Yonaguni Monument (Underwater Ruins, Iseki Point)
Giant terraced rock formations, natural or man-made depending on who you ask, with schooling hammerheads in winter.
- Advanced
- Rock formations
Experienced≤40 m
USS Emmons
Dive site in Okinawa & Yonaguni, Japan
106 m WWII warship sunk after five kamikaze hits, resting at 36-45 m off Kouri Island.
- Max depth
- 45 m
- Level
- Experienced
- Best months
- Apr–May
The story
USS Emmons was struck by five kamikazes off Okinawa on 6 April 1945 and her hulk was sunk the next day. The wreck lies in 45 m of water off Kouri Island and became a dive site after its rediscovery in February 2001.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The dive
A wreck dive.
Who it's for
Experienced≤40 mSource: bluejapan.org
Recommended minimum: Experienced (Deep Specialty, N3).
- DepthThe usual dive goes deeper than lower certifications allow.
- The site goes deeper than 40 m: Experienced divers stay above 40 m.
Conditions
- Dive type
- Wreck
- Environment
- Open water
- Water
- Sea water
Season in Okinawa & Yonaguni
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Best months: Apr–May.
Source: visitokinawajapan.comWhere is Okinawa & Yonaguni?
The point shows the Okinawa & Yonaguni area, not the exact dive site.
More dives in Okinawa & Yonaguni
Artificial reef
down to 7 m
Amuro Fish Reef
Shallow 7 m artificial reefs off Amuro Island overgrown with finger coral and busy with fish.
- Open Water
Reef
down to 15 m
Gorilla Chop
Beach dive in northern Okinawa named after a shoreline rock shaped like a gorilla's karate chop, with plenty of coral and colourful fish.
- Open Water
Drift
down to 30 m
Irizaki Point
Blue-water drift off Yonaguni's western tip watching hammerheads in open ocean, with dogtooth tuna, barracuda and bigeye trevally.
- Advanced
- Whale sharks
Reef
down to 15 m
Manta City Point
Shallow manta spot near Kabira Bay, around 10 m deep, where even beginners can watch manta rays glide past.
- Advanced
- Manta rays
Pinnacle
down to 40 m
Shimosone
Open-sea reef south of the Keramas with rocks rising from a 30 m seabed and 30-50 m visibility; summer-only.
- Experienced
- Sharks
About this page
Values marked “Estimated” come from our original catalogue and are being checked against published sources one by one. Sourced values link to where they come from. Conditions change with the season, the weather and the tide: confirm with a local dive centre before you dive.
Photo credits
- Stepped rock terraces of the Yonaguni Monument, Melkov, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
