Okinawa Scuba Diving (Departing from Naha; for all levels from beginners to advanced divers)

Information on Kerama and Okinawa Main Island recreational diving trips—perfect for beginners looking to enjoy recreational diving in Okinawa, divers wanting to improve their skills, and intermediate to advanced divers who want to dive intensively in small groups—all available as day trips from Okinawa Main Island This is the official shop blog of Fish & Bubbles This is the official blog of the shop, brought to you by Ken.

Okinawa Scuba Diving: Support System Perfect for Beginners

To ensure that even beginners can enjoy scuba diving in Okinawa, our local instructors provide full support. Whether you’re feeling nervous because you’re overwhelmed by the other divers, unsure how to set up your equipment, have trouble equalizing your ears, or find that you’re using up air too quickly, we’ll help you address each concern one by one.

If you have any requests or concerns regarding diving, please let us know when you make your reservation.

Setting Up Diving Equipment

Let’s set up your gear together with your instructor while recalling what you learned during your training. A fun dive starts with setting up your gear correctly. We’ll share some handy tips on gear setup that are easy to understand, even for those who find it challenging! If you’re prone to seasickness or would prefer to leave everything to us, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

How many kilograms of weights do I need?

If you can access your dive log from your last dive, please review it for reference and share the information with your instructor on-site. Your weight in kilograms will vary depending on your body type, the wetsuit you’re wearing, and the type of tank you’re using. Being too heavy or too light directly leads to stress during recreational diving. We’ll provide advice and make adjustments to ensure you can enjoy a comfortable recreational dive throughout the tour. Once you find the right weight balance for yourself, you’ll be able to dive comfortably and improve your skills.

Okinawa Scuba Diving: Which Areas Are Suitable for Beginners?

There are two main areas in Okinawa where even beginners can enjoy recreational diving: the outlying islands and the areas along the main island.

A prime example of diving in the outlying islands is the Kerama Islands. Along the main island, there are many other dive sites starting from the north, including Cape Hedo, Manza, Sunabe, and Itoman.

One of the great things about diving in Okinawa is that you can enjoy it all year round, since each season offers different highlights and diving styles!

For intermediate and advanced divers who meet the requirements, we’ll take you to open-ocean drift dive sites and expedition sites such as Aguni, Tonaki, and Triangle.

If you’re participating in recreational diving multiple days in a row, you can dive in a different area each day.
We’re also flexible enough to change to a calmer area based on the previous day’s sea conditions forecast.

We can also offer Advanced courses in conjunction with recreational diving.
Please be sure to check this out as well.

Okinawa Scuba Diving: What Can Beginner Divers See?

The amazing thing about recreational diving in Okinawa is that even beginners can enjoy a sea teeming with everything—from large and small marine life to coral and underwater terrain—it’s like an all-star lineup!

Of course, the areas we can take you to will vary depending on your diving skills, certification level, and number of dives, but there’s a vast ocean that will satisfy everyone from beginners to advanced divers! Even within the same area, the dive sites change with the seasons, so there’s always something new to look forward to.

Below is a brief introduction to some of the day-trip recreational diving tours we offer at our shop!

Kerama Islands: 30–50 minutes to the dive site

Kerama Island recreational diving offers fun for everyone from beginners to advanced divers. With year-round visibility of 20–25 meters, the area features beautiful sandy bottoms and expansive fields of colorful hard corals. For beginners or those who haven’t dived in a while, we’ll take you on a dive boat to explore easier dive sites.

Intermediate and advanced divers who love big fish and wide-open waters should head out on a drift-diving boat to the Kerama outer ocean drift sites to target big fish and migratory species.
Since January through March is our whale-swimming season, we recommend the Triangle/Taman season from April through early May, the Aguni/Gingame season from late April through July, and drift dives at Tonaki and the Kerama Islands from August through October.

3–15 minutes to the Manza Point

Beginners, why not head out to the beautiful coral reefs for some fish watching or to see the sea turtles’ nesting grounds!Advanced divers and experienced divers should explore deeper sites like cave dive sites! There’s a terrain area featuring a continuous drop-off that plunges from 5m to 40m along the coastline, as well as a sandy area just 3–5 minutes from the harbor. Other highlights include the L-shaped Dream Hole, and sites like Hōshū and Overhead Rock, where you can spot large marine life such as sea turtles, sharks, and giant trevally.

Cross Line and Nakayukui are sandy spots where you can enjoy searching for small treasures. Since strong west- to north-facing winds can make the area around these spots rough, they’re relatively easier to visit outside of winter.

Minna Island and Sesoko Island: 10–20 minutes to the dive site

This is a small island near the Churaumi Aquarium. Minna Island is surrounded by beautiful coral reefs. The coral reefs, which stretch at depths of 3 to 5 meters, offer scenery that rivals that of the Kerama Islands. On calm days, the water’s surface becomes as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the underwater coral reefs and creating a magical scene. Sesoko Island has cave dive sites that even beginners can enjoy.On sunny days, the shimmering curtain of light is so mesmerizing that you’ll lose track of time as you gaze at it.

