Nanki-Shirahama & Tanabe · Japan · Reef · Channel & pass
Irozu
A sand channel walled by rock nearly 10 m high on both sides
Irozu is one of the beginner boat dives of Shirahama, three minutes from the shop: a rocky reef pierced by arches of different sizes, with a sand-floored channel cut between steep rock walls. Fish of many species live in the arches.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Nanki-Shirahama & Tanabe and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The dive runs between 10 and 16 m. Its features are three arches, large and small, each home to a wide mix of fish, and a channel where a strip of sand runs between rock walls that rise almost 10 m on either side.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Nanki-Shirahama & Tanabe: Diving runs all year; summer is the high season, with the warmest water and bays that face away from the south wind.
Questions divers ask
How long is the boat ride to Irozu?+
About 3 minutes from the Miss Ocean shop in Shirahama.
Sources
- ダイビングポイント紹介 — Miss Ocean Diving Service
More dive sites in Nanki-Shirahama & Tanabe
Wall
A drop-off that falls in one plunge from 17 m to 40 m
Reef
An arch 15 m long, among the largest on the Kii Peninsula
Reef
Harlequin shrimp and boxer crabs on the bottom near 30 m
Sand slope
Shrimpgobies paired with snapping shrimp on the sand at 20 m
Wreck
Sweepers and cardinalfish packed so thick they hide the hull
Similar dives elsewhere
Reef
Arima
Kozushima · Japan
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A tropical longfin grouper resident here for over a decade
A protected colony of endangered grey nurse sharks
15 resident sea turtles in a calm abandoned harbour