ITO, CHIBA

GETTING THERE

Ito is directly accessible from Tokyo Station via the JR Odoriko limited express, arriving at Ito station. The journey should take around an hour.

MARINE LIFE

Longtooth grouper, red stingray, bulgyhead wrasse, banded houndshark, schooling bannerfish

Situated at the tip of the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture, in the west of the Tokyo Bay, Ito is one of the few places in the world where you have the opportunity to see so many sharks just two hours by car from a major capital city – in this case, Tokyo.

The story of this dive began in

2009 with local fishermen concerned about the numbers of banded houndsharks getting into their nets and feeding on the fish caught inside. The fishermen sought help from a local dive operator, who decided to lead the sharks away from the nets by feeding them elsewhere.

It took five years to completely habituate the sharks. Eventually, the strategy succeeded in attracting the sharks as well as red stingrays, and the feeding area has since become a popular dive site with the inevitable moniker, “Shark City”.

The shark feed takes place 20 metres from shore and lasts about 30 minutes. Expect hundreds houndsharks and red stingrays to swarm the area and provide you with an incredibly unique dive experience.

DIVE EXPERIENCE All levels, from beginner upwards

BEST TIME TO DIVE July to November

WATER TEMPERATURE 23°C to 28°C

VISIBILITY 15 metres

DEPTH 20 metres