Only two hours from downtown Tokyo lies one of Japan’s most exciting dive sites: Osezaki, in Shizuoka Prefecture. Kenji Ichimura has the story.
Singapore, May 25, 2024 – For the first time in its 30-year history, Asia’s largest and longest- running dive exhibition, Asia Dive Expo (ADEX), is expanding into Japan with Asia Dive Expo Japan (ADEJ). The event will take place from October 25-27, 2024, at Tokyo Big Sight, celebrating the ocean, diving, and marine conservation.
As a divemaster in Japan, I have enjoyed diving all around the world, and I will admit that there are many places on earth I would love to revisit soon. But for today, I would like to introduce my home country, Japan, as your next possible dive destination.
USS Mannert L. Abele (DD-733), was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer of the United States Navy, which was launched on 23 April 1944. On 12 April 1945, the Mannert L. Abele was operating 75 miles off the northern coast of Okinawa when enemy aircraft appeared on radar.
(Photo credit, top image: US Naval Institute Photo Archive)
The US Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) confirmed the identity of a wreck site off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, as USS Albacore (SS 218). The NHHC made the announcement on Thursday, after several months of examining Japanese surveys conducted on the site in 2022.
Kinki is a ruggedly beautiful peninsula in the southwest of Honshu, Japan. The area is best known for the Shinto shrines of Kumano, which sit atop forested mountains in the center of the region. Each year, thousands of tourists and devotees undertake a pilgrimage through the mountains to reach the tranquil sanctuary, which is said to be a place of physical healing.
Year 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has confronted the world with an unprecedented situation. Many countries went into lockdown, and as a result, many people were forced to stay indoors, including myself in Japan. Although Japan never went into an official “lockdown”—it instead went into a so-called state of emergency—I could not wait to get out of the Tokyo metropolis as soon as restrictions were lifted.
Self-taught Japanese artist Setsuo Hamanaka creates beautiful, detailed and dynamic paintings of aquatic life in a variety of settings from the open ocean and mangroves to freshwater ponds and cityscapes. X-Ray Mag interviewed the artist to learn more about his creative process and what inspires him about the underwater realm.
From October to November of 2020, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) held its second annual Japan Underwater Photo Contest, seeking photos taken by divers that showcase the undiscovered beauty and artistry of diving in Japan to the world.
As many divers face travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, our contributors highlight the often overlooked or unsung yet intriguing diving that can be found in one's own backyard.
