Kerama Islands

A couple of hours ferry journey off the Okinawa main island, the laid back islands of Zamami and Aka are home to some of the most beautiful tropical coastline in Japan with white sand beaches, primeval forests, quiet island life and a huge array of coral and marine life.

These islands are part of the 22 island chain which has more than 70 dive sites within easy reach from Zamami or Aka-jima. The waters around the island are very calm offering easy diving and snorkelling sites with visibility often exceeding 30 metres plus. The variety of dive sites around the islands offer fantastic diving for all levels with reasonably shallow coral rich sites for the beginner, superb drift diving, caves and pinnacles for the more adventurous. As well as colourful nudibranchs seen making their way across the corals, reef sharks and turtles can be seen all year round.


This video we found on Youtube really shows off some of the beauty of diving in this region of Japan. Check out the end of the video for a Whale Shark dive off the coast of mainland Okinawa. Thanks Earthprocessor for such a great shoot!

Highlights

The Kerama’s offer a huge variety of scuba and snorkelling sites with most just off shore or a short boat ride away. Many of the sites have been protected over the years with diving limited at a number of sites. As a result, the pristine waters offer stunning corals and a whole host of delicate macro life. Turtles can be seen all year round and the early summer (May – June) sees the spawning coral and the opportunity for spectacular night diving. The early months of the year also enable the spectacle of Humpback whale watching around the islands waters.

Twin Rock 

Twin Rock is ideal for beginners and experienced divers alike. Beautiful hard coral layers out from as shallow as 6m to around 18m with diverse marine life in abundance. The rocks are also an excellent drift dive site frm 22m where big tuna and white tips sharks are usually spotted.

Sand Triangle 

This site seems to have beautiful lime stone and coral of every shape and size. The site begins at just 7m to around 20m and is a treat for all divers showcasing all kinds of Macro marine life with nudibranch and shrimp. You are almost guranteed to see Sea Turtle here along with schools of white snapper. A beautiful site.

Ugan 

This phallic symbol of the ancient Ryukyu people soars out of the sea but also extends 40m below. This giant lime wall covered in coral is a fantastic drift dive with dog tooth tuna, white tip shark and turtles alongside striking lionfish and thousands of brightly coloured anthias.

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Summer  (Jun-Aug)

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Autumn (Sep-Nov)

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Winter (Dec-Feb)

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