Kurosuhôru - Ishigaki & Yaeyama
Kurosuhôru, near Ishigaki, is one of those spots that just sticks with you. It’s not about grand pelagics here, it’s about the sheer vibrancy and density of the coral. We love drifting along the reef edge, eye-level with massive lettuce coral formations that look like giant ruffled cabbages. The honeycomb corals create deep shadows where small groupers lurk, and if you’re patient, you might spot a Gardiner’s Headshield Slug inching along the polyps. What really makes Kurosuhôru a standout is the light. When the sun hits the shallows just right, the fluorescence grass coral practically glows, and the blues and purples of the brain and cauliflower corals are electric. We always suggest trying to hit this site mid-morning. The currents can pick up, so it's a good drift for experienced divers, letting the water carry you past a kaleidoscope of table and staghorn corals. It's a proper feast for the eyes, a sensory overload of colour and texture.
- Location
- Ishigaki & Yaeyama, Japan, East Asia
- Coordinates
- 24.865180, 125.155914
Marine Protected Area: 伊良部
Nearby Dive Sites in Ishigaki & Yaeyama
- Antoniogaudei
- Antonio Gaudi - 26m
- Cross Hole - 24m (wreck)
- Crystal Beach - 17m
- Crystal Park - 11m (reef)
- Emperor’s Chair - 17m
- Hanadainone
- Hanazawa Drop - 16m (wall)
- Hateruma Island - 18m
- IOT - 18m
- Ishigaki double reef (reef)
- Kaiho Sports Club - 2m
- Kanokawa Nakanose - 17m
- Kinmenone - 18m
- Kohamajima Island - 18m
Nearest Dive Centres to Kurosuhôru
- BLUE SEASON IRIOMOTE - ["PADI"]
- Blue Water
- Diving School Marea Miyakojima - ["PADI"]
- DIVING SERVICE HEKIKAI
- MARINECLUB
- MOANA Diving College ISHIGAKIJIMA - ["PADI"]
Marine Life in Ishigaki & Yaeyama
Home to 442 recorded species including 289 reef fish, 119 hard corals, 8 seagrass & algae, 6 sea cucumbers, 6 sea snails & nudibranchs, 4 crabs & lobsters.
Notable Species
- thalassia (Thalassia hemprichii) - Seagrass & Algae
- seagrass (Halophila ovalis) - Seagrass & Algae
- cymodocea (Cymodocea rotundata) - Seagrass & Algae
- Species code: Ea (Enhalus acoroides) - Seagrass & Algae
- Species code: Hp (Halodule pinifolia) - Seagrass & Algae
- Fluorescence grass coral (Galaxea fascicularis) - Hard Corals
- halodule (Halodule uninervis) - Seagrass & Algae
- Staghorn coral (Acropora nasuta) - Hard Corals
- Stony coral (Porites cylindrica) - Hard Corals
- Honeycomb coral (Favites abdita) - Hard Corals
- Corrugated coral (Pavona varians) - Hard Corals
- Thin birdsnest coral (Seriatopora hystrix) - Hard Corals
- Stony coral (Porites lutea) - Hard Corals
- Staghorn coral (Acropora tenuis) - Hard Corals
- Cauliflower coral (Pocillopora verrucosa) - Hard Corals
- Smooth cauliflower coral (Stylophora pistillata) - Hard Corals
- Lesser star coral (Cyphastrea microphthalma) - Hard Corals
- Staghorn coral (Acropora humilis) - Hard Corals
- Encrusting pore coral (Montipora aequituberculata) - Hard Corals
- Staghorn coral (Acropora aspera) - Hard Corals