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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.

  Currents Map of Japan

 

Izu Peninsula

Map of Japan's 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.
Osezaki Button Yawatano Button
Hachijojima Island