The "Blue Cave" of Okinawa! A complete explanation ...

The most famous snorkeling and diving spot on the main island of Okinawa is the Blue Cave. It is covered completely in blue light and ... Menu Okinawa(沖縄)travelguide ENGLISH 日本語 AreasNahacityMainislandofOkinawa(north)MainislandofOkinawa(central)MainislandofOkinawa(south)Ishigakiisland,YaeyamaIslands,YonaguniislandRemoteisland(nearthemainislandofOkinawa)Miyakoisland,IrabuislandMainislandofOkinawa(allarea)AllareainOkinawaTopicsSightseeingKnowledgePlayexperienceFoodanddrinkAccommodationEventBuyTraveltipsaboutOkinawalaboAdvertising（広告掲載について）Askmehope（掲載希望）ContactOperatingcompanyPrivacyPolicyArrangedTourContractsHomeMainislandofOkinawa(central)The“BlueCave”ofOkinawa!Acompleteexplanationofthepopularmarinespotnishida02/02/2016The“BlueCave”ofOkinawa!Acompleteexplanationofthepopularmarinespot Tags:play-experience Publicationdate:2016/02/02 Lastupdated:2016/05/20 Tweet ShareonTumblr ThemostfamoussnorkelinganddivingspotonthemainislandofOkinawaistheBlueCave.Itiscoveredcompletelyinbluelightandradiatesawondrousatmosphere. ThefishoftheBlueCaveareusedtopeople,andwillmakeyouhappywhentheycomeupclosetoyou.Now,withoutdelaywewillintroducethewaysyoucanenjoythemysteriousexperienceinthewonderthatistheBlueCave! 【TableofContents】 [1]TheBeautyoftheBlueCave [2]4PointsoftheBlueCave [3]EnjoySnorkelingintheBlueCave [4]EnjoyTrialDivingintheBlueCave [5]EntranceoftheBlueCave!WhatkindofplaceisCapeMaeda? [6]ImportantthingstonotesoyoucanenjoytheBlueCave [1]TheBeautyoftheBlueCave ThereisareasonbehindthemysteriousbeautyoftheBlueCave. Asyouwillunderstandifyoulookatarainbow,thereareavarietyofcolorscontainedinthelightofthesun. Whenthislighthitsthewateritwillbeabsorbed,buttheredwavelengthdisappearsbecauseitislong. Conversely,sinceblueisashortwavelengthwithinthesevenprismaticcolors,thebluecolorwillremain. Thisisthereasonwhyyouseetheseaasblue. Asfortheremainingbluelight. Thecalcareouswhiteseafloorreflectsthroughthehighlytransparentwater. Thatreflectedlightshinesupontheceilinginsidethecave—theresultofthisisthatyoucanseeblueshiningthroughouttheentiretyofthecave. Thisbeautifulbluecoloristheresultofgeographicalfeaturescreatedbynature. Ontopofthis,thebluecolorofthislightwillchangeslightlyevenwithinthesameday,dependingonthetime.Visitorswhocomemanytimeslookforwardtothis. (TheBlueCaveasseenfromunderwater) (TheinnerpartoftheBlueCave) (Youcanseeevenmorewondroussightswhenyougodiving) [2]4PointsoftheBlueCave Whereisthislocation? TheBlueCaveisinthecenterofthemainislandofOkinawa,inCapeMaedaofOnnaVillage.FromNahaAirportorfromKokusaiStreetinNahaCity,itisaboutanhourawaybycar. TherearemanywaystogettotheBlueCavefromCapeMaeda.Thosewhoareexperiencedcangettheresimplybyswimming,butthosewhoarenotexperiencedshoulduseatour.Forpeoplewhoarenotexperienced,itisdangeroustogobyswimming. SometourcompaniesthatcarryoutdivingandsnorkelingintheBlueCavewillalsocomepickyouupfromNaha.Thisplanisrecommendedforpeoplewhodonothaveamethodoftransportation. Canforeignersalsoparticipateinthetour? Marineleisurebusinessesthatcantakeinforeignershavegreatlyincreased.Howeveritisnotyettothepointwherewecansaythatyouwillreceiveserviceatallshops.Thereareafewpatterns. ShopswherenooneinthegroupneedstounderstandJapanesetobeabletoparticipate.Thereareresidentshopswithstaffthatcanspeakforeignlanguages. (Therearecaseswherethelanguagestheycanusetogiveserviceislimited,suchasEnglishonly,Chineseonly,Koreanonly) ShopswitharulewhereonlypeoplewhocanunderstandJapanesecanparticipate(toensuresafety) ShopswitharulewhereatleastonepersoninthegroupmustunderstandJapanese Whenthinkingofmakingareservation,checkonthemainwebsitefirsttoseeiftheshopcanprovideserviceinaforeignlanguage.Ifthereisnoexplanationlisted,thenmakesuretoinquirebeforehand. Whenisthebestseason? Divingandsnorkelingexperiencesarepossiblethroughoutthewholeyear.Butsincethetemperatedropsduringthemiddleofwinter,thebestseasonistheperiodbetweenMayandOctober. However,sincetheBlueCaveisverypopular,therearemanycrowdeddaysintheperiodbetweenJulyandAugustaswellasonweekends.Therearecaseswhereyoumustwaitinlineatthecaveentrancebeforeentering. Ifyouwanttohavefunleisurely,thenyoushouldavoidthemiddleofsummerorweekdaysandcomeintheearlymorning. Canyouenjoythecaveintherain? TherainyseasonisbetweenthebeginningofMayandtheendofJune.Rainydayswillincrease.Butthecaveisfine!Wecanenteraslongastheseasarenotrough. Itissaidthattherainhasnoeffectonthetransparencyorthebeautifulbluecolorofthecave,soyoucanrestassuredevenifthereisalittlerain. [3]EnjoysnorkelingintheBlueCave Snorkelingisamarinesportinwhichyouequipamask(underwaterglasses),asnorkel(thedeviceusedtobreathethroughthewatersurface),andfins(forlegs),andfloataroundthewatersurfacewhilelookingthroughthesea. Nospecialtrainingisnecessary.Thefactthatevenpeoplewhocannotswimandsmallchildrencanalsocasuallyenjoythemselvesisappealing.Therearealsotourswherechildrenfrom2and3yearsofagecanparticipate. ©OCVB Progressionofthesnorkelingtour Nowwewilltalkaboutwhathappenswhenyouparticipateinthesnorkelingtour.(collaborativeresearch：IslandClub) Step1 Firstyouwillmeetattheshop!Onceyouregisteratreception,youwillbegivenawetsuitandwillgotothedressingroomtochangeclothes. Step2 Beforethetourdeparts,wewillexplainwhatwewilldoandgivealectureonhowtousethefinsandotherequipment.Pleaseaskaboutanythingyoudonotunderstand. Step3 WewillentertheseafromCapeMaeda.Atlast,thetourbegins! ©OCVB Takealookattherightsideofthispicture.Fromthetopoftheclifftherearesomestairsthatfacethesea. Godownthesestairs,andyouwillarriveatthebluesea. Forthosenotusedtowetsuits,goingdowncanbequitedifficult.Butjustgocarefully,andtakeitonestepatatime. Wethenarriveattheseasurface.Evenpeoplewhocannotswimcanfeelatease,sincethewetsuitwillallowyourbodytofloatnaturally. Ifyouputonthegogglesandpeekintothewater,youcanalreadyseealargeschooloftropicalfish! Youwillbethrilledabouttheworldinsidethesea! Becarefultonotgetseparatedfromtheinstructor,andheadtowardthecavebyswimming.Theinstructorwillpullalongthosepeoplewhocannotswimwell.   