Okinawa Diving Guide: Best Day & Night Dive Sites + Safety Tips
[Music] [Music] Hey everyone, welcome back to a new video from Rachel and Ebes RI World Travel and our adventure here in Okinawa, Japan. Today we decided to make a video to show you the difference between day and night diving at some of our favorite dive sites here in Okinawa. Just be sure to stick around until the end of the video so that we can tell you where to snag some cool dive gear here in Okinawa, like this Sununto Ocean watch. [Music] Diving isn’t just an adventure. It’s a gateway to exploring the largest part of our planet, the oceans. Beneath the surface lies an incredible world of marine life filled with colors and creatures you have to experience up close, at least once in your life. But before you dive in, there are a few important things to keep in mind. Now, while diving is an incredible experience, it does come with some risks. Things like decompression sickness, nitrogen narcosis, or equipment malfunctions are common risks that can be easily mitigated with proper training and dive planning. And that’s why safety should always be our top priority. And ending every dive safely is our primary objective. So, here are seven things to consider anytime you are planning a dive. One, it’s important to dive within your limits and never exceed those limits as a recreational diver. Two, never dive alone. Diving with a friend or a group of friends ensures you have someone to assist you in case you run out of air or any emergency. Plus, it’s a whole lot of fun diving with other people. Three, always inspect your gear prior to every dive to make sure everything functions correctly. Check the tanks to make sure they’re full of air. Ensure your air is on and inspect your dive partners to make sure their equipment is secure and fitting properly before every dive. Four, start every dive with a diving brief before you get in the water. This ensures everyone is on the same page and lays out what to expect from the dive site as well as your goals for that dive. Five, wearing the right protective gear is essential. It keeps you safe, comfortable, and ready to fully enjoy the dive. Think of it as your underwater armor. It lets you explore the ocean with confidence and reduces your exposure to dangerous marine life. Six, it’s always important to respect marine life. Remember, we are guests in the ocean and that means we have an obligation to protect marine animals while keeping ourselves safe from them. Finally, we always make our safety stop at the appropriate intervals and at the end of each dive. This allows us to decompress properly and keeps us safe before returning back to the surface. [Music] Another thing to remember is that weather and sea conditions can be constantly changing and sometimes unpredictable here on Okinawa. That’s why it helps to have one or both of these applications so that you can constantly check and monitor sea conditions and weather prior to any dive as part of your dive planning. And now that the important safety stuff is out the way, let’s go ahead and check out some of those dive sites for some fun day diving. Boat diving around Okinawa and its islands provides access to more locations, deeper sites, and sometimes even larger marine life. But shore diving can be equally as much fun if you know where to go. There are a lot of different shore diving locations on this island, but we found four locations that have a lot to offer, especially when it comes to accessibility, diversity of sea life, depth, and terrain. Mermaid’s Gado offers a maze of coral, swimthroughs where divers can spot colorful reef fish and dramatic rock formations. [Music] This is also one of the few places where you can find reef sharks and sea turtles. This location is popular for seasoned divers and offers greater depth in some areas, some being as deep as 80 or 100 ft. Cape Maida is a popular tourist attraction and famous for its iconic blue cave. This location offers a straight drop off from the shoreline with a gigantic seaw wall that is perfect to swim along and look for different types of fish or microorganisms. At Diamond Beach, you’re always guaranteed to spot a few sea turtles. This site is known for its gentle conditions, high visibility, and easing slopes. This makes it ideal for all divers looking to explore the intricate coral formations and Okinawa sea life. Of note, you may have to do a little bit of swimming to get to the drop off point, especially during high tide. The tsunabi seaw wall is a perfect place for shore diving because of its location with multiple staircase entry and exit points into the water. The extensive soft corals make this spot perfect for macro lovers and underwater photographers looking for nudie branches or macroorganisms. The seaw wall has areas that range from 20 ft to 100 ft of depth with generally calm conditions and good visibility, making it ideal for all divers looking to explore or conduct training dives. For more detailed information on each one of those dive sites, be sure to check out our full Okinawa diving guide video. But if you are looking to do some boat diving, we highly recommend checking out the Kuramas National Park or the Shabishi Islands, which