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Quick answers
Which local rescue or training agency should I check first?
Use the local lens: coastguard/federation norms and the shop briefing for that bay — not a blog visibility claim.
Kerama?
A national park (2014) west of Naha, known for clear water, turtles, and boat snorkel/scuba. Zamami is a common gateway island.
Ishigaki manta?
Boat sites such as Manta Scramble / Kabira-area points where manta rays are seen in season. Distance rules apply. Not a first Maeda day.
Yonehara?
A beach and reef on Ishigaki used for snorkelling when conditions allow, a sand-entry contrast to a manta boat.
Miyako / Irabu?
Limestone islands with shore and boat sites, including well-known caves and drops. A different map from Naha.
Yonaguni?
Japan's westernmost inhabited island, famous for a submerged rock formation and strong current. Advanced, remote, optional. This page is not a monument theory essay.
Summer snorkel visitors need a sealing mask and sleeves. Winter divers need real rubber. Maeda hire desks exist because the cave is a mass product. Boats supply tanks.
A drone over Kerama or a manta is a permit and manners problem.
Core kit
- Mask that seals — Hire at Maeda if needed; fit is personal.
- Exposure for the month — Not a tropic assumption.
- Fins — Small kicks in the cave and on Kerama shallows.
- SMB if the boat says so — Kerama and Ishigaki.
- Card and log — Yaeyama boats check them.
- Park manners / cooperative brief — Listed as kit.
Optional
- Hood and gloves (winter) — A local truth.
- Light for limestone (guided) — Miyako, not a solo toy at Maeda.
- Tabis — Limestone entries.
- Whistle — Shore entries.
Care
- Rinse limestone grit — Skirts leak.
- Do not pocket coral or sand — Park and cooperative law.
- Rinse hire masks of other people cream — A face rash in the queue.
- Check straps on stairs — They fail at Maeda.
Budget bands
- Maeda / Minna day — Hire mask, parking, sleeves.
- Kerama day boat — The ticket is the cost.
- Ishigaki week — Manta days as an optional line.
- Skip — A cave reel as a first-day souvenir.
Spend on the month's rubber and the boat that will skip a blown manta day. The cave is already a queue.