Step４ Asyougetclosetothecave,youwillencounteralargeschoolofsmallfish! Whenyougoinside,youwillbeintheblueworld.Itishardtobelievethatthelighthereisnatural.Takeinandenjoythebeautytoyourheart’scontent. Step5 Onceyouhavebeenthoroughlysatisfied,wewillreturntotheshoptoshowerandchangeclothes. Thetimefrombeginningtotheendvariesdependingontheshop,butingeneralitisbetweenabout2to3hours. Howtoenjoythesnorkelingtour Theplacetomeet Themeetinglocationwillvarydependingonthetourcompany.Somecompanieswillmeetattheshop,someattheCapeMaedaparkinglot,andsomewillevenmeetintheharbor.Inthosecases,makesuretocheckthestateofthemeetingspotfacilities.Thisisespeciallyimportantforwomen,asyoumaywanttocheckthechangingroomsormake-uproomsandwhetherornotyoucanusealocker. [Fees] Sincethereislittleequipmentinvolvedwithsnorkelingcomparedtodiving,thefeesarealsorelativelycheap.Butbesuretocheckthoroughlysincetherearemanyservicesthathavefeesincluded(especiallysincethepricecanvarygreatlydependingonhowyougetthere,asyouwillseenext!). Becausetherearedifferencesbetweenshops,itisnecessarytogatherinformationbeforehand.Forexample,ifunderwaterphotographyisfree,iffishfoodisincluded,andifboatsareused. [Howtogothere] TherearevariouswaystogototheBlueCaveaftermeeting.AplanwhereyougofromCapeMaedaandentertheseatakestimebecauseswimmingisinvolved.Butwhileyouareswimmingyoucanfullyenjoythefishandcorals,sothisisrecommendedforpeoplewholikeswimming. Planswhereyougobyboatorkayakcanletyoumakeefficientuseoftime,asyouwillgettothecavequicklyandcomfortablybyridingtheboat. Ingeneral,ifboatusageisnotmentionedinashop’sservicedetails,itseemsitiscommontogofromthecape. Ofcoursethefeesfortoursthatuseboatsorkayaksarehigher,butyouwillbeabletoenjoytheBlueCavecomfortably.   Allthepointsforchoosingasnorkelingtour! ・HowtogettotheBlueCave【beach,boat,other(suchaskayak)】….Boatistheeasiestforyourbody,butthebeachoptionisthelowestprice. ・Includedservices【fishfood,whetherornottherearethingslikeunderwaterphotography】 ・Numberofpeopletoeachinstructor….Ofcoursealownumberofpeoplemeansyouwillhavemorereassuranceandpersonableinstruction.Dependingontheshop,therearereservationsforgroups. ・Pick-upandDrop-off,meetinglocation…ParkingareasbecomeverycrowdedifyoumeetatCapeMaedaparkinglotduringthehighseason.Ifyoudonothaveacar,itisveryconvenienttobepickedupanddroppedoffatNaha! ・Other….reliabilityofbusinesses,qualityoftheinstructors,shopservices,targetages   [4]EnjoyTrialDivingintheBlueCave TheBlueCaveisoneofthemostpopularspotsfordivinginOkinawa.Sincethewaterisnotthatdeep,thosenewtodivingcangiveitatry. Anothergoodpointisthatyoucancasuallyenjoyyourselfsincetrialdivingrequiresnolicenseorexperience.Youcanfeelateasebecausetheinstructoriswithyoustartingfromthelectureonland. ・Progressionofthetrialdivingtour Nowlet’sintroducewhathappenswhenyouparticipateinthetrialdivingtour.Herethe「IslandClub」willalsogiveanexplanationforus. Step1 Firstyouwillmeetupattheshop!Onceyouregisteratreception,youwillbegivenawetsuitandwillgotothedressingroomtochangeclothes. Step2 Beforedeparturetherewillbealectureonhowtousetheequipment.Besuretolistencarefullysoyoucankeepfrompanickingifthereistroubleunderwater. Step3 