Sunkissed Divers Okinawa

Sunkissed Divers Okinawa has been operating since 2016, providing a professional gateway to the diverse underwater landscapes of the Okinawa prefecture. Based near the village of Onna, the centre is ideally positioned to access everything from shallow coral gardens to deeper offshore sites.

Whether you are looking for a relaxed shore dive or a more adventurous boat trip, the centre focuses on personalised service. They cater to a wide range of abilities, ensuring that both those training for their first certification and seasoned divers looking for specific specialties find a tailored experience.

The team is composed of professional instructors capable of conducting courses in several languages, including English, Hungarian, German, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese. This multilingual approach ensures clear communication during briefings and underwater training, which is vital for safety and learning.

Sunkissed Divers maintains a strong ethical stance, notably advocating against captive whale shark tourism. They focus on small groups to ensure that each diver receives the attention required for a safe and enjoyable experience in the water.

The centre provides a comprehensive curriculum through both PADI and SSI affiliations. Beginners can start with the PADI Discover Scuba Diving programme or work towards their Open Water Diver certification.

For those looking to advance, they offer the Advanced Open Water Diver course, with specific options to include Nitrox or night diving. The training catalogue extends to Rescue Diver, Divemaster, and various specialties such as Deep Diver, Wreck Diver, and EFR (Emergency First Response).

For divers preferring to bring their own kit, the centre offers full rental options including regulators, BCDs, computers, masks, snorkels, and fins. Wetsuits are also available for hire.

On-site facilities include amenities for rinsing and preparing for your day. For those staying at the guest houses in Yomitan, the accommodation is designed with divers in mind, offering modern Japanese-style bathrooms and fully equipped kitchens.

The local waters are home to a vast array of pelagics and reef residents. You can regularly encounter whitetip reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, silky sharks, and tiger sharks. Larger visitors include manta rays and various species of rays.

On the reefs, look for green turtles and hawksbill turtles, alongside schools of barracudas, blue tangs, and bigeye snappers. Sea snakes and various species of moray eels are also common sights among the coral structures.

For macro enthusiasts, the area is rich with smaller life. You can find seahorses, nudibranchs, mantis shrimp, and various species of octopus. Garden eels are often seen in the sandy patches between reef outcrops.

The coral scenery is equally diverse, with massive colonies of table corals and various soft corals providing habitat for the local fauna. In areas like Yamada Point, you can also observe giant clams living within the reef ecosystem.

Divers should be aware that currents can change suddenly and become very strong at several sites, including Mermaid's Grotto, the USS Emmons, and Cape Hedo.

Some sites, such as Shark Scramble, typically experience moderate currents, while others like Gorilla Chop offer calm, sheltered waters that are ideal when wind conditions make other sites inaccessible.