altaskier
Contributor
If I were in your shoes, I would consider going to the Philippines. It's a lower cost destination than Palau, it's easy to get to from Japan, and at places like Anilao and Puerto Galera there are lots of dives within close proximity to shore. Lots of great macro life, and fantasic dive sites that are not particularly deep and don't involve walls plunging off into the abyss. I would find it unsatisfying to go to Palau and not feel confident enough yet to do the signature dives; I would instead prefer to go to Palau when I felt ready to enjoy all it has to offer.
