Okinawa?

[billt4sf]

Has anyone here dived in Okinawa? It sounds like it might be interesting topside as well.

As an American of a certain age, my initial impression of Okinawa was a heroic place for a war. But I have since learned it is very far from mainland Japan and has it's own culture and traditions.

- Bill

 

[toris1968]

I am stationed in Okinawa and the diving here is amazing and cheap. Most dives are shore dives, and there's a ton of them. You can do boat dives too but if you go that route I highly suggest a charter to the Kerama islands just off the coast Okinawa. You can dive the USS Emmons as well, a WWII Destroyer, its deep so you must be deep certified to do it. They even have a whale shark dive to dive with 2-3 of them in an open water enclosure they built. Love the diving here

 

[toris1968]

You are correct about its different culture...Okinawa was basically owned by the US military until 1972 when we handed ownership of the island back over to the Japanese...but there are a lot of traditions and food that are very American with Japanese twist. For instance the traditional Okinawa Xmas dinner is KFC, NO joke. You have to order it months in advance. One of their favorite meals is taco rice which is basically a taco salad with traditional white rice. Even the island favorite Blue Seal ice cream was owned by the military until we sold it to them back in the day. It's awesome to experience the non traditional Japanese culture and we love being here.

 

[diverkim]

I am stationed in Okinawa and the diving here is amazing and cheap. Most dives are shore dives, and there's a ton of them. You can do boat dives too but if you go that route I highly suggest a charter to the Kerama islands just off the coast Okinawa.

How cheap is cheap, if one is looking at full equipment rental? Shore and boat pls. Thanks.

 

[Luko]

wtf.. Okinawa in the Indonesia board? Bill, Come on...

 

[toris1968]

How cheap is cheap, if one is looking at full equipment rental? Shore and boat pls. Thanks.

For one 90% of the best dives are shore dives. Allong the Sunnabe Sea wall there are some really nice easy dives that you litterally walk down a set of steps and into the water for great dives. Theres at least 30 dives just along the Sea Wall. Depending on what your skill level is there are some more challenging dives like Toilet Bowl, which is exacly what it sounds like, looks like a bowl and flushes depending on the conditions. I don't rent equipment here but full set of gear is 20.00 bucks i think, 3 bucks a tank for AL, 5 for Steel. I can take a boat out to the Kerama islands for an awesome 2 tank dive for 65.00. There's the USS Emmons, a WWII Destroyer to dive thats deep 130+, and several dives you can find WWII munitions scattered on the floor. After a Tsunami you can dive and sometimes find artifacts from WWII like unopened coke bottles. Some people don't like it but you can dive with whale sharks in an open water enclosure as well. Love the fact that i can dive year round for minimal cost.