Come to Okinawa, Japan for World Class Diving

[Baracuda Smile]

1. 40,000 US Military stationed in Japan 2/3rds on Okinawa
2. No Crime (I have not locked my house nor my car since 1997)
3. You can drink the tap water and never get sick
4. Never a case of Swine Flu, Bird Flu, E-coli, or Mad Cow
5. You can eat blow fish and not die
6. Okinawan's carry cash not credit cards
7. Children still walk to school in the dark
8. Fountain of Youth--Okinawa has the most people aged 100 years + than any other place in the world
9. Bank truck are simple Toyota Vans
10. Okinawa has never had a terrorist attack

Oh and no dynamite fishing

As far as scuba diving we have everything that the Philippines have as the Kursho current (4 times bigger than the Gulf Stream) flows from the Philippines/Indonesia and all of the tropical life also flow to Okinawa. If you don't believe me check out my photo's all of them taken in Okinawa.

Plus we have:
Hammer Head Sharks
Orcas
Humpback Whales
Spinner Dolphins
Whale Sharks
Manta Rays
Eagle Rays
Sting Rays

If you don't see them in the ocean you are guaranteed to see them in the Chunami Aquarium the worlds second largest, and has the largest viewing area.

 

[Baracuda Smile]

Okinawa does not have it all but it has most of what you are looking for. Currently there has been a Tech craze out here in Okinawa. The Techies are discovering new wrecks from WWII that are deep in excess of 227' using trimix.

I go for the shallower stuff. During a muckdive, (tons of sediment low visibility but tons of nutrients and exotic marine life) we found a frog fish, morey eel, a lion fish as big as a basketball, 25 bat fish, porkypine fish, a large clam all around these fish boxes. What is interesting about these fish boxes is that they were en-placed about a year and a half ago. The corals are growing on these boxes at an incredible rate and the fish love the boxes.

The other story is diving with the whale shark is truly a thrilling experience especially if he is sociable and in the open ocean.

 

[Cdcreasey117]

The wrecks from WW2 look stunning... a piece of violent history is now such a mellow place!

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The wrecks from WW2 look stunning... a piece of violent history is now such a mellow place!

 

[Baracuda Smile]

Cdcreasey117, WWII Wrecks are part of the adventure of diving in Okinawa. Today we found two pieces of 155mm brass underwater on a shore dive. We also frequently find 50cal brass and coke bottles from 1945. It seems that Super Typhoon Jelawat undiscovered brass that has remained dominant for nearly 70 years. Come join the underwater adventure, as we are looking for the most wrecks in one of the largest naval battle in US history.

 

[Blackmore75]

I can only imagine what was uncovered by the storm. I heard a lot of coral damage occured, but hope that can come back. I got my start with Tsunami on Camp Foster. Still keep in touch with many of them there, and have also had many memorable dives with Doug and his crew from Reef Encounters. Great group, and I hope to make it back there for another tour. My wife LOVED it there, and her only complaint was that I was diving too much....:rofl4:

 

[doogisar]

