Cape Maeda in Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, is a popular sightseeing spot close to the "Blue Cave." (Keisuke Yamazaki)

Photo/Illutration Snorkelers paddle at Hayuhama beach on the western side of Cape Maeda in Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, on May 29. Even during a high swell from a typhoon, the waters are calm near the beach. (Keisuke Yamazaki)

NAHA—Waves pounded the rocks and coral off Cape Maeda in Onna, Okinawa Prefecture. Whipped by a typhoon, the sea was white with foam.

This was the scene one day in late May at a beach near the "Blue Cave," one of Okinawa’s most popular tourist spots.

Local surfers were talking about how crazy it would be to swim offshore on a day like this. As they spoke, one man, an apparent overseas visitor, began to swim out from the beach.

“Hey!” his friend yelled. The swimmer returned to the shore.

DANGER ZONE OFFSHORE

The cape is often heavily congested in summer. At least 50,000 visitors come every month.

It’s an easy sell. Masaya Afuso, who works at the administration office, said the cape is “surrounded by reefs and usually it’s calm like a swimming pool.” People can enjoy leisure activities there without a care in the world.

But when the weather turns bad, the water offshore is a menace. Waves crash and swirl around the reef, while rip currents pull outward from the shore into deeper water, according to an official from the Japan Coast Guard's 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters.

“Not even expert swimmers can make it back to the shore once they are swept away,” the official said.

A JCG study showed that 13 people were killed or went missing in the Cape Maeda area during the 10 years from 2013 to 2022.

Six of the victims were snorkeling, three were swimming and two were scuba diving. The other two were fishing.

Some of the people panicked when they got water in their snorkel. But 10 of the 13 victims were not wearing life jackets, wet suits or other flotation devices.

This suggests they were independent visitors because had they been with a guide, they have been urged to wear one of the safety devices. 

“It is difficult to distinguish where rip currents may arise unless you are a skilled local guide,” said Hiromitsu Miyagi, a JCG chief safety coordinator.

It is quite common in Okinawa Prefecture, he said, for the water to be calm on one side of a cape but there to be a rapid current on the other side.

“Many times, those who visit such areas on their own have been swept away by rip currents and drowned,” he said.

59 DEATHS LAST YEAR

Okinawa’s tourism and wild ocean are ingredients for trouble. In the past decade, seven snorkelers and scuba divers died or were reported missing in the Cape Manzamo area, also in Onna. In the same period, 10 people perished at Yonehara beach on Ishigakijima island.

Many of the accidents occurred along stretches of coast without lifeguards, which meant there was a delay in summoning help.

“There is no end to drownings involving tourists from outside the prefecture,” a JCG official said. “They get in the water even if they are not feeling well or the weather is bad, saying that they came all the way and they just want a quick dip.”

In 2023, the National Police Agency recorded 116 water-related accidents in the prefecture, the worst in the country.

Of the accidents, there were 59 fatalities, greater than the road death toll of 38.

Authorities are taking action. In fiscal 2022, the prefectural government’s tourist section began publishing the Okinawa Marine Safety Map, which lists the number of accidents at each of the prefecture’s 400 or so beaches.

Kazuhiko Kosaka, who heads the JCG’s Boating and Water Safety Division, said safety is a prerequisite for tourism promotion.

“We want to make concerted efforts with all members of the prefecture to reduce water-related accidents,"Kosaka said.

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