A little more on Akajima

I thought I'd share a little more information about Akajima, the island I'll be based on for my three full days of scuba.

Akajima or Aka island is one of four inhabited islands that make up the 22 islands that are part of the Kerama chain off Okinawa. This small island is a beautiful place to relax Kerama style (and no, I don't really know what that means).

Aka has a population of approximately 300 with the adjoining Geruma island’s population standing at about 65. There is not much to the island apart from small beaches, clear blue sea and great snorkelling and diving!

The waters around the islands are renowned for their clarity with visibility often at 30 metres plus. There is a myriad of reef fish that inhabit the surrounding vast coral reef. The calm waters around Kerama provide a huge number of dive sites to explore. I could be doing everything from shallow reef dives to cave dives to deep water dives.

They say Akajima is easily navigated by foot or by bike and is linked to Geruma Island by bridge. The island is covered by primeval forests which are home to the rare Kerama deer. There are only 150 of the species of the deer in the islands, so I'm not counting on seeing one. Apparently, they swim from island to island. Maybe I'll make a friend to go snorkelling with!

I think it's going to be a great way to wrap up the trip after a whirlwind tour around the huge cities of modern Japan. I'm hoping I can rent a dive camera or buy some photos to share with you all.