I was stationed in Okinawa 4 times during 1994 and 2010 for a total of 2 1/2 yrs on the island. I started with snorkeling and the coral was so amazing that I told myself that if I get back to Okinawa that I would get my scuba cert. Well 2 more trips to Okinawa and a whole bunch of snorkeling around the island but still did not take the plunge into scuba. 2010 I got another opporunity to go to Okinawa. This time I we were able to get a group of us and we contacted Reef Encounters for our Open Water cert. all I can say is WOW, the diving is incredible, I esp like the rock formations and hard/soft corals. The large marine life are just a plus for me. There are atleast 2 dozen sites around the island you can dive from the shore. My favorites are Bolo Point (live coral in 3ft of water), Meada Point, Ono Point, Toilet Bowl. just to name a few. The boat drives are also great. There is just about any type of diving you can think of and the water temp is great year round. a 3mm and your good. Water vis is amazing due to the volcanic rock the island is made up of. There is a huge knowledge base for preserving the ocean and coral's. If you get a chance to get with Reef Encounters, get on a few boat dives with Doug. We did some drift dives, Wreck dives as well as short trips to some amazing corals reefs. The trip from Okinawa to the Kerama Islands is only about an hour away and is amazing, rock formations, vast amount of corals in shallow depths. But there is plenty of area for diving deep as well. When we were there, there were 3 juvenile white tip sharks in a cavern, we were on the bottom very close to them just observing them for about 15 mins. What a great experience. I big thank goes to Doug and the Reef Encounters for the time to train a group of Marines on our schedule, and making me a scuba fanatic. I will get back there again, Just don't know how long it will be till then. English? Forget about it They are used to Military and the locals will work with you. Most of them are required to take English in school so they know alittle bit and you can figure it out from there. Its actual fun trying to figure out what each is trying to say. I love Okinawa, so beautiful. and so much to see. If your not diving take in some authentic Tepanyaki at one of the many places. It a hell of a step up from any Benihana's. The food is excellent. This is just me take on Okinawa and my diving experience. Hope this helps people deciding to visit Okinawa. I can post some pictures above water if anyone would like. Sorry my underwater photo's have started after this time period.

 

[brew77]

I'll be heading to Japan in December. I'll be stationed on the mainland but Okinawa is a place I'll be traveling to. Sounds awesome!!!

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Almost everybody speaks English? Really? Really!?
Irashai

No they don't. Out of everyone in my wife's family...only 4 speak English.

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The US military does have 3 dive centers on Okinawa

Did they decrease the amount of centers? When I was there to visit family we had Swab, Torii, Courtney, Foster and KAB.

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one of which is operated by the first white man to dive Yanaguni.

Are talking about Gary H.? I truly do not think tha the is the first...I believe Fitz dove it before him while taking part in an Orion beer advertisement.

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I have never seen the yen hit 150 to a dollar! at it's WORST over the past 10 years I've seen it average over 120 to 130. On average, I'd say it was 110.

during my first tour there in 1984 we enjoyed the 264 yen to $1.00 exchange rate. It started falling in 1987-1988 and yet to go back up.

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It is still an awsome dive site. In my humble opinion one of the top 10 in the world. We had a coral bleaching a few years ago, but it is amazing to see the corals return. For instance the Japanese fishermen enplaced fish boxes last year and now there are corals growing on them!

this picture looks more like the cement one off Kadena Steps that were there before 1999

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I really have it made when I go back to the island. I go to triple A and get my international drivers lic., we buy our tickes cheapter by using Japanese or Korean tour groups, I rent a car on base so we can get gas cheaper, we have full access to all bases, we stay at my wife's parent's house. Okinawa as well as as all Japan is very expensive! diving can be cheap but eating, lodging, travel and others things are very expensive.

 

[japan-diver]

Okinawa and Tokyo for that matter are not that expensive to visit. Maybe when you come you should get away from the base a bit Tony. Hotels and guest houses range from Y1500 (about $20) a night and go up from there. A good decent hotel can be found for $50-$60 a night quite easily. Good meals can be had at numerous local restaurants for less than Y1000. Car rental for a small car is only Y3-4000 per day ($40-$50). So not nearly as expensive as many think.
There are 6 military shops on island (Hansen, Courtney, Foster, Kinser, Kadena, Torii) still Schawb is closed now.

 

[doogisar]

You forgot to mention MCAS Futemna as well. Just south of Camp Foster Best scuba gear I rented from was Tori Station.

Okinawa and Tokyo for that matter are not that expensive to visit. Maybe when you come you should get away from the base a bit Tony. Hotels and guest houses range from Y1500 (about $20) a night and go up from there. A good decent hotel can be found for $50-$60 a night quite easily. Good meals can be had at numerous local restaurants for less than Y1000. Car rental for a small car is only Y3-4000 per day ($40-$50). So not nearly as expensive as many think.
There are 6 military shops on island (Hansen, Courtney, Foster, Kinser, Kadena, Torii) still Schawb is closed now.