Yonaguni Island, the westernmost point of Japan and closer to Taiwan than to Okinawa's main island, offers two of the diving world's most extraordinary experiences. From December to March, scalloped hammerhead sharks gather in their hundreds at Yonaguni's southern dive sites, forming spiralling schools that are considered among the top five shark-diving encounters on earth. The island is also home to the Yonaguni Underwater Monument (Iseki Point), a series of dramatic stepped stone formations at 25 metres depth that have sparked debate among scientists and archaeologists about their natural or human origins since their discovery in 1986.
- Type
- Experience
- Category
- Adventure
- Season
- Winter
- Month
- December–March
- Region
- Okinawa
- Prefecture
- Okinawa
- City
- Yonaguni
Highlights
- ◆Hundreds of scalloped hammerhead sharks — one of the world's top shark encounters
- ◆Yonaguni Underwater Monument (Iseki Point) — mysterious stepped rock formations
- ◆Japan's westernmost island — closer to Taiwan than to Tokyo
- ◆December–March dive season for hammerheads
- ◆Small-boat local dive operators with English guides available