WewillentertheseafromCapeMaeda.Finally,thetourbegins! Step4 Atlastweheadtotheunderwaterworld!Thecutetropicalfisharewaiting. WearriveattheBlueCave!Divinghereinthiswondroussceneryisaspecialexperience. Step5 Onceyouhavebeenthoroughlysatisfiedwiththedivingexperience,wewillreturntotheshoptoshowerandchangeclothes. ・Howtochooseatrialdivingtour [Howtogetthere] Theplanswhereyougofromthebeachandtheplanswhereyougobyboatorkayakarethesameaswithsnorkeling.Butwithdivingtherearesomedifferencesthatyoucanreallyfeel. Aplanthatusesaboatorkayakiseasy-goingonthebodysinceyouwillgototheBlueCavedirectly.Butyouwillsuddenlybegoingintodeepwater,whichisabighurdleforpeoplewhoarepooratswimming.Aplanwhereyougofromthebeachismorefittingforbeginners.Sinceyouwillenterfromtheshallowsitisstressfree,andyourbodywillbecomegraduallyusedtothesea.Howevertheequipmentusedindivingisheavy,andgoingdownthestairsthatleadfromthecapetotheseaisquitedifficult. [Staff] Trialdivingisasimplesportthatyoucandowithoutalicense,butwecannotdenythepossibilityofa“worstcasescenario”accident.Besuretoconfirmbeforehandwhenservicedetailsarenotclearlyspecified. Allthepointsforchoosingatrialdivingtour ・GoingtotheBlueCave（Methodofentry）【Beach・Boat】Whenenteringfromthebeach,goingupanddownthestairsisverystrenuous! ・Numberofpeopletoeachinstructor….Ofcoursealownumberofpeoplemeansyouwillhavemorereassuranceandpersonableinstruction.Dependingontheshop,therearereservationsforgroups.. ・Pick-Up/Drop-offandmeetingspotscanbeinplacesliketheshops,theCapeMaedaparkinglot,ortheneighboringfishingharbor.TherearealsotoursthatwilltakeyoutoandfromNaha. ・Other…reliabilityofbusinesses,qualityofinstructors,eachshop’sservices,etc   [5]TheEntranceoftheBlueCave!WhatkindofplaceisCapeMaeda? ThiscapethatsticksoutintoandfacestheEastChinaSeaistheentryspotfordiving.Fromthegazebothatlooksoutonthewholecape,youcanseethebeautifuldarkblueandshallowgreencolorsoftheseainoneview.TourcompanieswilloftenusetheCapeMaedaparkinglotasameetingspot,andassuchthefacilitiesherearewellfurnished. ©OCVB Facilityinformation Theparkinglotisawideareawithspaceavailablefor180passengercars.Therearealsolargecarspacesandhandicapspaces. Therearechangingrooms,coinlockers,andshowers.Dryersarealsoavailabletoborrow.Thisisapopularplaceamongwomen,buttherearefeesattached. Parking:100yenfor1hour,shower:200yen,coinlocker:100yenfor1use,dryer:100yen Themulti-purposespaceisusedfortrialdivingclassesandasarestarea.ThereisalsoarestaurantwhereyoucaneatdishessuchastacoriceandOkinawasoba. [6]ImportantthingstonotesoyoucanenjoytheBlueCave TheBlueCaveinOkinawahasbecomeaverypopularlocationnow.Itbecomesquitecrowded,particularlyduringsumer.Forveryunluckypeople,itseemstherearetimeswhentoursareclosedandyoucannotenterthecave. Whycan’tyouenter?First,thetimeswhenthesnorkelingandtrialdivingtoursarecarriedoutarealreadyestablished.Andwithinthat,duetocongestion,therearetimeswhenyoumustwaitatthestairsthatleadfromthecapetotheseaorattheentranceofthecave. Justfromthispicture,youcanseehowlinescanformatthestairs.Therearecaseswherethetourwillreachitsdesignatedclosingtimejustfromwaitingiftherearetoomanypeopleinline. Whengoingdiving,evenifyoumanagetoenterthecave,youmayhavealreadyusedupmuchstaminafromwaitingalongtimeunderthehotsunwithyourheavyequipment.Werecommendreservingthefirsttourinthemorningbecauseitdoesnotbecomeascongestedthen.   