Best Beach and Dive Destinations in Japan
Readers of Marine Diving Web Select for foreigners who want to dive and have fun on the beach.

Best Beach

No.1

Maeda-misaki has Ao no Dokutsu.
There are many rock steps to get to Ao no Dokutsu, and you have to go down the steps by walk.
But you can access there by boat depending on travel agencies.

Ao no Dokutsu (Blue Hole),

Maeda-misaki, Onna Village, Okinawa Main Island
真栄田岬　青の洞窟（沖縄本島）

Actually, Ao no Dokutsu, Maeda-misaki is not a beach, but it is a very popular snorkeling site in Okinawa, Japan.
There is a very famous blue hole. It is mysterious and beautiful.
You can go there by car from any place in Okinawa Main Island.
It takes only one hour from Naha city.
We recommend that you take part in a tour which travel agencies present to customers.

No.1に選ばれたのは沖縄本島恩納村真栄田岬にある「青の洞窟」。
透明度や天気、光の高さなどタイミングが合えば見られる、透明度の高い青い海と青い光の神秘的さは、本場イタリアの「青の洞窟」をしのぐ美しさともいわれる。
人の少ない平日のお昼ごろを狙いたい。

Ao no Dokutsu is a popular dive site.

You can also enjoy snorkeling at Ao no Dokutsu.

No.2

Furu-Zamami has a beautiful white beach.

Furu-Zamami,

Zamami-jima (Jima = Island), Okinawa
座間味島　古座間味

Now, Zamami-jima is a very popular island among foreigners.
Furu-Zamami is one of the best beaches in Japan. It has a long white beach, and in front of the beach, there is a beautiful coral reef. Although coral breach has often happened, there are many reef fish there !
If you want to, you can go there by a day trip from Naha, Okinawa.
But we recommend you to stay at Zamami-Jima.
It takes about 1 hour from Tomari port, Naha by speed boat.

座間味島は沖縄の島々の中でもヨーロピアンに非常に人気で、ヨーロピアン目当ての宿やマリンレジャーサービスもあるようだが、ここ古座間味は中でも彼らに大人気のビーチ。
サンゴから生まれたホワイトビーチが長く続き、目の前には絶好のスノーケリングスポットが。
日がな一日過ごすことができる。
ただし、飲料の準備と日焼け対策は確実に（夏場は露店もあり）。

No.3

You can leave footprints on the virgin white sand !

Maboroshi no Shima, "Island of Phantom"

Yaeyama Shoto, Okinawa
八重山諸島　幻の島

Yaeyama Shoto (islands) is located at the most south-west part in Japan.
Maboroshi no Shima is a sand bank in the biggest lagoon “Sekisei Shoko” in Japan.
It would appear when tide is low, as Maboroshi means phantom or illusion.
You can access Maboroshi no Sima only by tour, which marine leisure services and travel agencies operate in Ishigaki-jima or Kohama-jima.

八重山諸島は日本の南西端にある諸島。幻の島はそんな八重山諸島の中にある日本最大の礁湖（ラグーン）、「石西礁湖」の中にあるサンゴの砂が堆積した砂洲で、 引き潮になると姿を現すというまさに幻の島。
石垣島や小浜島などから半日観光、日帰りでアクセスが可能。

No.4

There is a long white beach there.
It is one of the best snorkeling site in Miyako-jima.

Shigira Beach,

Miyako-jima, Okinawa
宮古島　シギラビーチ

Shigira Beach is located at Shigira Bay, in southern part of Miyako-jima.
It has a very beautiful white beach and there are many beautiful coral reefs in front of the beach.
So, you can enjoy snorkeling and scuba diving there.
It takes 15 min from Miyako-jima airport by car.

シギラビーチは宮古島南部のシギラベイに面したホワイトビーチ。
スノーケリングスポットとしても名高いし、ダイビングサービスによってはここでダイビングを楽しむことも。
宮古島空港から車で約15分。

No.5

There are 3 parts of sand banks in the reef.
The end of the sand bank is Hate-no-hama.

Hate-no-hama

Kume-jima, Okinawa
久米島　はての浜

Hate-no-hama is the longest sand bank in Japan.
It means “the end of the beach”.
The white sand bank is long and long, so you can enjoy hanging around, snorkeling, swimming, playing marine leisure, and more.
We recommend that you take part in a tour from Kume-jima.

玉のように美しいということから、“球美の島”とも呼ばれる久米島。
その東に延びるはての浜（本当は“御願干瀬”＜うがんびし＞というサンドバンクで、前の浜、中の浜、はての浜　の大きく分けて３つの砂洲＝サンドバンクから成る）も、日本トップクラスの人気ビーチ。
夏になると久米島から半日、日帰りツアーがガンガン催行されるし、 ダイビングサービスによっては、休憩時に立ち寄ってくれる場合も。

Best Dive Site

No.1

There are many fish around coral reefs.　“Nishi-bama” is one of the best dive sites in Kerama.

Kerama

Okinawa
ケラマ諸島

Kerama Islands are located 30-60 min. from Naha, Okinawa, and consists of many islands.
4 of the islands are inhabited, and the rest is uninhabited.
You can go and dive from Naha and Okinawa Main Island, but we strongly recommend that you stay and dive in Tokashiki-jima, Zamami-jima , Aka-jima, and Geruma-jima.
Around islands, many coral reefs have been well developed for hundreds of years, so Kerama is one of the most famous islands for divers and snorkelers.
You can dive with turtles, schools of fish, and watch the beautiful coral reef and underwater scene.
In summer, you may dive with manta-ray.
In winter, you may watch humpback whale from a diving boat.
It must be one of the most memorable diving !

