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Updated 2/20/2013
Diving in Japan
Away from the crowds and congestion of
Tokyo, the Izu Peninsula provides a wealth of intriguing marine life unique to this Island
nation. At a latitude near that of Monterey Bay in California, divers encounter kelp
and temperate marine life, while the Kuroshio Current provides warm water laden with
tropical species. Scuba divers are not allowed to take any marinelife.
Fish are
plentiful and photographic opportunities are excellent. The Izu region is famous for
huge soft corals and tube-dwelling anemones. |
Scuba diving is very
popular with the locals but only a handful of western divers have experienced
the great quality and variety of marine life Japan has to offer. The
nation's many islands offer a little
of everything from tropical coral reefs in Okinawa, temperate kelp gardens and
soft corals around the main island of Honshu, and ice diving in Hokkaido. The Kuroshio Current bathes the islands with warm water from the tropics during
summer, and the Oyashio Current brings frigid waters south from the Arctic winter.
Along the main island of Honshu, divers encounter an unusual combination of tropical and
temperate species. |
Izu Peninsula
The Izu Peninsula has the largest
concentration of dive sites (and divers) within an hours' drive from Tokyo.
Each
town has a number of shore and boat dives, all of which are different and interesting,
especially to photographers and nature lovers. Izu Oceanic Park is the oldest site
explored back in the early days of scuba. The boulder beach is exposed to rough surf
and can be a nightmare to get in and out. Yawatano is well-protected from
waves, but the dive site doubles as a harbor entrance! Osezaki is the number one
dive site in Honshu, with a large protected bay full of rare and beautiful critters, and
an outer wall teeming with huge soft corals, gorgonians, and endemic Anthias, to name just
a few. |
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