Chibishi Islands

The Chibishi Islands consist of three uninhabited sand dunes located between the Kerama Islands and mainland Okinawa. They are, strictly speaking, not a part of the Kerama Islands. The names of the three islands are Kamiyama, Nagannu and Kuefu. Kamiyama is the closest of the three to mainland Okinawa, with the Naha Airport tower clearly visible on the horizon. The most famous dive site here is on the south side of the island. It is called Labyrinth, which consists of a real maze of tunnels, crevasses, swim-throughs and other rock formations, hence the name. Nagannu is a bit further out west. On the south side of the island is a shallow area with incredibly beautiful corals, suitable both for divers and snorkelers. The north side of the Nagannu slopes down a lot faster and one can reach depth of about 30 meters. Kuefu is the smallest of the Chibishi Islands and is located a bit to the south of Nagannu. To the northwest side of Kuefu is an area with large fan corals and beautiful white sand, which gives you the illusion of being in a snowy forest in Hokkaido. To the northeast is a dive site, which is arguably one of the richest ones around Okinawa in terms of coral diversity. Needless to say, turtles and reef sharks can be spotted all throughout the Chibishi Islands. If you look closer among the corals, you can also see eels, manta shrimps, nudibranchs and a variety of other critters.

When the sea is rough and we are unable to make the trip all the way to the Kerama Islands, we sometimes need to settle for diving around the Chibishi Islands. This still gives us access to an extremely beautiful underwater world, while cutting the bumpy ride through the open ocean in half.