Diving/snorkling in Okinawa
 

I am wondering if anyone has much experience and a recommended provider. We'll be on the main island first, then Ishigaki. I found a fair bit of info elsewhere, but any first-hand, recent experiences would be great to hear about.

I went with an outfit called Seasir. They pick you up in the morning at your Naha hotel. I had signed up for their Kerama Island excursion, but was disappointed when they made the decision on the fly that they would change course and go instead to an area just offshore from American Village. It was a sunny day but I guess they saw something in the forecast they didn’t like. Other than that, they were fine. Well organized.

Near the main island, Kerama is where you want to go.

I think I may have been the only person on the tour in their 40’s. Most were probably in their 20’s, some 30’s.

For Ishigaki, please consider https://www.primescuba-isg.com/

The owner is a former co-worker of +1's who left corporate/investment banking for something a little more idyllic.

A few years ago, I stayed at the Intercontinental Ishigaki Resort and they have a really great snorkeling/diving area right off their beach. We reserved a guided snorkeling tour for two with a private guide who took us by boat to the best area off the beach where we spent about an hour snorkeling and taking photos (the guide also took underwater photos of us). This was reserved through the activities desk of the hotel, but I would imagine that you don't have to be staying at the hotel to make a reservation. It was a really memorable and fun experience, which you can probably arrange just by calling the hotel. They have scuba diving too. https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental...hoteldetail_ic

Thanks for the tip. We will be there for two nights, so sounds like a plan (weather depending).

I'm planning in being in Okinawa June 11-21 but I'm concerned it might rain the whole time.

Is anyone currently in Okinawa that can tell me if it rains only part of the day or just all the time? I'm used to Hawaii where the weather report indicates thunderstorms everyday but it's mostly good weather.

I’m not an expert on Okinawa weather, but I did some research for my past visits and read that tsuyu in Okinawa is a bit different than Honshu tsuyu in that it can be a mix of rain followed by sun on a given day.

However, if you read this (Japanese), the poster is reporting that the tsuyu so far this year in Okinawa has been more like incessant rain most days.
https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.j...l/q10261710620
A poster posted couple weeks ago that she was there 6 days and on 4 of those days it rained all day long.
So based on that, definitely does not sound like Hawaii.

Tsuyu ends in Okinawa typically in mid-late June.

In my case we will be rolling the dice with typhoons, but we'll have almost two weeks so hopefully there will be plenty of decent days.

We will probably try to get to Iriomote as well for a day trip, if the seas are calm enough. Looks like overnights are pretty pricey.

Iriomote has excellent snorkelling , beaches, nature
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e82440928a.jpg
. Hoshino Resort is very nice if it fits one's budget.

Thank you for this info and link

It does look nice, but we aim for a nightly budget of ¥20,000 for the four of us. Hoshino is about that per person/per night.

Back on Honshu now after hanging out an extra 2 days due to flight cancellations. We had great weather for the first 12 days, then the wind picked up and the last three we were pretty much hotel-bound.

Thanks to all for the previous advice.

Our sons ended up doing a course with Marine Field a bit north of Naha, then we all dove with Sea Friends on Ishigaki. They are a Japanese group with a couple good-sized dive boats and a 40 year history. They were offering 3 boat dives for ¥17,000 including lunch and gear, which was about ¥5,000 less per person than the other shops we looked at. Some of the shops with English websites may provide a more bespoke experience, but at a higher cost that adds up quickly for a family of four.

The manta were not around, some said it was because the water was too warm and no major typhoons had come through to stir things up. Still, great coral, some sea turtles, and plenty of fish.

On Ishigaki, we were very impressed with the snorkeling off Yonehara beach and went four times (it was just 15 minutes from our AirBnB at Kabira Bay). You have to go pretty far out (maybe 300m or so) to get to the reef's edge where the really good coral is, and at low tide it is like swimming through a maze. Once at the edge it drops down to 15-20m plus. An incredible amount of fish and a number of sea snakes. At the shallow depths there was significant coral bleaching, apparently due to high temps in August. We would go around 4:30-5pm and stay out until 6-6:30. I highly recommend it, but only for good swimmers with proper equipment such as rashguards/wetsuits and life jackets/floats. A large sign warned of riptides to the right, so we stayed left.

Due to typhoon #11 we weren't able to do anything during our IC stay, which is a shame since the water in front of the resort looked very promising.

On the main island I did a little exploring in front of the Sheraton Sunmarina. No coral to speak of, but a fair number of little fish. Odd rules about using life jackets (in water 1 meter deep) if you have snorkle (only googles did not invoke the rule).

We also did a bit of snorkeling on Iriomote at Hoshizuna beach. It is well protected and we saw some pretty good-sized fish. Coral wasn't all that amazing, but we were being conservative as the approaching typhoon was starting to create waves. Our stay there was only 6 hours as they weren't sure about the 5pm ferry being canceled or not. Next time I go I will definitely stay a night or two and do some hiking/kayaking.

Thanks for this! How's the water temperature/what wetsuit thickness did you use?

Water temp was quite warm, around 29-30.5C when we dove.

They offered a wetsuit but it was a bit thick, either 3 or 5mm, so I just wore a long sleeve rashguard and bathing trunks, as did a couple other male dive masters. That was perfect for me, but I have a few extra kgs of insulation.
All the women and most of the male customers wore wetsuits. Given how some of them were not exactly proficient in avoiding the bottom, rocks or coral, I suspect they wore them more for protection than maintaining a comfortable temperature.

When snorkeling I used the rashguard (for sun protection mainly) and shorts again. My wife wore a 3mm wetsuit since she gets cold easily. We were out for over an hour and she was fine. That water ranged from maybe 27-31 depending on depth and time of day. In retrospect I should have worn gloves, as the Yonehara maze at low tide had some pretty tight spots and I did nick my thumb. Coral cuts take a week or two to heal.

Wow I was not expecting the water to be around 29C, even in the Summer. Nice to know. Okinawa is still on my bucket list but not top of the list. Good to read your reviews here. Those corals on the picture look great! Not a fish in sight though :)