There is a place where you can dive amidst gardens of colourful soft corals in the morning, and then hike ancient pilgrimage routes amongst towering millennia-old trees after lunch. After breakfast, you can swim with giant groupers and turtles, and then after lunch, visit towering waterfalls while wrapping it all up with dinner with monks in their monastery high in the mountains. The only thing as stunning as the geography of the land is the seascape that begins right at the shoreline. This profoundly spiritual place is also far off most international tourists’ radar, so there is a sense of peace and tranquility. All this can be found just over an hour’s drive from a major international airport. No, this is not Bali. This is Wakayama; this is Japan.
WHITE SANDS, DIVE SHOPS, AND NOT A FOREIGN TOURIST TO BE FOUND
Wakayama Prefecture is located just south of Osaka, with the principal city being about 30 minutes from Kansai International Airport (KIX). I had the privilege of doing a land shoot in Wakayama for ASIAN Geographic in December 2018, and we focused on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are abundant in the area. I was blown away by what I saw and experienced, but there was one thing that left me feeling like I was missing something. As we drove around the coastline, I noticed how clean it was and the clarity of the water, but I saw something else: dive shops, a lot of dive shops. I’ve been diving for 20 years and in the dive media business for a pretty good chunk of that, but I had never heard of diving in this part of Japan. Okinawa, sure, but on the main island of Honshu, this far north? Never.
この記事は Scuba Diver の Issue 03 - 2020(118) 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Scuba Diver の Issue 03 - 2020(118) 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
The Making Of A World Record-Breaking Diver
Descending more than 300 metres into the depths of the ocean may sound like a daunting prospect to even the most seasoned diver. But to one man, it was just another a challenge that he set for himself to see how far he was able to push the envelope.
Risk Mitigation: Hose Failure
An unexpected outcome
Top 10 Wrecks Of Asia-Pacific
We present a curated list of the top 10 most famous wrecks found in the Asia-Pacific region, listed in no particular order
From The Medical Line: Diving After DCS
DAN medical information specaialists and researchers answer your dive medicine questions
Cave Exploration: Beginning With The End In Mind
Building complex adventures on simple skills
Dive Slate: Stay Safe On Board
When preparing for a dive, safety is at the top of the list – checking gear, learning potential site hazards and discussing procedures with your divemaster or buddy.
101 Tips On Becoming A Better Tek Diver
Technical diving takes divers beyond the typical recreational scuba diving limits, opening up many new and exciting possibilities.
TECHNICAL DIVING TIMELINE (1660–1999)
It’s fair to say that the emergence of “technical diving” in the late 1980s, that is, the introduction of mixed gas technology, and later mixed gas rebreathers to the sport diving community, represented the culmination of hundreds of years of scientific discovery and technological development.
FLYING AFTER DIVING
From the Safety Stop
DIAGNOSING DECOMPRESSION ILLNESS
Incident Insight