are located 30 minutes by boat to the southwest of Okinawa’s main island. We have included a few links in the description section for diving companies that actively do diving tours to these locations. All right, so we’ve told you all about day diving and you’ve seen the wonders that are Okinawa during the day, but let’s talk night diving. That was something I was initially very skeptical of and scared to do, but I recently did it during my advanced training and let me tell you, it’s a whole different world. So, uh I’ I’ve been told it’s like a changing of the guard and my experience totally supports that. At night, you’re going to see a totally different set of marine life. And so, um, we’ve seen things that are bioluminescent, things that we don’t typically see during the day, like cuttlefish come out. Uh, small, tons of small shrimp. It is a whole new world. You’ve got to check it out. While it might feel a little intimidating at first, especially if you’re a new diver or just not a fan of the dark, night diving is actually a lot more comfortable than you’d expect. With your dive light in hand, the underwater world comes alive. And when you’re diving with friends, the glow of multiple lights makes it that much more bright and less daunting. What makes night diving truly special is the marine life. The ocean transforms after sunset and you’ll encounter creatures that you may never see during the day. Every one of our night dives was different and reveal something new and exciting. Here in Okinawa, we found that the Tsunabi Sea Wall and Diamond Beach are some of the best spots for night diving. They’re fun, easily accessible, and very popular with both locals and visitors. perfect places to start if you are planning your first night dive on island. Now, here are two final tips that are specific to night diving. Stick to dive sites that you already know. It’s a lot easier to navigate a familiar site in the dark, especially if you’re a new diver. And always bring a backup light just in case your primary light goes out, you can still continue on with the dive. And as promised, if you are looking to buy some new diving equipment or accessories, we highly recommend checking out Mick 21 and NA. They have everything from BCDs, wets suits, watches, and every type of action camera and cover you can think of. We have to mention that we are not affiliated with this store and we do not receive any royalties from them, but we did buy a Sunundu Ocean watch and two 1,000 lm spotlights for a really great price and wanted to share that with everyone. So, feel free to check them out if you’re in the area. We hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, be sure to like, subscribe, and leave us a comment to let us know what you think. And for more Okinawan adventures, be sure to check out one of these videos. and let us know what you think. See you next time.
Discover the magic of diving in Okinawa both under the bright tropical sun and beneath the mysterious glow of night. 🌊✨ In this video, we take you to some of Okinawa’s most popular day and night dive sites.
We’ll compare what it’s like diving during the day versus at night, highlight the unique marine life you’ll encounter, and share important safety tips to make your dives unforgettable and worry-free. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced diver, this guide will help you decide where—and when—to dive in Okinawa.
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⏰ TIME STAMPS:
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00:00-Introduction
01:05- Safety Tips
04:03-Day Diving Sites
06:56- Night Diving Sites
09:05-Where to find Dive Gear & Conclusion
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More🤿 Diving Sites:
Cape Manzamo / Manza Dream Hole (万座ドリームホール) – Stunning underwater cave and swim-throughs.
Kume Island and Ishigaki (久米島) – Famous for manta ray cleaning stations and pristine reefs.
Gorilla Chop (ゴリラチョップ) – Easy entry, calm waters, beginner-friendly snorkeling and diving.
Tokashiki & Kerama National Park Islands (慶良間諸島) – National Park with world-class visibility and vibrant marine life.
👉Companies Offering Diving Packages:
Aloha Divers Okinawa
Dive, snorkeling, and certification courses in multiple languages.
Website: https://www.alohadiversokinawa.com/
Piranha Divers Okinawa
Family-run dive school in Onna Village, offering fun dives, shore and boat dives, plus courses.
Website: piranha-divers.jp
Sunkissed Divers Okinawa
A PADI operator offering personalized dives and courses, including Blue Cave and Kerama Islands.
Website: sunkisseddivers.com
Reef Encounters
Premier dive shop for non-Japanese speakers, offering boat and shore dives, multilingual staff.
Website: https://www.reefencounters.org/
English Empire Divers Okinawa
English- and Japanese-speaking dive operator with broad site coverage.
Website: englishempiredivers.com
Tsunami Scuba (MCCS Okinawa)
A PADI 5-Star Instructor Development Center with multiple locations, full-service training and rentals.
Website: https://www.okinawa.usmc-mccs.org/shopping-services/tsunami-scuba/courses-events
Music by: Bensound.com/free-music-for-videos
Artist: Benjamin Tissot
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