Diving in Japan

Swim beneath drifting sea ice searching for tiny 'sea angel' clione

Columnar rock and Shakotan Blue water in Hokkaido's only marine park

Shore dives in a clear caldera lake, with ice dives in midwinter

Resident kobudai wrasse swim up to greet divers at Aka-Iwa

Sea caves and amberjack-hunted fish schools in a Sea of Japan geopark

Over 30 nudibranch species on a single Jogashima dive, 90 minutes from Tokyo

Kuroshio-fed pinnacles with amberjack schools within reach of Tokyo

Japan's macro heartland on a sand slope three hours from Tokyo

A sunken shrine, Shark City and Japan's cod hole at the mouth of Tokyo Bay

Hammerhead schools at sunrise, reached from a volcanic beach

Mainland Japan's only reliable schooling hammerhead dive

Dense fish schools over volcanic caves and walls, a short hop from Tokyo

Lava arches and Kuroshio-fed corals a short flight from Tokyo

A wreck covered in schooling fish, five minutes from the harbour

Kannoura, Japan's one known place to watch whitespotted bamboosharks spawn

The world's northernmost table coral reef, growing at 33° north

The Yuzen butterflyfish, found only here and further south

Nudibranchs, sea caves and soft coral in the islands off western Kyushu

Pufferfish sculpt two-metre geometric nests into the sand at 25 m

Caves and arches in raised coral, crowded with sea turtles

Wild dolphin encounters in Bonin Blue water 1,000 km from the nearest city.

Japan's most-dived site, a limestone cavern lit blue from below

Manta cleaning walls shallow enough for beginners, visited almost all year.

Kerama Blue visibility over coral gardens with turtles on nearly every dive.

Limestone arches and chambers with light shafts through the roof

Reef manta rays circle shallow cleaning stations in Kabira Bay most of the year.

Winter hammerhead schools stack over pinnacles beside the disputed sunken Monument.

A constant-current drift through the Yonara Channel and its manta points.