InClosing NowwehavetoldyouaboutthefascinationofOkinawa’sBlueCaveandhowtohavefunthere.Whatdoyouthink?SincetherearemanydifferentkindsoftoursthatwilltakeyoutotheBlueCave,youshouldlookforatourthatmatchesyourinterestswithoutbeingboundbyprices. (Toursthatwilltakepicturesunderwaterforyou,ortoursthatwillgiveyoufoodtofeedthetropicalfish,etc..) FiledUnder:MainislandofOkinawa(central)TaggedWith:play-experience ＼LIKE!／ facebook tweet4 feedly MorefrommysiteFallinLovewithOkinawanChocolate.DropsofBlissatJacarandaBlueFoundedinYomitaniVillage MainichiShokudo isanOkinawanSobaRestaurantLovedbytheLocalsAppealingthingstodoinOkinawa!~DivinginIshigakiIsland~MurasakiMuraVisitReportExperienceofmakingBenimoSweetPotatoTartinOkashigotenOnnasonStore!AppealingPointofMinnaIsland~SuprisingBeautifulOcean~ ThemeChoosefromtheme sightseeing IntroducinghighlightsontouristspotsandsuperbviewofOkinawa. accommodation Introducingfacilityinformationonaccommodationslikehotelandryokan. knowledge IntroducinguniqueculturesandcustomsofOkinawa. event IntroducinginformationoneventsinOkinawa. play-experience IntroducinginformationonactivitiesandlocalexperienceinOkinawa. buy IntroducingsouvenirsandlocalspecialtieswhichyouwanttobuyinOkinawa. gourmet IntroducinginformationonrestaurantsandthingsyouwanttoeatinOkinawa. travel-tips Introducingusefulinformationabouttraveling. RankingPopularstories MainislandofOkinawa(allarea) TakeawarmdipinOkinawa!Top5onsensforhotspringfans♪ AllareainOkinawa TheTravelTipsforEnjoyingtheOkinawainDecember! MainislandofOkinawa(central) The"BlueCave"ofOkinawa!Acompleteexplanationofthepopularmarinespot MainislandofOkinawa(allarea) 12PopularBeachesonOkinawa'sMainIsland MainislandofOkinawa(allarea) 10CafésYouMustTryinOkinawa|RecommendedbyFrequentOkinawaVisitors! AboutaboutOkinawalabo "OkinawaLabo"isamediawebsitewhichprovidesdetailedinformationinorderforyoutoenjoyOkinawaasmuchasyouwant. Thiswebsiteismanagedbythetravelagency"OnlineTravelCo.,Ltd."operatingmorethan30yearssincetheestablishment. WehavebeenprovidingtourstoOkinawatomorethan1millionpeople.However,sinceOkinawahascountlessislandsandtourisrspots,therearestillalotofattractivethingswhichareyettobeshared.Andstill,therearealotofpeoplewhohaveneverbeentoOkinawa. Duetotheabovefact,wehaveopenedthis"OkinawaLabo"withourdesiretomakemorepeopleloveOkinawa,andactuallymakethemgotoOkinawa. Withourlongexperience,wegogatherinformation,takephotos,andsharetherealanddetailedinformation! Ifwecouldmakeyoufeellike"IwanttovisitOkinawa"or"IlikeOkinawamorethanbefore"byreadingourarticles,nothingwouldmakeushappierthanthat. EditorialstaffofOkinawaLabo Okinawa-labo CopyrightOkinawalaboAllrightsreserved. ▲ MarineactivityinBlueCave Bookhere! ×