Diving near Tokyo in mid/late January?

[Sel ∝]

Hi, I will be in Tokyo and Saitama in mid Janurary and have a a couple of free days that I would like to get a few dives in.

Is there any recommendations for places nearby (a few hours of public transport)?

I've done the Mikomoto Hammerheads dives, rhe Atami wreck, and the Hasama Underwater Park before - while every dive is different, I'd prefer going somewhere new first before revisiting those sites. I can communicate fine enough in Japanese so lack of English guide is not an issue.

Kumomi looks nice because a few dive shops have the option to stay at an affiliated hotspring hotel - so I can have a nice warm bath in between diving in the cold water during the day.
But the main attraction there seems to be caves, yet none of the dive shop I saw mentioned needing any cave training, so I guess those are wide swim through? Does anyone know if I'd be missing a lot of the dive sites in that area if I don't have cave training?

 

[Alfawolfje]

You already seem to have already done the highlights! Your research is not bad as Kumomi would be next on my list and it is one of my favorites/hidden gems.

These are just caverns, not caves. Any recreational diver can go there and I take our club members there all the time! The seafood dinners there are also amazing. So give it a go and enjoy Kumomi. All other locations will be basic beach dives and are a bit bland. Shark scramble @ Tateyama is also neat!

 

[Sel ∝]

You already seem to have already done the highlights! Your research is not bad as Kumomi would be next on my list and it is one of my favorites/hidden gems.

These are just caverns, not caves. Any recreational diver can go there and I take our club members there all the time! The seafood dinners there are also amazing. So give it a go and enjoy Kumomi. All other locations will be basic beach dives and are a bit bland. Shark scramble @ Tateyama is also neat!

Thanks! Will most likely go with Kumomi then. Is there any dive shop that you'd recommend?

Shark scramble looks fun, but since I have a bit more time this trip, I'll save that for another trip when I only have one free day.

 

[Micko1974]

Sorry to ask a question on a different subject, but when is the best season for the hammerheads at Mikomoto? Also, how easy is it to get there? Thank you.

 

[Sel ∝]

Sorry to ask a question on a different subject, but when is the best season for the hammerheads at Mikomoto? Also, how easy is it to get there? Thank you.

Best time is supposedly between Jun to Oct, they generally recommend staying two or more days to maximise the chance of sighting the sharks (my guide said if you stay two days, it's basically a guarantee.)
I got lucky and saw them on two of my three dives on day one - good thing too, since the second day the wind was too strong to set sail, and my guide took me to Atami instead.

As for transport, most dive shops will pick you up at the Shimoda station, which a small station about 2.5 hours ride from Tokyo (fun fact, it was a pretty historically significant port, but there isn't much to do around that station).

Personlly I joint a tour arranged by a dive shop in Yokohma who picked me up at Atami instead (~2 hours from Tokyo, a bigger tourist town where I did a bit of sightseeing before and after the pick up)

Edit: found a shop that'd even pick up from Shibuya station.

Scuba Diving Trip from Tokyo with Transfers to Izu & Chiba ｜ 伊豆ダイビング日帰り送迎付き｜サザナミマリンダイビングスクール

To foreign tourist divers. We will meet at Shibuya Station on the west side of Tokyo and guide you to diving p …

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