Nanki-Shirahama & Tanabe · Japan · Reef
Payman Cape
An arch 15 m long, among the largest on the Kii Peninsula
Payman Cape is an intermediate boat dive off Shirahama built around a single landmark: one of the largest underwater arches on the whole Kii Peninsula. The arch runs 15 m from front to back, long enough to read as a rock tunnel rather than a doorway.
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 lies between 18 and 28 m. Its centrepiece is the arch, 6 m high, 7 m wide and 15 m deep from front to back, so it forms a short rock tunnel rather than a simple opening in the reef.
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.
Sources
- ダイビングポイント紹介 — Miss Ocean Diving Service
More dive sites in Nanki-Shirahama & Tanabe
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A drop-off that falls in one plunge from 17 m to 40 m
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A sand channel walled by rock nearly 10 m high on both sides
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Harlequin shrimp and boxer crabs on the bottom near 30 m
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Shrimpgobies paired with snapping shrimp on the sand at 20 m
Wreck
Sweepers and cardinalfish packed so thick they hide the hull
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