Sou-Wes Yonaguni is on Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost inhabited island. The center runs local dive sites by boat and combines certified fun dives with the logistics of Hotel Irifune. The area is remote, weather dependent and far sportier than many classic Okinawa reefs.
Shark diving
The shark focus is scalloped hammerheads. Encounters are scuba drift dives in open water, not snorkel trips and not calm reef dives. The main window runs from winter into spring, with December to May as a useful season. Divers should be comfortable with current, blue water, fast descents and deep water beneath them.
Monument and island sites
Even without hammerheads, Yonaguni is distinctive. The underwater monument, rock formations, tunnels, tuna and strong Kuroshio conditions shape the island. Several dive days give more room for weather and site choice and make Yonaguni feel like a full offshore destination, not only a shark stop.
