Quick report of a five day trip to Okinawa in March/April 2013.
Diving. I would describe the diving in Okinawa as good but not great (it rates a 4 on the Rhone Man’s Diving Guide Destinations Scale™). Reefs are not as vibrant as typical Asian tropical coral reefs that you might see in, say, Indonesia or the Philippines, but there is still good quality marine life - sharks, turtles, sea snakes and the sound (if not sight) of whales. Water is definitely not tropical in temperature if (like me) you have thin Caribbean blood. The real difficulty with Okinawa is the weather is so rapidly changeable. The day I arrived it was blazing sunshine, but we then lost the next day of diving to a storm. Other days the weather changes strongly hour to hour. Overall (being frank), if you are in Okinawa anyhow it is well worth getting in some diving, but I probably wouldn't book a flight there just for the diving. However, I should also point out that because of the weather/scheduling I didn't get a chance to dive what are normally described as the "premium" sites of Okinawa.
The dive op. I booked my diving with Reef Encounters, who also arranged a hotel for me. They tend to be the dive op of choice in Okinawa for English speakers for the self-evident reason that they are English speakers. Dive ops in Okinawa are a bit unusual in that (a) their dive shops don't really resemble retail operations at all, and (b) they tend to share boats on dive trips. But for all that, it works pretty well. Reef Encounters were a bit chaotic and disorganised on the planning side, but once you get there, it is all pretty smooth sailing. The proprietor, Doug (Japan-diver on SB), is clearly an extremely experienced and engaging diver. I didn't see much of him as he was teaching a trimix course most of the time that I was there, but he is clearly an engaging guy. He is quite fierce on his DMs which bothers some people, but not me (hey, that is what they are there for - we all went through it). It was also surprisingly affordable (although I think it is more expensive if you don't have your own gear and have to rent it from them). Not cheap like SE Asia cheap, but not expensive like Japan expensive either.
Okinawa. Despite the romantic image portrayed in The Karate Kid, Part II, most of Okinawa is actually a bit of a dump. Very industrialised. It gets nicer if you go all the way up north, or take a boat to the outer islands, but Naha and Chatan don't have much (other than diving) to recommend themselves as tourism spots. There are only so many tattoo parlours and McDonalds a man can look at before he stops wandering around a town.
Japanese people. After my short stay, I feel in a position to confirm three rumours about Japanese people. (1) Yes, they really are that weird. I first got clued in when two middle aged women on the dive boat pulled giant underpants on over their wetsuits with Kanji characters written across the backside, and then proceeded to bend over so their husbands could pretend to spank them for the cameras whilst they made the V-sign which all Asian females are genetically programmed to make when being photographed - I alone of all people on the boat regarded this behaviour as in any way odd (2) Yes, Japanese women really are that hot. Quick memo to any of them reading: that thing you have going on with the short skirts and the socks up to the knees is just fine with me - don't listen to your fathers; they do not have your best interests at heart. (3) Yes, Japanese people really do smoke that much. How they are the longest lived nation on earth completely eludes me.
Photos (credit to "Andrew" - fellow diver, top bloke and a much better photographer than me, and from whom I shamelessly plagiarised some of his shots below).
Diving. I would describe the diving in Okinawa as good but not great (it rates a 4 on the Rhone Man’s Diving Guide Destinations Scale™). Reefs are not as vibrant as typical Asian tropical coral reefs that you might see in, say, Indonesia or the Philippines, but there is still good quality marine life - sharks, turtles, sea snakes and the sound (if not sight) of whales. Water is definitely not tropical in temperature if (like me) you have thin Caribbean blood. The real difficulty with Okinawa is the weather is so rapidly changeable. The day I arrived it was blazing sunshine, but we then lost the next day of diving to a storm. Other days the weather changes strongly hour to hour. Overall (being frank), if you are in Okinawa anyhow it is well worth getting in some diving, but I probably wouldn't book a flight there just for the diving. However, I should also point out that because of the weather/scheduling I didn't get a chance to dive what are normally described as the "premium" sites of Okinawa.
The dive op. I booked my diving with Reef Encounters, who also arranged a hotel for me. They tend to be the dive op of choice in Okinawa for English speakers for the self-evident reason that they are English speakers. Dive ops in Okinawa are a bit unusual in that (a) their dive shops don't really resemble retail operations at all, and (b) they tend to share boats on dive trips. But for all that, it works pretty well. Reef Encounters were a bit chaotic and disorganised on the planning side, but once you get there, it is all pretty smooth sailing. The proprietor, Doug (Japan-diver on SB), is clearly an extremely experienced and engaging diver. I didn't see much of him as he was teaching a trimix course most of the time that I was there, but he is clearly an engaging guy. He is quite fierce on his DMs which bothers some people, but not me (hey, that is what they are there for - we all went through it). It was also surprisingly affordable (although I think it is more expensive if you don't have your own gear and have to rent it from them). Not cheap like SE Asia cheap, but not expensive like Japan expensive either.
Okinawa. Despite the romantic image portrayed in The Karate Kid, Part II, most of Okinawa is actually a bit of a dump. Very industrialised. It gets nicer if you go all the way up north, or take a boat to the outer islands, but Naha and Chatan don't have much (other than diving) to recommend themselves as tourism spots. There are only so many tattoo parlours and McDonalds a man can look at before he stops wandering around a town.
Japanese people. After my short stay, I feel in a position to confirm three rumours about Japanese people. (1) Yes, they really are that weird. I first got clued in when two middle aged women on the dive boat pulled giant underpants on over their wetsuits with Kanji characters written across the backside, and then proceeded to bend over so their husbands could pretend to spank them for the cameras whilst they made the V-sign which all Asian females are genetically programmed to make when being photographed - I alone of all people on the boat regarded this behaviour as in any way odd (2) Yes, Japanese women really are that hot. Quick memo to any of them reading: that thing you have going on with the short skirts and the socks up to the knees is just fine with me - don't listen to your fathers; they do not have your best interests at heart. (3) Yes, Japanese people really do smoke that much. How they are the longest lived nation on earth completely eludes me.
Photos (credit to "Andrew" - fellow diver, top bloke and a much better photographer than me, and from whom I shamelessly plagiarised some of his shots below).
