Dive with reef mantas off Ishigaki in Japan's Okinawa islands, home to cleaning stations like Manta Scramble and Manta City near Kabira Bay. In summer and autumn the rays queue over the coral bommies to be cleaned, in one of the most dependable manta encounters in East Asia. The season runs from June to November, best from July to September.
Dive with reef mantas off Ishigaki in Japan's Okinawa islands, home to cleaning stations like Manta Scramble and Manta City near Kabira Bay. In summer and autumn the rays queue over the coral bommies to be cleaned, in one of the most dependable manta encounters in East Asia. The season runs from June to November, best from July to September.
Up to 85% sighting chance in Ishigaki Island (Okinawa, Japan). Best months: August, July, September.
June to November, peaking July to September, with a second burst of courtship activity on the autumn spring tides in October and November.
Cleaning stations off northern Ishigaki near Kabira Bay, chiefly Manta Scramble and the increasingly reliable Manta City.
Summer sighting rates are high at these cleaning stations, though as with all wild mantas nothing is guaranteed.
The main sites are dive sites, but calm conditions sometimes allow snorkelling over the shallow cleaning stations.
