Diving in Izu Oshima. The special here is that you can see Hammerhead sharks by the beach dives.
Dive in Izu Oshima｜ Hammerhead shark Izu Oshima Diving
This is the entry point of the lava coast, a trail made from the lava flow that is a maze-like diving path. This is where you can see where the namesake “Underwater Geopark” comes from.
I was diving in the path formed by the lava flow. This was right at daybreak, the sea is still quite dark.
As soon as we were in the water, we could see the hammerhead sharks. They appeared, one after the other, in a group of 5 and then up to 30 individuals. At about 15m (50ft) depth, we could feel the current of the tide coming on but I was clinging to a rock to keep observing the sharks. Even beginners, could have a good chance to see the sharks here so it is a really great spot!
Hammerheads were coming straight towards us. And boy were they close!
Every morning, immediately after the sunrise is the best chance to encounter these hammerhead sharks. They are seen in the area from mid-June to mid-October, and we went diving 3 times, and saw them each time.
Perhaps they are aiming for the first meal of the day at some first class feeding spot, rising from the depths along with the rising sun?
This was a little cake decoration to commemorate the 100th dive of one of our tour members. It was an image of the “Keikai’s Hammerheads” handmade for them by the Saiyu staff.
Image & text : Mariko SAWADA
Observation : Sep 2021, Keikai Beach, Izu-oshima, Tokyo, JAPAN
