The Editor says: This year, BlueTrend has featured many articles on Okinawa diving and travel, and for good reason — Okinawa is just a short hop from Taiwan on a budget airline, and beyond the diving, Japan's unique culture offers a wonderful bonus, including the legendary wagyu beef that satisfies bite after bite. We are especially grateful to Instructor Ken Huang of UMI DIVE Okinawa for generously sharing his years of invaluable experience living and working in Okinawa. His insights make for the perfect planning guide for an Okinawa diving trip. What are you waiting for? Get your crew together and go!
I'm Ken (that's what everyone calls me). I moved to Japan four years ago for work and currently run a dive shop in Okinawa. I promised earlier to write an introduction to diving in Okinawa, so here it is! I'll break it into several sections to give fellow divers the most complete picture possible.
Okinawa's Diving Environment
The entire Okinawa Prefecture is fully open to water-based activities. As of last year, there were 1,986 registered water-activity operators across the prefecture. Scuba diving is, of course, among them — and it is one of the main tourism draws, with over 550 operators. In Onna Village alone (the Blue Cave area), there are nearly 200 or more dive shops, not counting independent instructors.
The Okinawa government has also developed a number of facilities to provide divers with a comfortable environment for training. In Ginowan, there is a pool at an industry center that is managed under contract. It features a 4-meter pool (deep enough, though a bit small) that is well suited for Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert), drysuit, and freediving courses. The second floor houses HID, a dive equipment store selling mostly budget-friendly gear, with about one-third of its products sourced from Taiwan. Other major international brands available in Taiwan can be found here too; the primary customers are operators and fishermen from the fishing cooperative. Discounts on scuba gear are not especially generous (the Japanese don't discount much in general), but you can bring your passport and hunt for specialty brands not manufactured in Taiwan. For everything else, you can find it at dive shops or online in Taiwan.
If you'd rather not head straight to open water for a certification course, you can bring students to Mie Port Marine and Sky Park next to Naminoue Shrine. This facility was built by Okinawa Prefecture and is managed under contract. It includes a calm, protected water area specifically designed for dive training, where courses can be conducted very safely. Full paid shower and changing facilities are available on land.
Since everyone has their own preferences when it comes to dive sites, I'll try to be as objective as possible in my introductions:
Okinawa Dive Sites
The main island of Okinawa is roughly the size of the Taoyuan–Hsinchu–Miaoli corridor. Within that area, there are approximately 150 or more dive sites spread across the north, south, east, and west. Depending on weather conditions and divers' skill levels, operators will either drive you to a site or arrange to meet you there, then guide you through a variety of locations.
Northern Ie Island Wreck (0–40 m)
I haven't had the chance to dive the Ie Island wreck myself yet. The boats heading out there are quite small, so it's best to go only when the weather is truly good.
Blue Cave in the Onna Area (0–18 m)
This site was developed roughly eight years ago. My honest take? It's worth visiting… once. It's like a pilgrimage — the way foreigners always make a point of visiting the changing of the guard at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall at least once. That's the kind of vibe it has. It's best to go during the off-peak season (June–September is actually prime diving season, so that goes without saying). It is especially well suited for a first try, particularly for discover scuba diving (no certification required), and it's a great place to bring the whole family for both deep and shallow underwater experiences.
There are two ways to dive the Blue Cave: shore dive or boat dive (stating the obvious, I know). Those who are fit and budget-conscious can opt for the shore dive — consider it a leg workout, because hauling full gear up and down 200 steps is no small feat, though still easier than the off-road trail at Chao Jing Park in the early days. So Taiwanese divers can definitely handle it. The boat dive is the more relaxed option. The boats in this area are fishing vessels (和船, traditional Japanese fishing boats) from the fishing cooperative that convert into dive transport vessels in summer. Once aboard, it takes about five minutes to reach the water's surface in front of the Blue Cave. From there, it's queue up to enter the water, queue up to enter the cave, queue up for photos, and queue up to reboard — the entire dive activity wraps up in about 25 minutes. It is truly an ideal spot for discover scuba diving.