Cape Hedo: 5–20 minutes to the dive site

The Hedo area, located at the northernmost tip of the main island. This is a recreational diving area where you can enjoy one of the world’s few underwater limestone caves. The Yanbaru area, where pristine nature remains, features a coastline lined with sheer cliffs. The underwater world similarly features a series of drop-offs. With the exception of the cave dive sites, all dives here are exhilarating drift dives. The water is so deep that the seafloor is invisible, resulting in a high likelihood of encounters with large sharks.At depths of 30–40 meters, you can spot rare goby-like creatures. When strong west-to-north winds blow, conditions around the dive sites can become rough. Tours are limited to Advanced Open Water certified divers and experienced divers.

15 minutes to USS Emmons Point

A shipwreck site located off the coast of Kouri Island, in the northern part of the main island. The hull, which lies at a depth of 40 to 50 meters, is over 100 meters long. This is a diving area accessible only to experienced, advanced divers who must use a descent and ascent line.

Okinawa Scuba Diving: 1-Day Itinerary

The standard schedule for recreational diving boats bound for the Kerama Islands, which depart from and return to the port in Naha, is a 8:00 a.m. departure and a 3:00 p.m. return. The boat ride takes 40 to 50 minutes one way. The itinerary includes two dives in the morning, a lunch break on board, and one dive in the afternoon, for a total of three dives.

Divers who complete their two dives can relax on board the boat or, depending on the dive site, go snorkeling. You’ll board a large dive boat. Since this is a shared boat operated by multiple dive shops, we cannot return to port immediately after the two dives are finished. We also offer half-day tours that run either in the morning or afternoon only. Please contact us for more information.

For the areas along the main island—Itoman, Manza, and Hedo—you’ll drive to a nearby port and board a dive boat from there. The dive sites are generally close by, just 5 to 15 minutes from the port. Therefore, you’ll return to the port after each dive to rest on land. We recommend the areas along the main island for divers concerned about seasickness or those who want to finish after two dives and go sightseeing!Diving boats in the areas along the main island depart between 8:30 AM and 9:00 AM. Please drive to the local port in time for your departure.

Okinawa Scuba Diving: Our Great Perks!

Free Equipment Rental

Don't worry if you don't have your own equipment. We'll provide you with our shop's pristine rental gear. While we clean and disinfect our mouthpieces after every use, if you'd like a brand-new one, we'll install it for 1,000 yen. Of course, you can take the mouthpiece home with you after the tour ends.

Free GoPro Rental

Although we take photos and videos during the tour and provide you with the files, we’ve received many requests from guests who would like to take their own shots. Therefore, we’re offering one GoPro per group for free rental. If you’d like to rent one, please let us know when you make your reservation.
Please bring your own micro-SD card.

Strictly Enforcing Small Class Sizes

We can accommodate groups of up to 4 people per team.

We offer transportation to all areas

Depending on your accommodation area and reservation status, pickup times may be earlier than usual, or the ride back to your hotel after the tour may take longer. Please feel free to contact us for more information or to discuss your options.

Strict Team Division

We determine which boat to assign based on the skill level and requests of the first person to make a reservation (as some boats are better suited for beginners, while others are better suited for intermediate and advanced riders). Therefore, for customers who contact us second or later, we will share the information we’ve already received regarding requests and other details. Please review this information in light of your skill level and personal requests, and if everything is acceptable, please proceed with your official reservation.

If your requests and skill level aren’t a good match, your dive experience might end up being less than satisfying. This is my personal approach to guiding you so that you’ll leave thinking, “That was fun!” and “I’d love to come back and dive again!”

How much do Okinawa recreational diving tours cost?

Due to factors such as rising fuel costs, rates may increase by approximately 1,000 to 2,000 yen. Please check the latest rates when you inquire. Check the latest rates!

• Kerama Island Scuba Diving: 18,000 yen (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)
• Manza Scuba Diving: 19,000 yen (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)
• Itoman Fun Diving: 19,000 yen (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)
• Mizunase Sokodome Scuba Diving: 23,000 yen (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)
• Hedo Scuba Diving: 25,000 yen (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)
• Emmons Fun Diving: 25,000 yen (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)
• Ie Scuba Diving: 30,000 yen (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)
• Aguni Scuba Diving: 28,000 yen (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)
• Tonaki Scuba Diving: 28,000 (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)
• Triangle: 19,000 yen (includes equipment, transportation, drinks, and snacks)

What should I bring?

Just bring a towel, a change of clothes, sandals, a swimsuit, something to drink, and lunch—and you're all set!

For those participating in trial dives, courses, or first-time divers—who may not be accustomed to being on a boat—we recommend taking motion sickness medication if possible. Once you become seasick, it can be difficult to recover until you return to shore. If seasickness becomes severe, we may have to cancel the dive. Please take every possible precaution against seasickness. During the winter, bringing a jacket or fleece (warm clothing) will help you stay comfortable on the boat. We will verify your C-Card at the time of booking. Please provide a photo of your C-Card or your C-Card number.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do I make a reservation?

Please contact us viaLINE, Instagram, or the contact form.
You can also email the shop directly at info@fishand-bubbles.com.