Thanks to the warm subtropical climate, one can dive in the sea around Okinawa year-round. The waters off Okinawa, which is located in the southernmost part of Japan, are known as one of the largest coral habitats in the world. Okinawa offers dive sites that are on par with such well-known sites as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Bahamas, Palau, and the Galapagos Islands. In the Ryukyu Archipelago, which stretches as a chain of islands for 1,000 km from east to west and 400 km from north to south in between the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea, there are 160 small and large islands, 48 of which are inhabited by people. As the landscape and water differ slightly between each island, what is attractive to most divers in Okinawa is the variety of sites, each of which has slightly different characteristics. You can also experience and enjoy the slightly different culture and habits of the people of each island.