There are many operators in this area, with quite a few Chinese-speaking ones as well. If you're watching your budget, look for a Japanese-operated dive shop. Historically there was Kuroshio Diving; more recently, Ao-Sen has also been doing a great job — worth checking out.
My conclusion: the Blue Cave is a genuinely great spot for discover scuba diving and well worth experiencing at least once.
Central Sunabe Area (0–30 m)
Next, let me introduce the dive site closest to my own shop — Miyagi Coast (Sunabe). This is a well-known shore dive site and a favourite among both local Japanese and American divers. Sunabe could arguably be called the birthplace of Okinawa diving. It has impressive coral coverage, and when I earned my Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) in Okinawa back in 2004, the instructional video playing at the shop was actually about Sunabe. The coastline has been nicely maintained in recent years, drawing even more visitors. The Sunabe shoreline stretches for roughly one kilometre and can be divided into three main dive sites:
- Small Blue Cave vs. Underwater Seawall
- Underwater Mailbox vs. Underwater Seawall
- UFO vs. Bird Cage (artificial steel reef)
Sunabe is suitable for discover scuba diving, training courses, advanced diving, and night diving. Personally, I think this site is ideal for travellers whose primary purpose is diving. On the first day, come here for two tanks to adjust your equipment and shake off the rust. For the first tank, head to the Small Blue Cave — it's not as large as the main Blue Cave, but the upside is you won't have to queue with other divers for photos. The soft coral along the way is rarely seen in Taiwan, and I personally love diving this route as a way to unwind. On the way back, swing by the Underwater Mailbox, do your safety stop, and surface.
For the second tank, ask your dive shop to take you to the Bird Cage and UFO sites to see schools of yellowtail barracuda. This site is also along the Sunabe shoreline, about a 200-metre walk away. Afterward, head ashore and treat yourself to a bowl of noodles at Hamaya Soba (浜屋そば), one of Okinawa's most celebrated Okinawa soba restaurants.
To sum up: Sunabe is ideal for three dives in total, and from there you can plan the rest of your Okinawa dive itinerary at your own pace.
There are currently two Chinese-speaking-operated dive shops in the Sunabe area: Oki-Sen, which opened before mine, and our shop, UMI DIVE. Both have outstanding and passionate instructors — definitely worth checking out!
Southern Itoman Golden Triangle (0–60 m)
Itoman is better suited for boat diving. Shore diving here is mostly done by locals, and getting to the entry point is quite gruelling — it's like a combination of the old Chao Jing Park and Hejie trails. You have to descend a near-vertical rock face in full gear, then hike along the coastline to the entry point, and repeat the whole thing on the way back. If you go by boat, however, Itoman becomes a lot of fun — though it is best suited for Advanced-level divers and above, with solid neutral buoyancy control.
The famous Golden Triangle has some spots that exceed the 40-metre recreational dive limit. Divers who love this site often use enriched air nitrox (EANx) and push just past the 50-metre mark, where they can encounter large groups of Whitetip Reef Sharks, tuna, Giant Trevally (GT), and more. Near the Golden Triangle there is also a spot where you might chance upon Stingray on their migration route — the timing depends on the tide, and I've only seen them once in several attempts, but the boat operators keep each other informed when Stingray are spotted. It's a site well worth getting excited about.
Offshore Islands — Kerama Islands and Beyond (0–50 m)
This is a destination you could dive for years and never exhaust. It offers a much more rewarding experience for certified recreational divers. The only way to dive the Kerama Islands is by boat. Departures are mainly from Mie Port in Naha or from Minatogawa Fishing Port near American Village. Heading west from Naha by boat for roughly twenty minutes, you begin to enter the waters of Kerama Quasi-National Park.
