Okinawa PrefectureJapan's tropical island paradise

Japanese Galapapos Island
 
Iriomote Island is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands, and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island.
Majority of the island is covered by jungle and mangrove swamps. 80% of the island is protected by the local govenment, and over 30% of the island forms the Iriomote National Park.
Iriomote has a tropical rainforest climate . The average yearly temperature is 23.6C, and the average monthly temperature ranges from 18.3C in January to 28.9C in July.
 As a diving location, Iriomote Island are very popular amoung the Japanese divers for its beautiful corals and diverse marine life. Many parts of the areas are still unchartered area.

Located off the coast of Okinawa main Island in the north, Iejima is surrounded by diving spot all around the Island. This make it drivable for all weathers. On the northern side, there are caves, tunnels and drop-offs, on the south side, it is white sandy seafloor with coral reefs. It is a popular diving area for local and visiting divers.

Visit Kinwa bay if your into macro diving. Due to it's location, there are many beach entry points here, with choices from mud bottom to dynamic drop-offs. Local divers searching for nudibranch prefers the mud bottom sites offering variety of specimens.

Located 58km off the coast of Naha, to dive here, you need to find a boat heading to this diving point in the weekends. The dive boats usually heads to Aguni Island between April to July, but from August to November, these long cruising day trip boats visits Tonakijima Island. If is a big fish diving destination.

Visit the beautiful Okinawa diving town

Onna is a village located in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture.
Onna  occupies a long, narrow stretch of the western coast of the island. The village is located in the rugged Sekiryo Mountains that run from the north to central Okinawa Island.
There are beaches with white sand and clear water such as Minnajima Beach and exciting underwater terrain, underwater cave and tunnels, just outside the reef.
The coastal areas of Onna was declared part of Okinawa Kaigan Quasi-National Park in 1972 after the reversion of Okinawa Prefecture to Japan.
Onna is noted for its coastal scenery, notably Cape Manzamō and Cape Maeda. Cape Maeda is famous among the local divers and snorkelers, because of the "The blue cave".
The incoming ray from the sun makes this cave blue. An experience you can't miss if your diving in this area.

Other popular diving areas
○Manza "Dreamhole" 
A very narrow vertical tunnel going down to the bottom, then turning 90 degrees horizontally, through the tunnel out to the outside reef. If you can handle the darkness, it will be an experience you want to repeat.
 
○Onna village "Yamada"
Starting from the white sandy area, heading down slowly to the deep. Here you see the Saddleback clownfish(Amphiprion polymnus),Pikachu nudibranch(Thecacera pacifica),Variety of nudibranch and Frog fish.

○Cape Maeda "Tsubame no ne"
This place was named after the school of longfin batfish (Platax teira) often seen at this location. When you go down into the deeper area,
you can see colonies of Flabelligobius sp,Orange-striped shrimp goby(Stonogobiops yasha),Yellow nose prawn-goby(Stonogobiops xanthorhinica)

Located near the famous Churaumi aquariam

The Motobu Peninsula is a peninsula in the Yanbaru region of Okinawa Island. It is surrounded by Nago Bay to the south, the Haneda Inland Sea to the north, and the East China Sea to the west.It is mostly mountainous, with a few plains.
Motobu is a town located in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture.
The town occupies the eastern part of the Motobu Peninsula as well as two islands: Minnajima and Sesokojima.The beaches has white sand and clear visibility .
Diving spot Gorilla chop is a shallow beach diving spot, where you can relax and spend your time fish watching. Ideal if your a underwater photographer.

Popular diving spot
○"Minna jima(Island)"
A 15min boat ride from the nearby port. Almost all the diving spot are made up by, white sandy bottom, few patches of reefs and reef edges. Due to the white sandy bottom, the ray from the sun are reflected and thus makes this diving site very colourful and blight.

○"Sesoko jima(Island)"
Although connected by a bridge form the main Island, due to the lack of beach entry spots around the Island, to dive here, you need to go there by a diving boat.
The veriations of underwater terrains, such as dropoffs, caves, channels, sandy bottom, muddy bottom and coral reefs, make it ideal for macro marine life lovers.

○"Motobu peninsula"
With many beach entry spots around the shore line, it is more easily accessble than the other boat diving sites. Generally, it is a shallow dive site and if you want to spend more time underwater,especially witha camera, thisis the recommended area.
Make sure you find a divemaster to guide you, if you want to get the most out of your dives.

Just a boat ride away from the biggest city in Okinawa

Chibishi with it's excellent visibility is located about 10km west of Naha made up by 3 small islands of Kamiyama Island, Kuefu Island, and Nagannu Island.
Boats heading to the Kerama Islands often stop by this reef to do a quick dive.
The Island is 10km(30min boat ride) off the coast of Naha. You can visit this area by usuing the many dive shops located down town Naha.

Popular diving spot
○"Nagannu　Sanbashimae"
Popular Turtle watching point

○"Nagannu kita(North)"
Stag-horn coral forest just off the coast. Giant cuttlefish(Sepia (Sepia) latimanus) are prequently seen in Spring.
The dynamic 40m drop off is another popular attraction.

○"Tatebashira"
A reef in the middle of the outside Ocean. Here you can watch the large school of fishes glyding past you. Due to it's depth(-24m), it is considered a spot for skilled and experienced divers.

○"Ohama sango(Coral)"
It is a 10m wide 8m high coral(Porites lutea) reef. With many tropical marine life surrounding this area.