We’ve had our own shares of great scuba diving experiences in the world. We’ve been lucky enough to see Humpback whales, Manta rays, Devil/Mobula Rays, great Turtles, giant Frog Fish, rare pygmy seahorses and of course, nudibranchs and many more.
People ask us often why we settled here. There were many reasons but one of them is, of course, Okinawa’s pristine scuba diving. Of course, Japan has a long history of diving starting with a 2000-year old tradition of Ama divers. And also when it comes to scuba diving, there are some important historical people to note as well. Although, very little is known about Yasukichi Murakami, the unsung hero and the inventor of safer scuba diving equipment (Murakami held the patent until 1943. While he and his family were interned in an Australian camp during Pacific War as “enemy aliens”, he was unable to renew his patent and in that same year, Jacques Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan submitted a patent request for a nearly identical design), the first hard-hat diving equipment officially recorded in Japan was in 1866 by Mankichi Ueda to repair an English ship. So Japanese have been diving for quite some time.
So diving and Japan are inseparable. Being the subtropical island prefecture with the temperature of with the water temperature of 22-29 degrees Celsius all year around, we can scuba dive even in the dead of winter (although a bit chillier).
Pristine Coral Reefs
Okinawa is famous for pristine coral reefs. On mainland Okinawa, there are two big research facilities on the ocean and one of them is Sesoko’s Coral Institute. According to their studies, our coral in Okinawa is extremely (and surprisingly) healthy and surprisingly thriving despite heavy fishing industry. Scientists are constantly going under to research Okinawa reefs.
Less Explored Dive Sites
There are many diving spots known in the southern region of main island Okinawa but northern region is where you often have the sea all to yourself. Our hometown, Nakijin coast area is filled with magical encounters with creatures, beautiful sea walls and caves. But please be aware that you do not go to these unknown places alone. Many of the Okinawan beaches are sacred to the locals, not to mention you may have to go though their residential areas to go through. You can imagine why they do not want their sacred locations filled with parked cars and loud tourists. So you need to know where to go, when to go and how to get there. At Bubble Addict, we have worked very hard to understand and learn the ways of Okinawa and achieving permissions to go through these pristine dive spots took a while so we keep our beautiful village intact and undisturbed.
What we do recommend is signing up for our Uncharted Dive to explore these adventures in a way that does not stress local cultures.
This is Ryukyu Islands. They are much bigger than you think.
Lots of people come and tell us they’re going to arrive in Naha airport, come to Nakijin to dive with us on the same day and that afternoon, they plan to hop onto one of the ferries to try another island. Okinawa is much bigger than that. Okinawa prefecture consists of more than 11 islands. It’s possible to hop from an island to island but you definitely need more planning and time than just a few days. Our dive center is about 2 hours away from Naha airport. So if you’re coming all the way, you might as well stay a few nights at least, after all, Okinawa North is the best part of Okinawa main island with deserted beaches and dense forest with many waterfalls.
The best part in Okinawa North is people.
And we’ve been to many places in the world. Sure, they don’t speak much of English but what better way to stay in a local guesthouse, visit historical sites or rich nature, and stop in one of Izakaya (local pub) that is filled with Okinawa local food. The locals may look shy but don’t worry, after a few drinks, they’ll show you true colors. Most elderly people are so curious and they’ll throw many questions in broken English that they remember from the war time. They’ll laugh as they make you try the local Awamori (Okinawa liquor) and serve you delicious food that you don’t even know what. Around Bubble Addict, there are a few such local pubs we can recommend and I promise it’ll be a night to remember.
So many people try to plan so much of their vacation time from day and night to make sure they don’t get served the wrong food or have anything unexpected happen to them. But that’s traveling, isn’t it?
