Just like Taiwan, Japan is a country surrounded by the sea on all sides, with no shortage of excellent dive sites. Today we'd like to introduce you to a creature well worth making the trip for: the lumpfish.
After careful consideration, we settled on the T-style Dive Center. This dive shop is located in Kansai, at Takenohama Beach in Hyogo Prefecture — about two and a half hours by car from Osaka. It's run by the warm-hearted Yosuke Tanaka (田中陽介) and his lovely wife Miki Koyama (小山美紀). This young couple wears multiple hats: dive guides, guesthouse hosts, and chefs — all of which gives the place a wonderfully personal, homey feel.
A Paradise for Lumpfish
Diving here is boat-only. Heading out from the harbour, about five minutes to the left, you'll come across a sweeping cliff face that drops straight down to 15 metres below the surface — we jokingly nicknamed it "The Wall of Contemplation." The reason? That's where all the lumpfish are, and when you're there shooting, you'll see underwater photographers kneeling motionless on the seabed, one after another, staring at the wall — just like students made to stand in the corner, ha!
Meet the Lumpfish
The lumpfish belongs to the family Cyclopteridae — known in English as lumpsuckers or lumpfish, and in Japanese as ダンゴウオ (団子魚, "dumpling fish"). They live among a type of sargassum seaweed called クロメ (Kurome). The larger ones are roughly the size of a fingernail; the smaller ones are no bigger than a sesame seed. They're not particularly fast swimmers, and the lumpfish here are fairly unbothered by divers — unless you startle them. They do tend to hide within the seaweed, however, making them tricky to spot on your own, which is exactly where your dive guide comes in.
For the best lumpfish experience, Tanaka-san recommends visiting during the spawning season in April each year. Not only can you see the lumpfish themselves, you can also spot clusters of eggs waiting to hatch. He's personally photographed four of them on a single piece of seaweed at the same time — like the Totoro bus-stop scene, it's so cute it'll melt your heart, and the image has even been used in local tourism promotions. We weren't quite that lucky ourselves, finding only one per frond. On night dives, though, you tend to find them in greater numbers and even less shy.
Also lurking near the base of the seaweed is Liparis punctulatus (スナビクニン) — equally adorable. To find one, you have to lift the seaweed frond by frond, but the moment this bashful little creature catches the light, it spirals up and down between the leaf and the stem as if riding a revolving elevator — endlessly entertaining to watch.
During this April-to-May window, you can also expect to encounter the gobiid fish Pterogobius zonoleucus (チャガラ) guarding its eggs. Typically a male-female pair will hover near their spawning site among the rocks — keep a respectful distance and they'll go about their business right in front of your lens, giving you a real chance at capturing them with their mouths open.
Another great perk of diving with Tanaka and Miki is that, even in this quiet and uncrowded stretch of coastline, you can add on a meal of fresh matsuba crab and the locally celebrated Tajima beef. Delivered straight from the source, the freshness is on a level where you can eat it raw or just blanch it for five seconds — a level of dive trip indulgence that's hard to match anywhere in Southeast Asia. Food lovers, are you tempted yet?
Wrapping up the diving in Takeno and saying goodbye to those adorable lumpfish, on our way back to Osaka we made a detour to check out the largest diving expo in Kansai: DIVING FES KANSAI 2018. This year's event ran on May 19th and 20th at Osaka Nanko ATC Hall, with a ¥1,000 admission fee. Tanaka-san had a booth there too, so we managed to score complimentary tickets.
Right at the entrance was a stunning photo wall featuring works by multiple acclaimed underwater photographers. As many know, one distinctive strand of Japanese underwater photography leans toward soft, dreamy, pastel aesthetics — and the prints really popped against the black walls. You could walk right up to the masters, take a photo together, and buy a signed copy of their books. Further in were booths from dive shops across Japan, each eagerly pitching their best sites — a list of some common Japanese dive destinations is included at the end of this article.
The main hall featured a large pool where visitors could change on the spot and try scuba diving — easily one of the most eye-catching activities of the show. While prize draws were held on the main stage, major diving certifying agencies such as PADI (certification agency), SSI (certification agency), and NAUI (certification agency), alongside equipment giants like Mares, TUSA, Mobby's, CASIO, and RICOH, were all busy promoting and explaining their offerings at their respective booths. There was also a research presentation from Kansai University on coral restoration efforts.
Afterword: This Japan dive trip delivered on every front — both above and below the water. Pack your camera: underwater for lumpfish, and topside for black kite raptors, ocean scenery, and golden-hour sunsets. Remember to buy extra baggage allowance — and leave a day in Osaka for proper shopping. Be sure to visit the mic21 dive gear megastore; we guarantee you won't be able to leave, ha!
Notes:
＊The CASIO underwater communication device can now be paired with select dive computer models from TUSA, BISM, and AQUA LUNG to trigger alert sounds.
＊RICOH's latest 360-degree camera can be linked with a VR headset for playback — the effect is incredibly immersive.
＊There's a product called Magical Hot heating tablets, marketed as safe for both the human body and the environment. They can be placed inside a wetsuit for warmth, and could potentially replace the hot-spring tablets currently used for the same purpose.
＊Dive sites represented by exhibiting dive shops included: Ishigaki, Iriomote Island, Kume Island, and Miyako Island in Okinawa; Takeno on the Nekozaki Peninsula north of Osaka; Amami Ōshima; Higashi-Izu and Itō on the Izu Peninsula; the Gotō Islands; Hayama and Miura; Kōno Minamiechizen; Amakusa in Kumamoto; French New Caledonia off Australia's northeast coast; Palau; and more.
＊Water temperature at Takeno in April is around 15°C. Those who don't mind the cold can wear a 7mm wetsuit; otherwise a drysuit is the way to go — T-style has rental gear available. Most dives here involve anchoring the boat and staying at a fixed spot, with no fighting currents or surging water, making for a fairly relaxed dive experience.
Further Links:
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ダイブリゾートT-style Dive Center
Address: 50-12 Takeno-cho Takeno, Toyooka-shi, Hyogo, Japan Website: [http://www.takeno-diving.com](http://www.takeno-diving.com/) (fb: @TakenoStyle): [https://goo.gl/u8whHD](https://www.facebook.com/TakenoStyle/) -
Lumpfish: http://eol.org/pages/5144/details
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Seaweed クロメ (Kurome): http://www.phycollab.org/2011/05/blog-post_18.html
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