterodontus japonicus)
Pristine diving point in the Tokyo region
With it's saw tooth shaped coastline, Katsuura has long time flourished as a major fishing port of the region. The morning market has been around for more than 400years, and is now a popular tourist spot with many visitors through out the year.
Katsuura is located on the east coast of southern Chiba Prefecture in the approximate center of the Boso Peninsula. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east.Only 75km from the center of Tokyo, it's only a 2hour drive, a day trip away.
Still a new diving area, you can enjoy the pristine underwater environment.
All year round:
-Variety of nudibranch
-Variety of Shrinps and Crabs
-Variety of Seahorses
-Dragon moray(Muraena pardalis)
-School of Chicken grunt (Parapristipoma trilineatum)
If your lucky:
-Tiger snake eel(Myrichthys maculosus)
-Japanese bullhead shark(Heterodontus japonicus)
Warm/cold ocean currents colliding to nurture abundant marine life
Nishikawana is located at the far southern tip of the Boso Peninsula, facing the Pacific Ocean to the east and south, and the entrance to Tokyo Bay on the west.
Only a 1.5hours drive from the center of Tokyo, it's visibility makes this diving spot a popular destination for the Tokyo area divers.
The lining up of Beard grunt(Hapalogenys nigripinnis) is very famous at this diving point.You can slowly craw up to them to about 10-20cm to take a perfect underwater photo of this creature.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=34.96131,139.759021
All year round:
-Variety of nudibranch
-Variety of Shrinps and Crabs
-Variety of Seahorses
-Scool of Beard grunt(Hapalogenys nigripinnis)
-Longtooth grouper (Epinephelus bruneus)
During the Summer season:
If your lucky:
-School of Japanese eagle ray (Myliobatis tobijei)
A dynamic ocean where the warm current and the cold current collide. Relatively close to Tokyo and with the Kamogawa SeaWorld, it is a popular day trip destination for many Japanese families.
The underwater environment is exciting. During the winter time, there is a hole where dozens of whitetip reef shark(Triaenodon obesus) hides during the day. During the other seasons, you see cold water fish and warm water tropical fishes coexisting in the same habitat.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=35.090856,140.109366
A day trip destination from Tokyo, Handa is popular among the novice divers. With shallow water and minimum current, it offers divers a relaxing dive. The site is also popular because of the various corals you can see. From hard corals to soft corals, it is often referred as a "beautiful" underwater gardens.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=34.97623,139.77421
A diving site to consider.
If your Ok with Zoos and aquariums, Hazama is a place to check. Due to the local fishing method(Stationary nets), there are many large marine animals caught in the nets through out the year. The Underwater Park has a large area of net enclosure to house these large animals when it is caught by the local fisherman. If your lucky, you can see Whale sharks, Mola Mola here. There are over 10 diving spots in the area and the underwater shrine and it's idol, Asian sheepshead wrasse(Semicossyphus reticulatus) is also a site to see.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=34.974788,139.782318
Located on the Pacific side of the Chiba Peninsula, Namegawa offers both dynamic reef diving and Macro diving to the local divers. The "Maguro-ne" is a large reef (800m x 2km), with constant fast current, the marine animals around this reef are constantly large in numbers. There are diving points that are only 3-5m deep with many nudibranch and small marine animals.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=35.121909,140.236185
It is an Island located at the south side of Tateyama bay, this location was graded "AA"for it's water grade survey 10yeats ago. It is not actually an Island now, as it is connected by a sand bar. This diving site are mainly, shallow rocky bottom to sandy bottom sea beds.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=34.990593,139.824331
