Snorkeling in Chiba near Tokyo
Snorkeling in Chiba near Tokyo
Of course, Okinawa will always be Japan’s no 1 spot for some awesome snorkeling and diving. But we live in Tokyo, so going to the southernmost islands of Japan requires a flight and overnight stay which is not always possible when you get the itch to go swimming in the ocean. The ocean near Tokyo isn’t clear enough to make snorkeling an enjoyable experience, so we decided to try snorkeling in Chiba near Tokyo and it was surprisingly good! This was our experience.
Snorkeling in Chiba
Last weekend, at 25 degrees Celsius it was still unseasonably warm for October so I wanted to have one last summer hurrah. So I decided to go snorkeling with my husband and 9-year old. The caveat is that we live in central Tokyo, and we didn’t feel like traveling all the way to southern Izu to go to Hirizo Beach which is gorgeous but far. I researched a bit before we decided on a place, and there were some reports in Japanese from people who went to neighboring prefecture Chiba to go snorkeling.
While Chiba is more known for boasting awesome surfing spots, there are also a few snorkeling-friendly destinations in the prefecture. Moriya Beach also made it to the shortlist, but this time we decided to go to Okinoshima (沖ノ島) in Tateyama.
Getting to Okinoshima
We rented a car through the Times Cars sharing system, and used the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line tunnel to get to Tateyama. Many people stop at the observation platform of the Aqua Line for the nice views of Tokyo Bay. There are also many shops and restaurants there, and it became an attraction in its own right.
I will admit that it wasn’t a cheap trip as tolls were around 6000 yen one-way because we didn’t want to take the slower local roads. Because of some congestion in the tunnel the trip there took us around 2.5 hours. It seems to be hard to reach Okinoshima by public transportation, so renting a car is probably still the best option for most. Otherwise, you can go to Tateyama Station by train and go to Okinoshima by taxi.
Snorkeling Information Okinoshima
Parking was easy, free, and right next to the beach. We brought our own gear so there was no need to look for a rental shop in the village. The tide was not high and not low at the time we came, and the water was not cold at all as October has some of the highest water temperatures of the year. There wasn’t too much wind so the water was rather calm without much current. Visibility was around 5 m in most spots. We only wore rash guards, no wet suits were necessary. The depth around the interesting spots varied between 50 cm to 3 m, and most of the geography was sandy bottom and rock plateaus on the side.
Looking in the direction of the peninsula-type small island, we entered the water on the left side of the sand bar beach. We mainly stuck close to the coast, as the most interesting animals and geography could be seen there.
Beautiful Snorkeling in Chiba
The experience was really nice, and we ended up staying in the water for around 1.5 hours. We were marveling at the many colorful fish, many of which look very similar to the ones in Okinawa. There were nice rock plateau formations under water, and most of the fish were swimming around here. Most of the fish were pretty small, but we saw some larger fish too. The largest fish we saw looked a bit like a shark and was around 70 cm long! The cutest fish was a box fugu, or blowfish. On the rocks, we also found some pretty shrimps with very long antennae. There was some coral as well, both hard and soft corals.
We saw many starfish, and the most exciting thing we saw were a few very large octopuses! They were a bit scared of us and changed their color to resemble their surroundings, but they were so fun to observe. It is also cool to look around you above the water sometimes, as the geography of the little island itself is quite interesting and beautiful.
All in all, we definitely got our desired fix of snorkeling, and I recommend anyone who is traveling to southern Chiba between spring and late autumn to go snorkeling in Okinoshima.