There are nearly 400 dive sites spread across more than a hundred islands of varying sizes, distributed across all directions. Boat operators choose entry points based on wave and current conditions, doing their best to bring divers to the smoothest possible entries. A typical day of Kerama diving includes three dives. Divers should either bring their own lunch or ask their shop to purchase it for them. Usually, a longer surface interval is taken at the second dive site, where everyone eats on the boat before heading to the third site. The third dive typically wraps up by 2
p.m., with return to Naha harbour around 3 p.m. — leaving plenty of time for land sightseeing. Divers can plan an evening out in the city: wagyu barbecue, Okinawan cuisine, and live folk music performances are all excellent choices.Bonus: A Rather Shameful Dive Site — The Captive Whale Shark Enclosure
This site was originally billed as an outdoor holding area to give the aquarium's Whale Sharks the occasional chance to "get some fresh air." The story told to customers is that the Whale Sharks were rescued from open water. However, after a typhoon last year, the Whale Sharks actually escaped through the enclosure netting — and somehow, after the typhoon passed, another one was "rescued" and brought back. To call it what it is: this is a commercial dive operation hiding behind the banner of conservation.
Since people ask and people go, there is clearly a market for it. I won't pretend it doesn't exist, and I'm including it here for those who want to know. For business reasons, some operators do run it.
2019.5.7 — Reader Update: The Whale Shark at Yomitan Village's Tooya Fishing Port is the property of the aquarium, entrusted to the Tooya Fishing Cooperative for management, and further delegated to affiliated dive operators for day-to-day care. The new Whale Shark this year was transferred from the aquarium in March — it was not caught at sea. Health checks, including regular blood draws and stool samples, are conducted monthly by the aquarium. The fishing port is also a regular fish supply centre for the aquarium. — Clarification provided by Instructor Wang of Okinawa Top Marine (topmarine.com.tw).
Okinawa Diving: A Summary
To wrap up, diving in Okinawa tends to be more expensive compared to Southeast Asia. I often suggest that diving travellers plan a five-day itinerary and consider booking an entire vacation rental home, or finding a budget hotel. The advantage of renting an entire place is that the cost averages out to roughly ¥3,500–¥4,500 per person per night, and you can leave your gear and wet suits outside to dry.
The downside is that everyone living together gets a bit too lively — just be sure no one overindulges in alcohol the night before a dive day. Hotels and guesthouses offer more personal privacy, though rooms tend to be on the smaller side. Spend the first three days focused on diving — you can comfortably fit in eight to nine dives.
For transport during the diving days, spend a little and let your dive shop handle transfers between your accommodation and the harbour. Spend your evenings enjoying good food near where you're staying. There's no real need to rent a car for those three days. Save the rental car for the final two days dedicated to land sightseeing, and enjoy the pleasure of a self-drive in Japan. Renting an American-style open-top sports car here is surprisingly affordable, and renting a Japanese hybrid is even cheaper!
Diving in Okinawa — setting aside the captive Whale Shark site mentioned above — really does depend on luck when it comes to spotting big marine life. But what I can say is that they're all out there, living happily in these waters. Every dive brings its own surprises. Japanese divers, for their part, have a wonderfully calm and accepting attitude about whatever marine life they happen to encounter on any given dive.
The Realities of Running a Business Here
Starting a business abroad as a Taiwanese is harder than doing so as a local. We have to provide more for our staff, and our costs are relatively higher than those of Japanese operators — for example, we must provide employee housing and transportation, which Japanese operators don't need to. We offer Chinese-language service, which eliminates a lot of potential misunderstandings and communication issues. If you speak fluent Japanese and are on a tight budget, searching the web for Japanese-operated dive shops is also a perfectly reasonable approach.
Finally, I sincerely ask all fellow divers: once you've made a reservation with any dive shop, please do not cancel the day before your activity. In Okinawa, boat operators work on a reservation basis. If you cancel the day before, the dive shop still has to pay the boat fee. Let's all do our part to uphold the reputation of Taiwanese divers!
With budget airlines now offering flights to Okinawa's main island in as little as one hour, it truly is a destination worth diving. I hope this guide is helpful to everyone!
Wishing all divers safe and wonderful dives,
Dive safe.
Related links:
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Okinawa Diving Is More Than Just the Blue Cave! 5 Okinawa Diving Secrets You Need to Know
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Cave Diving, Sharks, and Beautiful Coral Reefs — Uncovering a Hidden Okinawa Dive Site: Cape Manzamo
Cover image credit: Image by mutomasataka from Pixabay
