Scuba Diving & Snorkeling Okinawa

I came to Okinawa expecting a lot. Looking at google earth, it looked like sheer paradise. Coral surrounding much of the island, beaches everywhere, which means snorkeling and diving should be good, right? Well, yes and no. Yes because there were an amazing amount of coral with a lot of variety. Places like Iriomote had walls of it 15 foot tall, plus, you'd have to walk out 100-200m just to get to the break. The ocean is real calm so there's not much danger of getting caught in a current. There are sea turles, manta rays in the summer, whale sharks and hammerheads in the winter and an underwater city like formation that no one knows how got there. No, because many typhoons sweep through this area and the coral often get shattered when the storm is too big. I've been to many places to dive and snorkel and unfortunately, shattered coral is quite common so really, it's no shock. The fish diversity is massive. There are fish of all sorts living amongst the coral but sadly, there were very few large fish which I like to see. The problem is me, I've been to quite a few tropical islands and seen some pretty amazing locations so I'm quite spoiled when it comes to this.

Overall, I'd say to the average unseasoned eye, you'd be thoroughly impressed. David Peyrot in my video definitely was! I can't complain too much either, I saw three 4 meter wide manta rays, didn't I?

A Glance back at Okinawa

I've been traveling the Okinawa Islands since April 23rd now. My Goal? Cycle as many islands as I could. I ended with 7. Could have done more but I am satisfied. Plus, I was buggered. It's been amazing beyond words can say! Never seen so many beautiful beaches all clustered together. The only thing lacking is the hordes of bikini babes. The beautiful scenery makes up for that I suppose. So if you get the chance to come here, this is what I suggest:

1. Don't go to one of those big resorts and get pampered and driven around everywhere and so on.

2. Do it by bicycle or scooter, if you can.

3. Take your time. Spend 2-4 weeks if possible to soak up the peacefulness of your surroundings.

4. Bring your snorkeling gear. There's plenty of islands that have a good diversity of marine life and coral.

5. If you're into diving, there's schools of hammerheads, whale sharks, an underwater city that's a big mystery in the winter and manta rays in the summer nearby.

6. Definitely go to Iriomote Island via. Ishigaki Island. It's too bad they canceled the ferry service so you must fly to Ishigaki first, but if you like nature, it's worth it. There's nothing but rivers leading to waterfalls snaking through the mountains. At the estuary there's always mangrove trees which shelter an assortment of life. You can go kayaking up one of the many rivers, snorkel offshore, or just lay on one of the gold sand beaches.

Now I'm in Naha waiting to start the 3rd leg of my journey in Japan. The 1st being 3 months of working as a snowboard instructor in Niseko, Hokkaido in the north. I will start in Osaka. Buy me a motorcycle and see where the road takes me. Sounds like an adventure.