Izu Penninsula

Diving in Izu offers some of the best diving in Japan.  With easy access from Tokyo by train or car, Izu has consistently good conditions.  

Overview

There are plenty of places to dive on the Izu Penninsula, and they are spread out along the west coast, east coast, and southern tip.

On the west side of Izu, Osezaki is by far the biggest dive site in terms of concentration of dive services.  There is a beach which is literally filled with divers during the weekends, a kind of diving amusement park.  Also, night diving is allowed on  Saturdays and the days before holidays.  The best thing about Osezaki is that the main dive site is in a protected cove, which means that it is diveable even when the weather isn't so good and other sites are blown out.

On the southern tip, there are many dive sites with access from Shimoda harbor.  These sites are usually within 30 minutes to 1 hour away, which is far compared to the usual 10-15 minute ride to most boat dive sites in Izu.  These dives are for advanced divers, due to currents and conditions.  Boat diving tours there are more expensive due to longer travel times.  Due to the long distance from Tokyo, we only dive Mikimoto and these southern dive sites on special request by divers having the diving experience and skills for these conditions.

We usually dive on the eastern side of Izu.  There are many sites starting with Enoura and Iwa, which from Tokyo is a short 2 hour drive.  Also, there is the famous Izu Ocean Park, Futo, and Kawana.  You could spend a month diving on the eastern coast of Izu and not see the same site twice.  We frequently dive Atami where there are some great sites, a wreck, and lots of soft corals.

Here are a few of our favorite spots.

West Izu

Osezaki

Aptly nicknamed the "Disneyland of Diving" in Izu, this place is swarming with divers on the weekends, especially if the conditions are not favorable due to a typhoon or other conditions.  It is almost always possible to dive "Wan-nai" (inner bay) due to its protected, crescent shape, like a big C, protecting it from the heavy surf and surge.  When you can't dive here, you won't want to get into the water.

There are a lot of independent divers who dive here because of the abundance of dive services along the beach.  You pick up the tanks, load them onto a cart with your gear, and wheel everything down to the dive spot of your choice.  There are many different dive sites on the outside of the bay, and the inner bay is frequently used for training.  The inner bay is also the site of night diving, and it is amazing what you can find at night compared to daytime.

Arari

We have started to use the Sakamoto beach dive site as a spot for training.  When a major typhoon was brewing, almost every site on the East coast was closed, but Arari was calm and tranquil, you would never even have known there was a typhoon!  This bay also has some small fish and critters...look out for the spiny lobsters in the rocks, as well as small fish who make their homes in discarded soda cans.

Also, this is the one place where we offer Discover Scuba Diving (taiken diving) and sometimes used for confined water dives (drysuit course).

Other Sites

We also dive Tago, Kumomi, and some other sites on the west coast.  Check our schedule for details.

East Izu

Nebukawa or Enoura

While the visibility isn't always the greatest due to its unprotected shoreline and orientation facing the incoming waves, when the conditions are right, this is the most convenient spot to dive since it is much closer than any of the other dive sites.  This is good for summer months when the traffic is heavy.  You can go down early from Tokyo, do a few dives, and get back on the road before the traffic gets heavy.  Most of the people come here for the outdoor BBQ rather than for the diving.  You can see the old Nebukawa train platform which is now underwater due to the rising water line.

Iwa

There is a great boat dive site called "Rock Triangle", a manmade structure which has been covered by sea life, soft corals, and inhabited by a variety of marine animals.  It is a great place to practice photography, and it is pretty hard to get lost because the structure isn't that big.  The structure was left over from when they built the Ohashi (big bridge) for the express toll road which crosses over the harbor.

Another site that is good is called Bakane, which is a dropoff and sloping rock outcropping.  We use Iwa Diving Center and they have a nice hot water bath that we jump into after the dive.  Since Iwa is so close to Tokyo, this is usually a one day trip.

Atami

We use the beach site, Yokoiso, for Open Water training.  The dive service that we use is not so well known, so it is relatively uncrowded.  On request and advance reservation, night diving is also possible on Saturday.  For boat diving, there are a variety of dive spots which have soft corals and good fish life.  The diving service that we use has an exclusive dive spot called "Hanane" which is their original dive point.  During the summer this is the dive site of choice for going down by train/Shinkansen.

