Kushimoto · Japan · Reef · Muck & macro
Bizen
A tropical longfin grouper resident here for over a decade
Area photo: Yudai_photography · CC BY 4.0
Sand flats between tall rocky outcrops, dived for two things at once: three separate grouper reefs, one of them home to a longfin grouper that has lived here for more than a decade, and sand on the south side holding gobies that operators say are not seen elsewhere in Kushimoto. Depth runs 7 to 24 metres with no current.
Also known as 備前.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Kushimoto and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
Bizen is sand with tall outcrops standing out of it, and guides run it between three known grouper spots on the north, south and east sides of the site. The draw is a longfin grouper — a tropical species, well north of where it belongs — that settled here more than ten years ago and has stayed; divers now travel to Kushimoto specifically to see it.
The south side is the macro half of the dive. As the water warms, the sand there produces shrimpgobies that operators say are not seen elsewhere in Kushimoto: Wheeler's, flagtail and Yasha gobies. In summer and autumn the balance tips the other way, with schools of silver-stripe round herring over the site and pelagic fish cutting into them around the outcrops.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Macro critters
- Sardine baitballs
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Kushimoto: Jul–Oct is warmest with the widest range of tropical strays; winter drops to 16°C but gives the clearest water on the reef.
Dive videos
Log070915Bizen · PapamonDiving on YouTube
Sources
- Coral Queen — dive point introduction — Coral Queen (Kushimoto Diving Service)
- Akasyachi Diving Service — dive point map — Akasyachi Diving Service
More dive sites in Kushimoto
Muck & macro
The original longfin grouper reef, open only in late autumn
Pinnacle
A seamount 2 km offshore, dived at slack water for pelagics
Table coral in 6 m of water, thirty seconds' walk from shore
Reef
Hand-fed moorish idol schools that swim up to divers
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