
Yoda
Izu Peninsula · Japan
Named for the peculiar alien-eared nudibranch that locals spotted here decades ago, Yoda is a muck-diving wonderland on a gently sloping sand and rubble bottom studded with sponge outcroppings. Ornate ghost pipefish, robust ghost pipefish, and seahorses congregate around sparse seagrass patches while cuttlefish patrol mid-water. The site rewards slow, patient divers who linger over each square metre — veteran macro photographers routinely spend entire dives within a 10-metre radius.
Conditions
Depth
5 to 20 m
Open water and up
Current
Usually gentle
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
8 to 15 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
12 to 27°C
5mm wetsuit
Your chances of seeing each animal
Bigbelly Seahorse
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Painted FrogfishLeast concern
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Ornate Ghost PipefishLeast concern
Rare
Now and then
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