The favorite dive site in Atami is called "Chinsen", which means "wreck".  For qualified divers, this is a shipwreck, a barge that sits in 20-22 meters of water at the top of the bow, down to about 35 at the bottom.  This wreck is covered with soft coral and the fish life is excellent.  Visibility is almost always good.  For our divers, at no extra charge, we offer 12 liter steel tanks instead of the normal 10 liter tanks.

Kawana

This is an area that we use for dive training due to the relatively shallow beach dive site and easy access.  Most divers remember Kawana for its 9 liter / 63 or 64 cubic foot Luxfer aluminum tanks, which are very uncommon in Izu.  Most dive services use LP steel or aluminum tanks with 10 liter capacity/i.e. 72 cubic feet.  If boat diving, you'd better be good with air consumption because the sites range from 20-25 meters max. depth and these tanks are smaller than average.

Izu Ocean Park (I.O.P./Izu Kaiyokoen)

This is probably the most well known dive spot in all of Izu, besides Futo.  Most photographers love this spot for its easy beach access and variety of fish and aquatic life.  We don't dive this site much because of the crowds of divers on the summer weekends.  It is probably the oldest site in Izu, opening sometime back in 1965 or so.  However, there are some great boat diving spots that we do in the fall.

Futo

Charles T. Whipple has a great review of the dive sites of Futo at his site.  This is well known for the "Onsen Maru" which is a boat filled with hot water for soaking after the dive.  This site also gets very crowded on summer weekends, and is comparable to IOP.  The two dive sites, Yokobama and Wakinohama are a bit away from each other, so we have to carry our gear from site to site.

Ito

Ito Diving Service is easily seen because it is right next to Route 135.  There is a point called Gotojine which is only accessible for a 4 month period from the middle of May to the middle of September.  While it can get crowded in the diving months, they have 6 or 7 boats and can take lots of divers to the different dive spots.  The beach dive point is a long walk and you take a cart with all your gear loaded on, so we normally do not do beach dives at this location.  On boat dives, currents can get strong, so keep those leg muscles in shape!

Yawatano

This is also a favorite spot for beach and boat dives for local photographers.  We have also heard that there is a wreck dive which can be accessed by boat during a few short summer months.  Normally, we do beach dives here.  We know an excellent dive instructor/guide and a great underwater photographer who used to work for Yawatano Diving Service and is available upon request.

Izu Hokkawa

This dive site is located on the eastern side of Izu.  We use Kenny's House, which offers all the conveniences of boat diving.  Their facilities include lockers, hot showers, and even an outdoor hot bath (rotemburo) to relax in after the dive; no need to even take off your wetsuit.

The main dive site there is Kajikaki, which is 5-10 minutes by boat.  There are many interesting rock formations, and some areas of a sandy bottom.  Another site there is Hatcho, which is shallower and closer to shore.

For after dive fun, we like to have a BBQ.  If you're brave, you can go to the nearby konyaku rotemburo (mixed sex bath) or for the women, there is a special ladies time (women only) from 7-9 pm.

Check out the dive site info and review of Hokkawa  by Charles T. Whipple.  The nearest station is Izu Hokkawa station, but we almost always drive here.

Shobuzawa

Out of the way and not well known makes this spot good for getting away from the crowds.  It is pretty far down the coast, so we have to leave Tokyo very early.  This is the furthest point south on the East side, and just a hop skip and jump from Shimoda.  We'll be spending some time down here in the summer/fall because they have a nice pension with an outdoor pool.

South Izu

Mikomoto

Ripping currents, schools of tunas, hammerhead sharks, what else could you ask for in a dive site?  This is one of the few spots in Izu that you can actually do drift diving due to the swift currents which can change rapidly.  We don't visit this spot very often due to the challenging nature of the diving, and also because it is the farthest point on the Izu penninsula and requires long travel times, especially returning to Tokyo.  There are some great sandy white beaches on this southern tip and the minshuku in Shimoda are well known for the fresh fish, i.e. sashimi.  Most dives to this site are on request by experienced divers with AOW certification and appropriate dive experience, normally 50 dives in similar conditions.  Please check with us before booking this dive tour.

We use the biggest boat in Shimoda, the Fukumaru 290.  It has a big power lift that holds 4 divers.  You swim up to the dive platform, step on, grab onto the rails, and the power lift brings you up to deck level.  It is also the fastest dive boat in Izu.

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Revised: August 29, 2004