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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.
Harm clusters on Cape Maeda swell and crowd, Kerama and Ishigaki current, limestone overhead, and winter exposure. This is not medical advice.
A closed stair and a cancelled manta day are safety decisions.
Hazards
- Swell and stairs at Maeda — Entries and exits.
- Crowd in the Blue Cave — Kicks, panic, overhead-adjacent.
- Current at Kerama and Ishigaki points — Boat pickups.
- Limestone overhead (Miyako, Maeda) — Lights, exit, a guide.
- Winter cold — A subtropical winter is still cold.
- Boat traffic — Zamami, Kabira, Naha.
Rules
- Shop and park briefs — Always.
- No untrained overhead — A cave queue is not a cavern course.
- Manta distance — The Yaeyama brief.
- Buddy in the cave — Closer than a beach.
- Wind calls for Kerama — The day's law.
Red flags
- A hire desk selling the cave in a swell warning — Walk.
- Someone blocking a manta — The boat rule is already broken.
- A Yonaguni plan for a new OW card — A different trip.
- Blood on limestone and a rising set — Exit, clinic.
First response
- Coast Guard and Okinawa clinic pathways — Not a DCI protocol page.
- Cuts and stings — Clinic over folklore.
- Not medical advice — Drowning and DCI are clinical.
Okinawa safety is a stair, a wind call and a no on the solo cave. The manta can wait.