ケラマ諸島は那覇から30～60分の距離にあるたくさんの島々から成る島々。
４つの有人島～渡嘉敷島、座間味島、阿嘉島、慶留間島があるが、このいずれかに滞在して潜ることを強くオススメする。
というのも、島々の周りにはたくさんのサンゴ礁が発達しており、ウミガメや魚群と泳ぐことができ、素晴らしい海中景観を拝むこともできる。
夏はマンタ、冬はザトウクジラに会うことも！
最高のダイビングの一つになること間違いなしだ。

You can sometimes see a big fan coral in Kerama.

There are many turtle dive sites in Kerama.

No.2

One of the most popular creature is manta-ray.
There are some manta spots around Ishigaki.

Ishigaki-jima

Okinawa
石垣島

Ishigaki-jima is located about 400km from Naha and is a center of Yaeyama Shoto(Islands).
It has the largest lagoon in southern part of island, and there are many dive sites.
There are many kinds of creatures in the lagoon, drop-off, coral reefs and brackish waters.
We think Yaeyama is the top area where many kinds of marine life live.
Also they have some spectacular manta-ray dive sites around the island.
All divers, from beginners to well-experienced divers can enjoy this sea. This island is also good for family trips.
You can go there directly by air from Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Naha.

日本の南西端にある八重山諸島の中心にあるのが石垣島。
南には日本最大の石西礁湖（ラグーン）が広がり、島の周囲の海域に生息する海岸生物の多さは日本でもトップクラス。
ダイビングスポット数も多く、バラエティあふれる海中シーンに出会えるのが魅力だ。
さらにマンタスポットもいくつもあり、巨大で雄大と人気のマンタとの遭遇率も高い。
初心者からベテランまで、さらにファミリーにも人気の島なので、ぜひ訪れていただきたい。

No.3

One of the very popular dive site, Mao no kyuden.
Mao means “devil”, and Kyuden means “palace", so it means "The Palace of the Devil."
At the innermost of the cave, there is a pedestal as though it is for the devil to sit.

Miyako-jima

Okinawa
宮古島

Miyako-jima is very famous for cavern diving.
There are many arches, holes and caverns around Miyako-jima and neighbor islands: Irabu-jima and Shimoji-sima.
Some caves need the dive skill level, but some don’t. Any diver can enjoy Miyako’s caves.
You can also enjoy beautiful corals and school of pelagic fish.
Miyako is a paradise for every diver !

宮古島はケーブダイビングで有名な島。
宮古島やその隣の伊良部島、下地島にはたくさんのアーチ、ホール、ケーブといった地形スポットがあり、時には中級以上のスキルを要するが、初心者でも潜れる場所もあり、誰もが楽しめる。
また、サンゴ礁や回遊魚の群れなどが楽しめるスポットも。
ダイバーの楽園、宮古島をがっつり楽しんでいただきたい！

No.4

You can see a big school of Dogtooth tuna around Keita. It is far from Chichi-jima, so you can access there only when the ocean is calm.

Ogasawara

Island, Tokyo
小笠原諸島

Ogasawara shoto(islands) belong to Tokyo, but it’s located 1,000km from Takeshiba-sanbashi(jetty), Tokyo.
It’s warm all year long in the sub-tropic weather.
There are two inhabited islands : Chichi-jima and Haha-jima.
There is no airport there, so you have to go there by a ship: Ogasawara Maru, and it takes 24 hours !
She only arrives at Chichi-jima, so you have to transfer from Chichi to Haha.
We call Ogasawara the last unexplored region, or Galapagos in the East Asia.
There are many endemic species around islands, so you can watch the rare creatures.
There are also dolphins and whales, so you can swim with them !
Long time ago, some Hawaiian and European arrived at the islands, and named them Bonin Islands.
Now, we Japanese call the transparent sea “Bonin Blue”, and you can enjoy unlimited transparent blue in Ogasawara.

東京の竹芝桟橋から南へ約1,000kmに浮かぶ小笠原諸島は、東京都に属する亜熱帯の島。
定期便があるのは船だけで、週に約１便しかない「おがさわら丸」で片道約24時間。
人が住んでいるのは父島と母島だけで、母島へはさらに船を乗り換えてアクセスすることに。
“ボニンブルー”と呼ばれる透明度抜群の海では、たくさんの魚やこの海域ならではの固有種が見られるほか、イルカと一緒に泳げ、また運が良ければクジラと泳ぐことも可能。
なかなかアクセスできない貴重な島だけに、ぜひ訪れてみたい。

No.5

Kushimoto is very close to Osaka, Kansai area, but they can see tropic underwater ! This is a paradise for weekend divers !

Kushimoto

Kii Pen., Wakayama
串本

Kushimoto town is located at the southernmost tip of Honshu (Japanese main island).
Divers who live in Osaka and around often go diving there in the weekend.
You can go there by train or by car. (If you use the train, your dive shop would pick you up depending on the arrival time.)
It is warm all year long and you can see table coral and other kinds of corals underwater.
There are both tropical and temperate fish, and this is very rare.
Also, there are many nudibranchs and many other little creatures, so it’s the paradise for underwater photographers.

串本は本州最南端の町で、温暖な気候のため一年中暖かい亜熱帯気候に属している。
海の中もトロピカルフィッシュやテーブルサンゴなどの南の海の生き物も多く、また温帯の魚も共存している非常にレアな海なのだ。
大阪近郊のダイバーなら日帰りもできるので、週末のダイブエリアとして大人気。

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